Los Angeles County
Chantry Flats Trail Head
Santa Anita Cyn Rd
Sierra Madre,CA 91025
Date: January 5th
Habitat: Semi-arid desert/ lightly forested
Length: 2-4mm
Color: Black
Basic Description: Round Gaster, triangular thorax (top view), square head
Nest description: A dried out fruit attached to an unknown species of plant (a scrubby bush)
I found these little guys by surprise while on a hike with my brother. He happened upon a dried out fruit attached to a bush, cracked it open and found it teeming with tiny little ants (nanitics?) and eggs. I quickly snatched them up and placed them into a plastic container and have since moved them into a spare AntsCanada Formicarium. I haven't had any sighting of a queen yet but I am hopeful that she is hiding out in the center of the fruit considering how completely the ants swarm around it. Most of the ants will remain on the fruit except for the larger workers ants who are fairly active and quick to explore. I've witnessed them collecting sugar water and they absolutely devour meal worms but ignore crickets. I took some macro lens shots using my iphone:
Edited by Leighton, January 29 2018 - 2:07 PM.
