9 replies to this topic

[Keymo]

1. Location of collection:
Central Iowa - in my front yard

2. Date of collection:
04-22-17 - mid-day
Supposedly 66degrees but feels MUCH warmer than that. 24% Humidity. 7mph wind.

3. Habitat of collection:
Between ladnscaping bricks I was trying to re-arrange in my yard

4. Length (from head to gaster):
Queen: Roughly 8mm...?
Workers: Roughly 4mm...?

5. Color, hue, pattern and texture:
Dark brown - underside of her gaster is light, almost yellow.


6. Distinguishing characteristics:
In the sun her gaster almost looks clear/shiny...?
Workers smaller than the tetramorium (not 100% on this ID but fairly certain) I saw/fed earlier today.

7. Distinguishing behavior:
Didn't freak out at all when I removed the brick. Slow - but went straight into the little box I was trying to catch her with.
Was immediately, what appeared to be, attacked by the 6th worker I caught (under same brick) and it scared me so I stopped collecting workers... really only saw maybe 3-4more... by attacked I mean she bit on to the queens leg and curled around it. The queen started freaking out and appeared to be pushing her away. *i covered them up when I got inside and wrote this post - just uncovered them and the worker is no longer attached and the queen has all her legs and appears to be moving around fine.

8. Nest description:
Dirt between landscaping bricks - found a few small workers under the same brick but didn't find any brood. Other bricks a few feet away had TONS of workers and tons of brood - not sure if same colony...?

[Images of ant]
***It says I don't have permission to post pictures...?***

Edited by Keymo, April 22 2017 - 6:31 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

You need to upload elsewhere and place the URL between img brackets (made easy by the button in the post/reply menu).

Edited by Batspiderfish, April 22 2017 - 2:17 PM.

[Keymo]

You need to upload elsewhere and place the URL between img brackets (made easy by the button in the post/reply menu).

Hmm.. I looked up how to post images and tried using the gallery option...? When I go to post or reply I don't see any image button... though I looked it up in google and used the [ ]'s - I'm on a phone so maybe that changes things...? I even chose the "view full version" instead of the mobile version.. Anyway - I think I made a link to the gallery..?

Edited by Keymo, April 22 2017 - 7:27 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

 

You need to upload elsewhere and place the URL between img brackets (made easy by the button in the post/reply menu).

Hmm.. I looked up how to post images and tried using the gallery option...? When I go to post or reply I don't see any image button... though I looked it up in google and used the [ ]'s - I'm on a phone so maybe that changes things...? I even chose the "view full version" instead of the mobile version.. Anyway - o think I made a link to the album...?

 

 

You linked to the image display page, not the image URL. As a general rule, try to make sure that the file extension (i.e. ".jpg") is at the end of the link. I fixed it in your post. This queen looks like a niger-group Lasius, probably Lasius neoniger.

Edited by Batspiderfish, April 22 2017 - 7:27 PM.

[Keymo]

You linked to the image display page, not the image URL. As a general rule, try to make sure that the file extension (i.e. ".jpg") is at the end of the link. I fixed it in your post. This queen looks like a niger-group Lasius, probably Lasius neoniger.

Oh! Thank you! I appreciate your help! I'll try to get better at the posting - or at least try and get my computer put back together sooner. Haha!
AND Thank you for the ID help! I'll start looking up info on Lasius neoniger right now! Thank you again!

Edited by Keymo, April 22 2017 - 7:35 PM.

[Keymo]

Just did a quick image search after reading a couple care sheets to confirm and this is pretty much exactly what my queen looks like! Plus this is a 100% better picture than anything my iPhone5 could take. Haha! Not that I doubted at all - but Batspiderfish's ID was spot on!

Edited by Keymo, April 22 2017 - 8:00 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

There are a few look-alikes that you need to spot particular features in order to identify correctly. Lasius pallitarsis looks almost exactly the same as L. neoniger, but has one of the teeth on its mandibles in a different place. Lasius alienus can sometimes look this way too, but has no erect hairs on its antennal scapes.

I can see nothing which confirms your queen to be Lasius neoniger, but it does look similar.

Edited by Batspiderfish, April 22 2017 - 7:59 PM.

[Keymo]

So did a bit of searching...
Some of the best info on differences in the Lasius species I found were from a "Doctorant" on another forum...

L. pallitarsis-larger than the others, wings extending farther beyond tip of gaster than the others, yellow brown with smoky wings

This in addition to what Batspiderfish said about the difference in mandibles - Not sure there's really a way for me to determine... Seems like I'd need a side-by-side comparison or to see a queen with wings or an alate..?

L. neoniger-erect hairs on scapes, medium and yellow tinged brown

How small are these hairs? Too small to see through a magnifying glass? I pulled up a white screen on my phone and placed the tube on top and looked down on her head with a magnifying glass and her scapes looked smooth..?

L. alienus-no erect hairs on scapes, dingy reddish tinged dark brown

Not trying to jump to conclusions again - but this is seeming like the most similar.. Though I don't believe I have a way to differentiate this from L. Flavus. So I looked into the species a little more and seems to be nicknamed the "Cornfield Ant" - which seems appropriate for where I live. Haha! I also found reports of this species being in Iowa as well.

L. flavus-no erect hairs on scape, terminal segments of maxillary palps shorter than basal segment, light reddish brown

Can't seem to get an appropriate combination of light/magnification to get a good look at her from the underside - also trying to disturb the queen/tube as little as possible in the process - I only have 2 hands with three things I'm trying to hold. Haha!

Edited by Keymo, April 22 2017 - 11:35 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

Ah, so I can elaborate on the mandibles thing -- Lasius pallitarsis has a basal tooth (at the top of the mandibles) moved back so that it appears at a strange angle or completely absent.

The  hairs are tiny -- you would have to look through a microscope or macro photograph to see them properly. All Lasius (which almost all of them are called "cornfield ants") will have appressed hairs on their antennal scapes, but standing hairs will stick straight out.

Lasius flavus will generally be brighter than Lasius alienus, and have smaller eyes. The feature of the maxillary palps is very difficult to see, even with the right tools, and only differentiates it from its close North American relative, Lasius nearcticus. Of the two L. nearcticus is far more common in the eastern US.

 

I have not recognized enough Lasius pallitarsis queens (let alone with wings) to be able to make the calls that James Trager does, but the diagnostics above are the most thorough way to tell these Lasius apart.

Edited by Batspiderfish, April 23 2017 - 3:20 AM.

[Keymo]

Went back out and baited the colony and got probably a thousand workers from the original nest site and they seem to interacting well with the few workers I originally grabbed with her... She has appeared to lay eggs but I do have a question... Is it possible to have the cotton packed too tight to where they can't get enough water? It appears dry on the nest side...? I currently have the colony in a mason jar full of dirt that in one day they've made tons of tunnels and with the acceptance of the original workers I'm almost wondering about putting the tube in there...? I just have a really bad feeling about the tube/cotton situation...

Edited by Keymo, April 25 2017 - 1:28 PM.