199 replies to this topic

[NickAnter]

Well, I did find a Strumigenys alate queen in my pool in HB.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Well, I did find a Strumigenys alate queen in my pool in HB.

Most likely Strumigenys membranifera.

[Broncos]

Has anyone noticed that half of these are about nearctic versions of tropical or subtropical species that ant keepers are just fantasizing about keeping? I mean, an arctic Attine? Canadian Cephalotes? High north Neivamyrmex? Not trying to be mean, just sayin'...

stop flaunting your amazing diversity which lets you sell psuedomyrmex and makes me sad

What do you mean? Cali has way more species than SC! Though, like a quarter of that is made up of Strumigenys alone...

california has amazing diversity. we have syscia, psuedomyrmex, stigmatomma, strumigenys, acromyrmex, cyphomyrmex, proceratium, dolopomyrmex, etc. It just so happens that all of these are rare, obscure ants that live in specific conditions and/or have only been found on several occasions.

Yea I went to a regional park today and I saw so many amazing ants that I’ve never seen before!!


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[NickAnter]

 

 

 

 

Has anyone noticed that half of these are about nearctic versions of tropical or subtropical species that ant keepers are just fantasizing about keeping? I mean, an arctic Attine? Canadian Cephalotes? High north Neivamyrmex? Not trying to be mean, just sayin'...

stop flaunting your amazing diversity which lets you sell psuedomyrmex and makes me sad

What do you mean? Cali has way more species than SC! Though, like a quarter of that is made up of Strumigenys alone...

california has amazing diversity. we have syscia, psuedomyrmex, stigmatomma, strumigenys, acromyrmex, cyphomyrmex, proceratium, dolopomyrmex, etc. It just so happens that all of these are rare, obscure ants that live in specific conditions and/or have only been found on several occasions.

Yea I went to a regional park today and I saw so many amazing ants that I’ve never seen before!!


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Which park and what species?

Edited by NickAnter, October 26 2019 - 7:21 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Pogonomyrmex Hypotheria
This ferocious ant from the tundra are capable of withstanding temperatures well below 0 hence their name. They harvest seeds like the normal pogonomyrmex but often have to substitute them with insects like mosquitoes and other hardy insects when it is winter. But to prevent this struggle to find seeds, they climb to the tops of every tree and plant to find and keep the seeds in their massive chamber (mainly in spring, summer, and the beginning of fall)! To make temperatures more suitable, they close the nest, then shake their bodies extremely fast and create an amazing temperature of about 80 degrees. These ants are polygonous and also polymorphic. They have minors, super majors, repletes for the winter, and a specialized ant for shaking and creating heat in the nest! This amazing ant has only been spotted once but we know its out there somewhere...

Why in the world would a harvester ant evolve repletes?

This is supposed to be a fun thread that takes no actual facts into consideration so chill jeez. Lol

[Kaelwizard]

Temnothorax pinicus - Pine Cone Ants

These tiny ants have evolved to withstand very cold temperatures and live in pine cones. They are only found in areas where any kind of needle leaf tree grows. They are active when Prenolepis imparis are and they are their only competition. They go through a short diapause in the summer and are the most active in the fall. They are strictly monogyne unlike some in their genus. They are also very nomadic and may have many satellite nests. The satellite nests surround a central nest. Usually a partially buried pine cone hence their name.

[AntsDakota]

Prenolepis imperialensis is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae and is considered a member of the Prenolepis imperialensis species complex. It inhabits grasslands, cropland, and suburban environments throughout the upper Midwest and Canada's Prairie Provinces. It is noted among biologists for its unusual aggressiveness and lack of estivation. Nuptial flights occur in early March to early April, and can consist of millions of participating alates. This species is polygynous, and mature colonies have been known to reach thirty to fifty thousand individual workers.

[AntsDakota]

Tetramorium flavicornis is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is a social parasite of species in the Tetramorium caespitum species complex. As its name suggests, it has a striking yellow coloration (flavo = yellow). Nuptial flights occur in early to mid June, where virgin queens infiltrate colonies from the T. caespitum complex. This species is polygynous, and multiple queens will often infiltrate the same nest, and are commonly in groups. Unlike other social parasites, these queens can be accepted by killing a worker above ground, and are welcomed into the nest without any confusion, making it exceptionally simple to raise in captivity. Queens will lay eggs within hours of being accepted and fed by the host colony. In North America, mixed colonies of T. flavicornis and T. immigrans are common, and the younger T. flavicornis workers will participate in inter-colonial wars for which the whole genus is well known. Behavior has very little variation from the T. caespitum complex, and therefore it is considered a common household pest and invasive species. Colonies with a single queen can often reach up to ten or twenty thousand workers, yet colonies with several dozen queens can reach hundreds of thousands. This species is native to eastern and southeastern Asia, where it inhabits all habitats from the cold, frozen plains of Siberia to the tropical rain forests of the Philipines and Indonesia and the Gobi Desert, making them extremely adaptable and hardy in almost every ecosystem they invade. However, their range is affected by their hosts' effectiveness of invading the area first.

[AntsDakota]

Camponotus mimicus is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It is noted for its unique polygynous behavior, in which nests are usually founded by multiple queens, and dealate queens are accepted into mature nests. Workers range from four to fifteen mm long, and queens are fourteen to seventeen mm. Nuptial flights occur in late May to early June. After mating, queens will congregate on high surfaces, such as trees and roofs of buildings, and then will tandem run as they search for a nesting site. The average number of queens in a mature colony is three, yet there are some colonies with only one queen, and several dozen have been found in others. Colonies with one to five queens may not get larger than twenty thousand individual workers, while colonies with more may have as many as several hundred thousand, depending on the number of queens the given nest has.

