204 replies to this topic

[AntsExodus]

Yeah I looked through the differences and it is definitely Hypoponera opacior. I checked them out on Inaturalist and there was only 2 records of them last year!

Edited by AntsExodus, May 8 2020 - 6:47 AM.

[AntsDakota]

Hmm........ I wonder if mine were Hypoponera.........

[AntsExodus]

My Aphenogaster rudis colony has alate pupae! I am so excited cause they only have 100 workers and around 2 years old! This is my first time seeing alates in a captive colony with my own eyes so I am so excited!

 

My Hypoponera opacior colony definitely has 9 queens cause they laid a huge batch of around 100-200 eggs!

[AntsDakota]

My Hypoponera opacior colony definitely has 9 queens cause they laid a huge batch of around 100-200 eggs!

Wait- how many workers does the colony have?

[AntsDakota]

Yeah I looked through the differences and it is definitely Hypoponera opacior. I checked them out on Inaturalist and there was only 2 records of them last year!

And also, what differences could you see?

[AntsExodus]

They have around 50 workers

[AntsExodus]

The Hypoponera opacior is more bulkier than Ponera pennsylvanica and Ponera has red on their tip but Hypoponera opacior do not.

[AntsDakota]

They have around 50 workers

Wow. Any idea how large these colonies get?

[AntsDakota]

The Hypoponera opacior is more bulkier than Ponera pennsylvanica and Ponera has red on their tip but Hypoponera opacior do not.

I'm seeing a very small and barely noticeable amount of red on mine, yet some photos of Hypoponera have an equivalent amount of red as mine. I'll have to get a closer look at a worker.

 

Edit: Never mind, they're Ponera.

Edited by AntsDakota, May 8 2020 - 8:21 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

The Hypoponera opacior is more bulkier than Ponera pennsylvanica and Ponera has red on their tip but Hypoponera opacior do not.

I'm seeing a very small and barely noticeable amount of red on mine, yet some photos of Hypoponera have an equivalent amount of red as mine. I'll have to get a closer look at a worker.

Edit: Never mind, they're Ponera.

Hypoponera opacior are extremely variable, some being orange or red. The only way to distinguish Hypoponera from Ponera (physically) is one protrusion on the underside of the petiol, with a round pothole, like a puncture through the petiol that is only visible under high magnification. However, I find that Ponera pennsylvanica are usually monogyne.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, May 8 2020 - 12:24 PM.

[AntsDakota]

 

 

The Hypoponera opacior is more bulkier than Ponera pennsylvanica and Ponera has red on their tip but Hypoponera opacior do not.

I'm seeing a very small and barely noticeable amount of red on mine, yet some photos of Hypoponera have an equivalent amount of red as mine. I'll have to get a closer look at a worker.
 
Edit: Never mind, they're Ponera.

Hypoponera opacior are extremely variable, some being orange or red. The only way to distinguish Hypoponera from Ponera (physically) are two punctures on the underside of the thorax, only visible under high magnification. However, I find that Ponera pennsylvanica are usually monogyne.

 

Many of my colonies have been polygynous.

[TennesseeAnts]

The Hypoponera opacior is more bulkier than Ponera pennsylvanica and Ponera has red on their tip but Hypoponera opacior do not.

I'm seeing a very small and barely noticeable amount of red on mine, yet some photos of Hypoponera have an equivalent amount of red as mine. I'll have to get a closer look at a worker.
 
Edit: Never mind, they're Ponera.

Hypoponera opacior are extremely variable, some being orange or red. The only way to distinguish Hypoponera from Ponera (physically) are two punctures on the underside of the thorax, only visible under high magnification. However, I find that Ponera pennsylvanica are usually monogyne.

Many of my colonies have been polygynous.

Those are most likely H. opacior then.

[AntsDakota]

 

 

 

 

The Hypoponera opacior is more bulkier than Ponera pennsylvanica and Ponera has red on their tip but Hypoponera opacior do not.

I'm seeing a very small and barely noticeable amount of red on mine, yet some photos of Hypoponera have an equivalent amount of red as mine. I'll have to get a closer look at a worker.
 
Edit: Never mind, they're Ponera.

Hypoponera opacior are extremely variable, some being orange or red. The only way to distinguish Hypoponera from Ponera (physically) are two punctures on the underside of the thorax, only visible under high magnification. However, I find that Ponera pennsylvanica are usually monogyne.

Many of my colonies have been polygynous.

Those are most likely H. opacior then.

A couple years ago I found two small colonies a few dealates, and stuck them all in the same tube together. There was no aggression whatsoever.

[TennesseeAnts]

Hmm. Interesting.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, May 8 2020 - 10:24 AM.

[AntsDakota]

Thanks.

Edited by AntsDakota, May 8 2020 - 10:32 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Thanks. Although something went wrong with the quote there..............

Yeah, I sorta fixed it...

[Ferox_Formicae]

As was stated by Ant_Dude, the only real way to distinguish Hypoponera from Ponera is to examine the underside of the petiole (most easily done with very high magnification and with the metacoxae moved out of the way). "Petiole, in side view, with lobe-like subpetiolar process that has a circular, often translucent thin spot (window) toward the front, and two small, sharp teeth or angles projecting posteriorly. (Fisher & Cover, 2007) Here is a drawing from the aforementioned Fisher & Cover key showing a comparison between Ponera and Hypoponera.

 

[AntsExodus]

Lol I don't even have a microscope so I can't do this 

[AntsExodus]

So the colony I found before that I thought was Proceratium but actually I took some time and identified them as Solenopsis carolinses! I caught three queens and a thousand workers and put them in a formicarium. Had to modify it cause the ants are escape artists and keep escaping. I also caught 8 more queens for the Hypoponera colony and around 20 more workers and added them all together! They are I guess highly very polygenous.

[AntsDakota]

Nice! Around here, Solenopsis molesta are everywhere. I can catch hundreds of queens at a time during their nuptial flights.