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Gliding ants

Started By OhNoNotAgain , Nov 12 2020 12:00 PM

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#1 Offline OhNoNotAgain - Posted November 12 2020 - 12:00 PM

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Gliding ants came up on one of the discords today. This is a good article on the topic.

 

https://www.berkeley...2/09_ants.shtml

 

A slightly more recent article (but old enough some videos don't work):

 

https://insider.si.e...unusual-flight/

 

Wiki article:

 

https://en.wikipedia...iki/Gliding_ant (was surprised to see Camponotus in the list ... though presumably only applies to arboreal Camponotus)

 

Cephalotes "turtle" ants are apparently the most famous of the gliding ants. When falling off a tree, they use visual cues to find the tree trunk, then glide backwards to it. If they bounce off they do a hairpin turn and try again.


Edited by OhNoNotAgain, November 12 2020 - 12:01 PM.

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Past & Present

Veromessor pergandei, andrei, stoddardi; Novomessor cockerelli

Camponotus fragilis, Camponotus sansabeanus (inactive), vicinus, laevigatus/quercicola, CA02

Pogonomyrmex subnitidus, P. californicus (inactive)

Liometopum occidentale (inactive); Prenolepis imparis; Myrmecocystus mexicanus (inactive); Tetramorium sp. (inactive);  Lasius sp.

 

Termites: Zootermopsis angusticollis, and a box of drywood termites that can't be seen

Isopods: (most no longer keeping) A. gestroi, granulatum, kluugi, maculatum, vulgare; C. murina; P. hoffmannseggi, P. haasi, P. ornatus; V. parvus, P. pruinosus, T. tomentosa

Spoods: (no longer keeping) Phidippus sp., other

#2 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted November 12 2020 - 12:03 PM

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cephalotes atratus(darth vader ants) are my dream ant to keep! they look so cool!


Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8

My Ant Shop Here I have PPQ-526 permits to ship ants nationwide

Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)

My Formica sp. Journal

My Lasius sp. Journal

My Micro Ants Journal

#3 Offline ponerinecat - Posted November 12 2020 - 12:24 PM

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cephalotes atratus(darth vader ants) are my dream ant to keep! they look so cool!

What about alforoi. Better atratus, you can't change my mind.


#4 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted November 12 2020 - 3:16 PM

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cephalotes atratus(darth vader ants) are my dream ant to keep! they look so cool!

What about alforoi. Better atratus, you can't change my mind.

 

? i must be missing something. are you talking about cephalotes alforoi? because i can't find any species named that. 


Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8

My Ant Shop Here I have PPQ-526 permits to ship ants nationwide

Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)

My Formica sp. Journal

My Lasius sp. Journal

My Micro Ants Journal

#5 Offline OhNoNotAgain - Posted November 12 2020 - 3:35 PM

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cephalotes atratus(darth vader ants) are my dream ant to keep! they look so cool!

What about alforoi. Better atratus, you can't change my mind.

 

? i must be missing something. are you talking about cephalotes alforoi? because i can't find any species named that. 

 

 

Presumably C. alfaroi https://www.antwiki....halotes_alfaroi

 

Though I also found Azteca alferi (apparently was once misspelled "alforoi"), which do cool plant gardening. https://www.alexande...eca/i-MgXZPXh/A


Past & Present

Veromessor pergandei, andrei, stoddardi; Novomessor cockerelli

Camponotus fragilis, Camponotus sansabeanus (inactive), vicinus, laevigatus/quercicola, CA02

Pogonomyrmex subnitidus, P. californicus (inactive)

Liometopum occidentale (inactive); Prenolepis imparis; Myrmecocystus mexicanus (inactive); Tetramorium sp. (inactive);  Lasius sp.

 

Termites: Zootermopsis angusticollis, and a box of drywood termites that can't be seen

Isopods: (most no longer keeping) A. gestroi, granulatum, kluugi, maculatum, vulgare; C. murina; P. hoffmannseggi, P. haasi, P. ornatus; V. parvus, P. pruinosus, T. tomentosa

Spoods: (no longer keeping) Phidippus sp., other

#6 Offline ponerinecat - Posted November 12 2020 - 4:17 PM

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Yeah, Cephalotes alfaroi.


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#7 Offline Manitobant - Posted November 12 2020 - 5:27 PM

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Atratus are f*cking huge though. Queens are 25mm
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My journals:

Polyergus Mexicanus: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry175528
Lasius minutus: https://www.formicul...cs/#entry174811
Lasius latipes: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry206449
General acanthomyops journal: https://www.formicul...yops-with-eggs/

#8 Offline ponerinecat - Posted November 12 2020 - 5:48 PM

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Alfaroi workers are 8 mm, compared to atratus at around 6.25. We don't have queen specs of alfaroi, but since the two are closely related, we can assume that represents that alfaroi have even larger queens.


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#9 Offline Spazmops - Posted November 12 2020 - 6:05 PM

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Glad to see Cephalotes getting some love, that's been my profile pic on this site since I learned how to have a profile pic.


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Co-owner and founder of Mountain Myrmeculture and The Menagerie Discord Server. 

Ants I have:

1 Formica fusca group- 0 workers

1 Tetramorium immigrans colony-20 workers

1 Dorymyrmex insanus- 1 queen, used to have workers

 

1 large P. occidentalis colony- around 50 workers, plenty of brood

 

 

#10 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted November 13 2020 - 6:13 AM

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Alfaroi workers are 8 mm, compared to atratus at around 6.25. We don't have queen specs of alfaroi, but since the two are closely related, we can assume that represents that alfaroi have even larger queens.

for that size difference i would love to have a colony of alfaroi! 


Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8

My Ant Shop Here I have PPQ-526 permits to ship ants nationwide

Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)

My Formica sp. Journal

My Lasius sp. Journal

My Micro Ants Journal

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