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Can you help me identify these ants?


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#1 Offline Anscar - Posted September 19 2018 - 11:45 AM

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The most common ant is my area of southern California is the Argentine Ant (in fact, they are busy scavenging in my kitchen as I write this).  However, when I go for my morning walk I encounter three other species on an approximately 100-yard stretch of sidewalk.  This is in a built-up area of single-dwelling houses.  One species has a nest in the dirt margin on the west side of the sidewalk where a gate opens into a flood-drainage area about an acre in size (no structures and with natural vegetation).  I believe this species to be one of the harvester ant species common in non-urbanized areas of California.  The workers are about a quarter-inch long and have reddish heads and thoraxes and black abdomens.

 

The two other species are nesting in several places under the sidewalk and have their nest entrances in the crack between sidewalk and the curb (each entrance is surrounded by soil excavated from the nest).  One of these species is very small, the workers are black and about half the size of an Argentine worker.  They also appear to move more slowly than either argentines or harvesters.

 

It is the third species that most interests me.  The workers are only slightly larger than argentine workers, but have exactly the same color scheme as the much larger harvesters.  That is, they have red heads and thoraxes and black abdomens.  When I first saw these ants I thought they were argentines.  It was only when I got down on hands and knees that I recognized they were something else. Are they some kind of hybrid between harvesters and argentines?  I know from that hybridization between ant species takes place, but I thought it was only between closely related species.  The Argentine Ant is an invasive species in California.  I don't see how it can be closely related to our native ant species.  But then, what do I know?    So my question is :  What am I seeing here? 

 

Thanks you for any help with this.   


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#2 Offline Major - Posted September 19 2018 - 12:02 PM

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We need pictures.

#3 Offline Zeiss - Posted September 19 2018 - 1:01 PM

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We need pictures as well as you to follow the proper formatting, which is easily seen at the top of the Ant ID Request thread.  Please edit or add a new reply incorporating these things. 



#4 Offline Anscar - Posted September 21 2018 - 10:33 AM

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Here are two photos which I took a few minutes ago on my cell.  The worker on the grey background is a quarter-inch long or more and appears to be uniformly reddish-brown in color.  This is odd because the same-size workers I've previously seen at this point had what appeared to be black abdomens.  In fact, there were some with black abdomens in the area, but I couldn't get a clear shot.  It's very difficult because there's high sunlight so I can't really see what I'm shooting on my screen against the glare.

 

The ants which appear in the brown background (tailings around the nest entrance in the curb crack) are slightly larger than Argentine workers.....maybe 10% larger.  They are clearly reddish brown with black abdomens.

 

I don't know if these photos will prove useful.  I know little about cell phone photography and have no specialized photo equipment for this kind of thing.  I also hope I haven't clogged up your forum with useless photos.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

EDIT: Well, the photos apparently didn't paste into the post.  I guess we should just forget the whole thing.  I've try another avenue to identify these ants.  Sorry for the trouble.


Edited by Anscar, September 21 2018 - 10:36 AM.


#5 Offline nurbs - Posted September 21 2018 - 10:35 AM

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Welcome to the forums Anscar!

 

Still don't see any images. Can you use a host such as imgur.com to upload and then link on here.

 

Here are two photos which I took a few minutes ago on my cell.  The worker on the grey background is a quarter-inch long or more and appears to be uniformly reddish-brown in color.  This is odd because the same-size workers I've previously seen at this point had what appeared to be black abdomens.  In fact, there were some with black abdomens in the area, but I couldn't get a clear shot.  It's very difficult because there's high sunlight so I can't really see what I'm shooting on my screen against the glare.

 

The ants which appear in the brown background (tailings around the nest entrance in the curb crack) are slightly larger than Argentine workers.....maybe 10% larger.  They are clearly reddish brown with black abdomens.

 

I don't know if these photos will prove useful.  I know little about cell phone photography and have no specialized photo equipment for this kind of thing.  I also hope I haven't clogged up your forum with useless photos.

 

Thanks for any help. 


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#6 Offline Anscar - Posted September 21 2018 - 12:22 PM

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https://imgur.com/a/OAT5boH



#7 Offline Anscar - Posted September 21 2018 - 1:46 PM

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Based upon further research (which I should have done before registering for this forum and importuning you folks), in my non-professional opinion the ants in the two photos are subspecies of Pogonomyrmex californicus.  End of story and happy anting. :)



#8 Offline gcsnelling - Posted September 21 2018 - 2:45 PM

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Nope, not Pogonomyrmex californicus, try again.



#9 Offline dspdrew - Posted September 21 2018 - 6:38 PM

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Oh man is nurbs going to be jealous.


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#10 Offline Anscar - Posted September 21 2018 - 9:18 PM

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Nope, not Pogonomyrmex californicus, try again.

Surely not the dreaded Solenopsis invicta (or xyloni).  They seem so friendly when I walk by them.



#11 Offline YsTheAnt - Posted September 21 2018 - 9:54 PM

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The ones in the picture appear to be Dorymyrmex bicolor

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#12 Offline Anscar - Posted September 22 2018 - 1:12 PM

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Thanks Ys.  The link is to 3 more photos.  The first is of a worker who is at least 5/16th of an inch long from the same nest as the one in the gray-background photo I linked to yesterday.  I originally thought these guys had black abdomens like the smaller ones, but this appears to be not the case.  It's odd:  when I'm standing or kneeling the abdomens look dark or black....but in photos of them, the abdomens look reddish.

 

The other two photos are of the tiny black ants mentioned in the OP.  There is a single worker in one, located to the right of center, and two workers in the other, located to the far right.  The images are not very clear, but it's the best I could do.

 

https://imgur.com/a/e0Gi7nk

 

Unless something comes of this, this will be my last post on the subject, as I don't want to flood your forum with posts that may not be germane to the forum's purpose.



#13 Offline YsTheAnt - Posted September 24 2018 - 7:03 AM

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The first one is some sort of Pogonomyrmex, the small black species may be a Monomorium sp.

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#14 Offline nurbs - Posted September 24 2018 - 2:58 PM

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My dream ant.

 

Oh man is nurbs going to be jealous.


Instagram:
nurbsants
 
YouTube
 
California Ants for Sale

 

Unidentified Myrmecocystus

https://www.formicul...ls-near-desert/

 

Undescribed "Modoc"

https://www.formicul...mp-ca-5-4-2017/

 

Camponotus or Colobopsis yogi:

https://www.formicul...a-ca-1-28-2018/

 
Camponotus us-ca02
https://www.formicul...onotus-us-ca02/

 

Unidentified Formica

https://www.formicul...l-ca-6-27-2020/

 
Pencil Case and Test Tube Formicariums
https://www.formicul...m-and-outworld/
 
Bloodworm Soup
https://www.formicul...bloodworm-soup/





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