17 replies to this topic

[antmaniac]

Three queens, unfortunately, one died, probably other two queens killed her.
13/2/2015

17/2/2015

21/2/2015

27/2/2015


Moving into the good old vertical formicarium. The queens have already tidy up the nest and settled in. It also appears that they prefer well hydrated area of the formicarium.

[Jonathan21700]

I don't thin these are really a Lasius sp. because they are not found in Australia. Maybe they are a Nylanderia sp. but I am not sure.

[antmaniac]

I called them Lasius since they look very similar to Lasius. I did a search online and there is one similar post. The person said he found out this is Dolichoderinae Anonychomyrma Itineran. Anyway, I will just call this Lasius for now

[dspdrew]

As far as I know, Lasius are only found where it snows.

[James C. Trager]

Until we see more magnified pictures, it's hard to be sure, but I think Jonathan is correct that these are Nylanderia. The larvae, what I can see of them, do not look like Lasius larvae, but do look something like those of Nylanderia. One thing is absolutely certain, there are no Lasius within thousands of km from where you live. It would be better if you did not call them that, even for convenience. It's something like calling a crocodile an alligator or one of your possum species and American opossum. I recommend that you change the misleading title of this post to something both more correct and more informative, like "Antmaniac's possible Nylanderia queens - Australia".

Edited by James C. Trager, March 5 2015 - 5:01 AM.

[antmaniac]

Thanks for the advice James, I was clueless of what title to change to.

[antmaniac]

14/3/2015

A quick check on this colony, both queens are skinnier than before. But the brood seems be developing quite nicely.

[Jonathan21700]

Nice!

[antmaniac]

5/4/2015

The nanitic workers with lots brood, looks like they are doing well. Rain has stopped. So I went to the usual places to flip some bricks and found a bunch of brood. I put them in this colony. I also found a founding colony of this species under another brick. One queen with quite a sizable brood and some nanitic workers. I just put the brick back, however, and didn't disturb it too much.

[Jonathan21700]

Congrats!

[antmaniac]

Congrats!

Thank you.

[antmaniac]

5/9/2015

This colony has relocated outside for a few days now. So far it is all good, the queens are fat and full with eggs. An overview of the set up is also shown.

[antmaniac]

12/9/2015

The ants appear to settle in well with some soil barrier built around the entrance. However, a closer look indicated that there are lots red mites running around. Very aggressive in swarm the dead insects I put in too. So I have decided to disconnect the colony from the outworld container and have the tube sit on a rock instead. Hopefully it will work out well.

[antmaniac]

28/10/2015

This colony is doing relatively well outside. I may check it again much later on and see how it goes.

[James C. Trager]

We'll need lots more magnification and a profile view to know, but something about those workers doesn't look like Nylanderia. I'm leaning toward a genus we've never talked about here before, Stigmacros, but let's see those pictures...

[antmaniac]

We'll need lots more magnification and a profile view to know, but something about those workers doesn't look like Nylanderia. I'm leaning toward a genus we've never talked about here before, Stigmacros, but let's see those pictures...

Hmmm, interestingly, I looked up both species you mentioned and they do look alike with that pointy abdomen. I guess lots more magnification would be needed to really distinguish them.

[antmaniac]

17/11/2015

Caught a queen. I guess she maybe this species.

 

[Kaelwizard]

That last queen looks like Iridomyrmex. Or meat ants.