2450 replies to this topic

[Somethinghmm]

The Pogonomyrmex flight was wayy larger than I thought. I checked a few hours after the small flight and they were everywhere. I have a little more than 30. I plan on selling and trading.

Edited by Somethinghmm, June 11 2019 - 11:08 AM.

[BADANT]

 

Queens of these species of Camponotus are normally only found out after around 9:00 PM in Southern CA.

 

Great idea, thank you very much this entire thread helped me.

I went out and caught 7 Camponotus. I will be posting pix in the gallery, when I have more time. There are 3 that look to me to be C. laevigatus, and 4 that seem to be C. vicinus. After reading dspdrew's journal on C. quercicola, I went to take a better look at the features. However, the queens of that species had started laying eggs so I let them be.

 

Awesome. C. laevigatus are easy to ID if you shine a light on them. You will see the glistening white hairs all over them. C. quercicola's hairs are yellow. They usually have slightly longer gasters than C. laevigatus too. One other thing about C. laevigatus, is they are almost never found anywhere but on very large rotted pine logs. The only time I find them on smaller logs is when they are next to a large one. I don't think I have ever found one on the ground.

 

You definitely went to the right place at the right time. Where exactly did you find these anyway?

 

I went just above Angeles Oaks (saw your post), but I was about 2 days after you 

[StopSpazzing]

The Pogonomyrmex flight was wayy larger than I thought. I checked a few hours after the small flight and they were everywhere. I have a little more than 30. I plan on selling and trading.

Where was this at?

[AntPhycho]

 

The Pogonomyrmex flight was wayy larger than I thought. I checked a few hours after the small flight and they were everywhere. I have a little more than 30. I plan on selling and trading.

Where was this at?

 

A small flight of P. californicus happened here in the High Desert yesterday. Don't know if he is talking about the same one as the one that took place here was rather small.

[YsTheAnt]

Sunday night in Trabuco Canyon we saw flights of Temnothorax and Solenopsis molesta. Found a few random Camponotus essigi and Camponotus us-ca02 alates, but I doubt they are fertile. We also found a few Liometopum occidentale alates that I think are probably not fertile either, unfortunately; all of mine still had their wings the next day.

Liometopum occidentale often times don't shed wings, perhaps they are fertile?

[dspdrew]

 

Sunday night in Trabuco Canyon we saw flights of Temnothorax and Solenopsis molesta. Found a few random Camponotus essigi and Camponotus us-ca02 alates, but I doubt they are fertile. We also found a few Liometopum occidentale alates that I think are probably not fertile either, unfortunately; all of mine still had their wings the next day.

Liometopum occidentale often times don't shed wings, perhaps they are fertile?

 

 
Yes, but if NONE of them shed their wings, it's likely many are infertile, which then leads me to believe they are probably all infertile. I hope I am wrong and it's just a total coincidence, but if none of StopSpazzing's queens drop their wings either, then I'll be almost certain they are infertile.

[YsTheAnt]

Yeah you never know. In my limited experience I have never had a queen drop it's wings after capture, but this is only with 5 or so queens so you would know much more on this species haha.

[NickAnter]

I caught, on the tenth five Solenopsis truncorum queens and over twenty molestas. The truncorums were in my pool, the molestas on a black light. All in my back yard.

[Nanahira]

Caught a few P. Cali where I am. Did you guys have any luck with the species?

[dspdrew]

 

 

Sunday night in Trabuco Canyon we saw flights of Temnothorax and Solenopsis molesta. Found a few random Camponotus essigi and Camponotus us-ca02 alates, but I doubt they are fertile. We also found a few Liometopum occidentale alates that I think are probably not fertile either, unfortunately; all of mine still had their wings the next day.

Liometopum occidentale often times don't shed wings, perhaps they are fertile?

 

 
Yes, but if NONE of them shed their wings, it's likely many are infertile, which then leads me to believe they are probably all infertile. I hope I am wrong and it's just a total coincidence, but if none of StopSpazzing's queens drop their wings either, then I'll be almost certain they are infertile.

 

 

Looks like they are fertile after all. The next morning all but one dropped its wings.

[FSTP]

its a good anting year al over Cali.

[ponerinecat]

Not for me. The closest thing to a queen was a dead alate in a spiderweb.

[NickAnter]

Oh, yeah, I forgot to say that a Hypoponera alate landed at my feet at 8:05 in the morning, as I was talking to one of my friends about ants at school. It died before I could get it in a proper setup, sadly, probably pesticides in the dirt I provided. This happened on 6/11/19.

Edited by NickAnter, June 14 2019 - 4:45 PM.

[ariaant]

I was thinking about trying to find a Novomessor cockerelli queen this july.  From the journals i saw that they were found around the Mojave national preserve and can fly at night usually after a storm.  Has anyone identified any colonies or mating flights a little bit closer to san diego or orange county?  Thanks.

[PTAntFan]

Sid anyone catch sight of any rain yesterday? I would like to make my boys take me anting for papa’s day.

[NickAnter]

Yesterday, I caught two Hypoponera quens, and two Pheidole navigans queens, around noon.

[PTAntFan]

"Oh man there's a huge flight of every species you want here! Here is so great.  Lots here.  Here is the place to be right now."

 

<don't ask where "here" is because I won't answer>

 

Can the few of you doing that, please stop doing that?  please?

[AntPhycho]

Just caught 4 more P. californicus queens near Lucerne. 

Edited by AntPhycho, June 18 2019 - 7:02 PM.

[NickAnter]

"Oh man there's a huge flight of every species you want here! Here is so great.  Lots here.  Here is the place to be right now."

 

<don't ask where "here" is because I won't answer>

 

Can the few of you doing that, please stop doing that?  please?

I caught all my ants, except C. Hyatti in Northern Hunington Beach.  Either walking around, in a pool, or on a black light.

[dspdrew]

I was thinking about trying to find a Novomessor cockerelli queen this july.  From the journals i saw that they were found around the Mojave national preserve and can fly at night usually after a storm.  Has anyone identified any colonies or mating flights a little bit closer to san diego or orange county?  Thanks.

 
The furthest south I have found them is Essex.

 

Sid anyone catch sight of any rain yesterday? I would like to make my boys take me anting for papa’s day.

The only recent rain I noticed in Southern CA was in the Mojave National Preserve.