Edited by AntsDakota, November 10 2019 - 1:43 PM.

[AntsDakota]

Camponotus auroantiaco is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It is a social parasite of the species Camponotus mimicus. Workers are five to eight mm in length, while queens are ten to twelve mm. The species can be easily distinguished from their hosts by their bright orange coloration, hence their name.

[Manitobant]

Odontomachus luminescens

Odontomachus luminescens is one of the strangest and most interesting ants out there. It is native to southeast asia and is strictly arboreal. The species is also nocturnal, very slender and has extremely oversized trap jaws, which are almost twice the size of the ants head. But by far the most spectacular thing about this species is its bioluminescent gaster, which shimmers yellow like that of a firefly. The ants will venture out of the nest at dusk and form clusters of about 20 ants each at different sections of the nest tree. They will then raise their gasters and oversized jaws and wait for small insects like moths to come to the light. When they do, they are instantly met with the snapping jaws of one or more ants depending on how large the prey is. A large colony can catch over a hundred insects on a good night, including the alates of other ant species. This species also has a very unique mating strategy which involves queens forming clusters and attracting males with pheromones and bioluminescence. The queens will then fly off and find a new tree where they will either found a colony by themselves or emit a different pheromone and light up their gaster to attract other queens of the same species and found polygynous colonies.

Edited by Manitobant, November 10 2019 - 6:42 PM.

[AntsDakota]

Odontomachus gigas is a species of ant in the subfamily Ponerinae. This species is well noted among biologists for its polymorphic and polygynous behavior. Workers are four to twenty-eight mm in length, while queens are twenty-six to twenty-nine mm. Nuptial flights occur from early June to early July. This species is aggressive and invasive, and can grow quite large, some colonies reaching over fifty thousand members. 

[AntsDakota]

Psuedolasius dakotensis is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It inhabits the grasslands, croplands, and suburban environments of the Upper Midwest and Canada's Prairie Provinces. Like other species in the genus, it is polymorphic. However it is notably larger than other species, with queens reaching up to fifteen mm long. Majors can be even larger, up to twenty-two mm in length. Nuptial flights occur from late July to mid August. Dealate queens often found nests together, and biologists have conducted studies which have displayed their success in groups as opposed to individuals. colonies can reach several hundred thousand workers, and queens have a unique tendency to become overly physogastric. Their queens have the highest rate of physogastrism ever recorded in ants, and even succeeding some termites. Minors also can become repletes, which makes the species even more favorable to the eye. 

[AntsDakota]

Stigmatomma mystica is a species of ant in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. It inhabits the Amazon Rainforest of South America. It is well known for its ability to have multiple gamergates in a nest, which can proliferate infinitely if the colony is given that opportunity. Workers are four to six mm in length. Gamergates vary little from the workers. This species has no nuptial flights, and males are released throughout the year to mate with new gamergates in different nests. Like other Stigmatomma, it practices larval hemolymph feeding, from which workers gain all sustenance.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

The amazon caught on fire... So this would defiantly be a species in the Neo-ant keeping world. After ant war I for sure  

[ponerinecat]

Stigmatomma mystica is a species of ant in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. It inhabits the Amazon Rainforest of South America. It is well known for its ability to have multiple gamergates in a nest, which can proliferate infinitely if the colony is given that opportunity. Workers are four to six mm in length. Gamergates vary little from the workers. This species has no nuptial flights, and males are released throughout the year to mate with new gamergates in different nests. Like other Stigmatomma, it practices larval hemolymph feeding, from which workers gain all sustenance.

One subgenus of stigmatomma does actually have gamergates. Also, gamergates differing little from workers is kind of a bad comparism, as gamergates ARE workers.

[AntsDakota]

 

Stigmatomma mystica is a species of ant in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. It inhabits the Amazon Rainforest of South America. It is well known for its ability to have multiple gamergates in a nest, which can proliferate infinitely if the colony is given that opportunity. Workers are four to six mm in length. Gamergates vary little from the workers. This species has no nuptial flights, and males are released throughout the year to mate with new gamergates in different nests. Like other Stigmatomma, it practices larval hemolymph feeding, from which workers gain all sustenance.

One subgenus of stigmatomma does actually have gamergates. Also, gamergates differing little from workers is kind of a bad comparism, as gamergates ARE workers.

 

Sorry, I meant to say 'regular workers'.  

Edited by AntsDakota, November 12 2019 - 5:26 PM.

[AntsDakota]

One subgenus of stigmatomma does actually have gamergates. 

 

 

 

That is exactly why I chose Stigmatomma for the genus. Diacama are too large and primitive, and I figured I had better go with something more familiar.

Edited by AntsDakota, November 12 2019 - 5:28 PM.

[AntsDakota]

Psuedolasius dakotensis is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It inhabits the grasslands, croplands, and suburban environments of the Upper Midwest and Canada's Prairie Provinces. Like other species in the genus, it is polymorphic. However it is notably larger than other species, with queens reaching up to fifteen mm long. Majors can be even larger, up to twenty-two mm in length. Nuptial flights occur from late July to mid August. Dealate queens often found nests together, and biologists have conducted studies which have displayed their success in groups as opposed to individuals. colonies can reach several hundred thousand workers, and queens have a unique tendency to become overly physogastric. Their queens have the highest rate of physogastrism ever recorded in ants, and even succeeding some termites. Minors also can become repletes, which makes the species even more favorable to the eye. 

If I ever were to genetically engineer an ant, this would be it due to its simplicity (and its coolness). If it was approved for out-of-state shipping, it would make much money. Beside- who wants boring old honey pots when they can have MAJORS and are POLYGYNOUS! 

[ponerinecat]

Off topic but I just realized some one celled organisms are bigger than ants.