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Mud Using ants?

Started By Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_* , May 6 2022 7:02 PM

Best Answer Daniel , May 6 2022 - 7:29 PM

Cyphomyrmex rimosus Go to the full post

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8 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_* - Posted May 6 2022 - 7:02 PM

Guests

Greetings!
Today I came across this neat ant nest(In low tree crevice), 90% beetle eletyra and 9% sticks and some dirt. Kinda gross to see so many beetle corpses…. Anyone straight to the point, I need an ID. They are a similar size to trachymyrmex, and shape, they are black, but I didn’t see any fungus, and almost NO brood.
I will attach photos and gather more workers tomorrow(I do have the queen but stopped as it was getting dark).

Ok, Photo time- I just need to know if I need to look for fungus or something like that(Sorry for over illuminating the ants, will try to find better photos of the batch, also they are smoky black)

Attached Images

#2 Offline Daniel - Posted May 6 2022 - 7:29 PM Best Answer

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LocationFort Mohave, Arizona

Cyphomyrmex rimosus

#3 Offline Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_* - Posted May 6 2022 - 8:00 PM

Guests

Great! Thanks for the ID! But I am still confused how to get their fungus… is it on brood? I have one pupae who is cover in something… that’s it.

In the google photos attached below, is that fungus on the pupae?

Attached Images

lazyant likes this

#4 Offline lazyant - Posted May 6 2022 - 8:01 PM

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I really don't have anything to add, so I will just say that nest must ave been a spectacle to see! As a beetle keeper ,I see many dead beetle corpses.

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"Loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix." -Comic book guy

#5 Offline Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_* - Posted May 6 2022 - 8:05 PM

Guests

I was so confused why they used so many beetles… it was quite a spectacular sight as long as you didn’t think of the amount of beetle deaths that went into that. Many colors ranging from yellow, red, and most commonly, jet black.

Edit to Journal: Sorry for saying fungus, it’s actually yeast

Edited by SolenopsisKeeper-, May 6 2022 - 8:57 PM.

#6 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 7 2022 - 2:31 AM

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LocationAlexandria, VA

There is an ID format pinned in the forum.

"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#7 Offline Manitobant - Posted May 7 2022 - 6:36 AM

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This is what cyphomyrmex fungus looks like. It isn’t the stuff on the pupae.

Attached Images

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 Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_* - Posted May 7 2022 - 8:02 AM

Guests

Would any worker have it in their social stomach? Or would I need to find a nest to get some

#9 Offline Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_* - Posted May 7 2022 - 8:08 AM

Guests

Also, is it green? I am looking through debris I collected with them, and their is certainly a lot of green things that looked like wrinkled up leaves… but they wouldn’t be green if they were leaves, as they would be dried out

Edit:
Added some of the green stuff, and the queen will occasionally pick some up and move it. Also, put in a twig I found in the debris with green stuff in it, and they are currently crowding round it. They also seem to adore keeping track of all the dead species of ants in the area. There is many ant heads including pheidole sp, Camponotus, and maybe even a Colobopsis head, although it may be a head without mandibles.

Edited by SolenopsisKeeper-, May 7 2022 - 8:27 AM.