1. Location of collection: Indianapolis, IN USA. Found on pavement of my front porch
2. Date of collection: 6/10/21
3. Habitat of collection: Lightly wooded suburban area, found on front porch
4. Length : 14-15 mm
5. Coloration, hue, pattern and texture : Rust red gaster and head with darker red thorax
6. Distinguishing characteristics: red color and large size
7. Anything else distinctive (ie: odor, behavior, characteristics relative to others in the colony, etc.). One of the armor plates of the gaster has been broken and its...guts?...are visible. The ant was like this before capture, I was very careful when coaxing it into the tube. It seems mostly unaffected, it was moving about and was quite lively upon capture.
8. Nest description: I see a lot of workers from this species on my front porch so I assume a nest is close by.
9. Nuptial flight time and date (if you witnessed the ant or it's colony having a nuptial flight or caught an alate you are confident was flying that day or time) Collected 6/10 with wings already removed so most likely a day or two before then.
Was the injury on her thorax (pictured above) likely a scar from battle? Will she be able to heal or survive it?
Answered
