20 replies to this topic

[DIACAMMAWORLDCOOL]

Here is an ant probably worker cause I saw another such ant near the place I caught this one, though at first I thought it was a queen.
Found under a log.
 

 

 

[KitsAntVa]

I need a better picture of the thorax, not to identify it but I think it may be a queen because of the thorax shape.

[Kaelwizard]

I believe it is some kind of ponerine. Not sure what genus.

[Manitobant]

That might actually be a queen, and it appears to be a ponerine.

[Kaelwizard]

I see wing scars. Congrats.

[antsandmore]

Here is an ant probably worker cause I saw another such ant near the place I caught this one, though at first I thought it was a queen.
Found under a log.
 

you should have caught the other one too because if this is a queen, that would probably be a queen

[ParadoxAnts]

Those mandibles look vicious. I imagine the bite would not feel good 

[Manitobant]

I'm guessing that both the ants he saw were queens founding together. Pleometrosis is known in ponerines.

[DIACAMMAWORLDCOOL]

Oh but I kept her for like 2 weeks and still I can't see eggs.

[Kaelwizard]

Oh but I kept her for like 2 weeks and still I can't see eggs.

She could just be taking a while to lay. It's definitely a queen though. If you zoom in on the pic you can see wing scars. It's also just really bulky compared to what a worker would most likely look like.

Edited by Kaelwizard, January 8 2021 - 4:13 AM.

[KitsAntVa]

You need to feed her

[Ferox_Formicae]

Not a queen. The eyes are too small, ommatidia are not present, and the layout of the mesosoma is all off, with the pronotum being too large, and the overall mesosoma being too small. For species, I'd go with Mesoponera melanaris. Even though she is a worker, she may still lay fertile eggs, as Ponerines are less derived in their reproduction. Keep us updated if you do decide to keep her!

[Swirlysnowflake]

Not a queen. The eyes are too small, ommatidia are not present, and the layout of the mesosoma is all off, with the pronotum being too large, and the overall mesosoma being too small. For species, I'd go with Mesoponera melanaris. Even though she is a worker, she may still lay fertile eggs, as Ponerines are less derived in their reproduction. Keep us updated if you do decide to keep her!

Huh really? I for sure thought I saw wing scars!

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

Not a queen. The eyes are too small, ommatidia are not present, and the layout of the mesosoma is all off, with the pronotum being too large, and the overall mesosoma being too small. For species, I'd go with Mesoponera melanaris. Even though she is a worker, she may still lay fertile eggs, as Ponerines are less derived in their reproduction. Keep us updated if you do decide to keep her!

Huh really? I for sure thought I saw wing scars!

 

Yeah, Ponerines are tricky. Even I struggle sometimes.

[Kaelwizard]

 

 

Not a queen. The eyes are too small, ommatidia are not present, and the layout of the mesosoma is all off, with the pronotum being too large, and the overall mesosoma being too small. For species, I'd go with Mesoponera melanaris. Even though she is a worker, she may still lay fertile eggs, as Ponerines are less derived in their reproduction. Keep us updated if you do decide to keep her!

Huh really? I for sure thought I saw wing scars!

 

Yeah, Ponerines are tricky. Even I struggle sometimes.

 

Jeez. I was so sure too...

[ponerinecat]

Not a queen. The eyes are too small, ommatidia are not present, and the layout of the mesosoma is all off, with the pronotum being too large, and the overall mesosoma being too small. For species, I'd go with Mesoponera melanaris. Even though she is a worker, she may still lay fertile eggs, as Ponerines are less derived in their reproduction. Keep us updated if you do decide to keep her!

How are you separating this from manni? The only notable difference I can find is location, petiole, and size, none of which are very obvious here. As for her caste, I do believe this is a queen. The picture provided is insufficient to derive how large the eyes are, ommatidia not being present makes no sense as ommatidia refers to an individual unit of the compound eye. I can't find any sort of blind Mesoponera, and the species you suggested certainly does have eyes. If you meant ocelli, they are present and one of the only things that are obvious in this picture. They blend in with the head, but can still be seen as bumps on the top of the head. Workers don't have that. Alitrunk proportions look fine to me as well, although admittedly the angle isn't really ideal for comparing something like that.

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

Not a queen. The eyes are too small, ommatidia are not present, and the layout of the mesosoma is all off, with the pronotum being too large, and the overall mesosoma being too small. For species, I'd go with Mesoponera melanaris. Even though she is a worker, she may still lay fertile eggs, as Ponerines are less derived in their reproduction. Keep us updated if you do decide to keep her!

How are you separating this from manni? The only notable difference I can find is location, petiole, and size, none of which are very obvious here. As for her caste, I do believe this is a queen. The picture provided is insufficient to derive how large the eyes are, ommatidia not being present makes no sense as ommatidia refers to an individual unit of the compound eye. I can't find any sort of blind Mesoponera, and the species you suggested certainly does have eyes. If you meant ocelli, they are present and one of the only things that are obvious in this picture. They blend in with the head, but can still be seen as bumps on the top of the head. Workers don't have that. Alitrunk proportions look fine to me as well, although admittedly the angle isn't really ideal for comparing something like that.

 

I'm separating this from manni based on location, though I suppose manni is certainly an option here, so it's probably best to leave this at genus for now. And yes, I did mean ocelli. Guess I'm a bit rusty with ant anatomy. I do now see the ocelli you mentioned. I saw those originally, but did not think of them as ocelli, as many of the specimens on AntWeb seem to have something similar. I was referring to this as a queen due to the resemblance of the pronotal and mesonotal dorsum resembling that of other Ponerine workers and due to it's smaller size, but I do see how I could've been wrong here, and this certainly could be a queen. I'd prefer to see some profile shots of the body, but I'd assume this is a queen. Thanks for the correction.

[KitsAntVa]

we still do need a good thorax pic tho..

[DIACAMMAWORLDCOOL]

Ok here's what happened-

I released the queen, yeah a week before I posted the topic I had released the (queen?)thinking it was a worker.

It was a woods a bit far from my home. Anyway the reason I released it was when I checked the place again I found a another same sp. ant so I thought the ant was a worker and there was a colony nearby .And I came back. Now I think its a queen I went back and searched the same place again and found another(queen?)ant.

I fed it a termite and waiting for eggs(hopefully).And should I start a journal? probably after making sure this is a queen.

[Swirlysnowflake]

Ok here's what happened-

I released the queen, yeah a week before I posted the topic I had released the (queen?)thinking it was a worker.

It was a woods a bit far from my home. Anyway the reason I released it was when I checked the place again I found a another same sp. ant so I thought the ant was a worker and there was a colony nearby .And I came back. Now I think its a queen I went back and searched the same place again and found another(queen?)ant.

I fed it a termite and waiting for eggs(hopefully).And should I start a journal? probably after making sure this is a queen.

Do you have any picture of the other queen? And if it is a queen, please do make a journal.