8 replies to this topic

[Canadian anter]

Hey there!

In these past couple years of anting/buying ants from suppliers across Canada, I've found that of all the Camponotus species, C. pennsylvanicus is by far the least prolific flier.

 

In Canada, there are places where you seem to be able to collect hundreds of queens (thousands if you tried) at once for Camponotus herculeanus, novaeborecensis, modoc, and nearcticus.

 

Some species are a bit more scarce, such as Camponotus subbarbatus, laevissimus, caryae, discolor, americanus, vicinus, but this "makes sense" since they seem to have much less dense populations or are tied to isolated regions or subhabitats of Canada.

 

What's strange though, is that Camponotus pennsylvanicus, which is dominant and widespread seems to fly in relatively much smaller numbers than the other species. I'm unsure if this is because they seem to be dominant in Southeast Canada, which is significantly urbanized, or whether it's a quirk of the species.

 

Any thoughts?

[Canadant]

I'm in Nova Scotia and have caught/seen pennsylvanicus but never experienced a nuptial flight like I have with novaeboracensis. Definitely a common ant though, especially around conifer forested areas.

[ANTdrew]

My impression is that pennsylvanicus stages multiple smaller flights instead of one big one like some of the other Camponotus species. May be a better way to hedge their bets, so to speak.

[T.C.]

My impression is that pennsylvanicus stages multiple smaller flights instead of one big one like some of the other Camponotus species. May be a better way to hedge their bets, so to speak.

I disagree. When I used to do heavy research, it was suggested large flights made more sense rather than small flights. Due to the overwhelming numbers of alates, it gave more opportunity for queens to get into their founding chambers. Smaller flights are more likely to to be picked off by birds, insects, other ants etc. There is safety in numbers. It's the same idea as war. Do you send out a few soldiers to be picked off or do you send out all of them so together they can deliver results.

[ANTdrew]

I understand where your reasoning is, but have you seen massive C. pennsylvanicus flights, or rather queens sporadically like the rest of us?

[T.C.]

I understand where your reasoning is, but have you seen massive C. pennsylvanicus flights, or rather queens sporadically like the rest of us?

Yes. But I believe the sparodic flights are due to not entirely ideal flight conditions. Some areas may have just the ideal amount of heat/humidity. About four years ago I tested temperature and humidity within a four mile radius in various locations within those four miles. You would not believe how much it can range. I have it saved somewhere, but some areas sat at 80 something degrees Fahrenheit while other areas weren't even in the mid 70's. On separate days, they all would be at 80's and even 90's. On days like this you would see mass flights. Especially in early June.

Edited by T.C., May 17 2022 - 3:34 PM.

[CheetoLord02]

Back in Chicagoland, I caught a major flight of C. pennsylvanicus where I was able to collect over 150 queens per hour of searching, as well as several smaller flights that yielded around 30 queens per hour. This was a small forest preserve with large populations of the species, and despite plenty of other ant diversity, this was the only large Camponotus species present there. I would always find the most queens after 8pm and before 11pm, although queens could be found wandering all night, and in founding chambers for months following.

[Canadian anter]

Back in Chicagoland, I caught a major flight of C. pennsylvanicus where I was able to collect over 150 queens per hour of searching, as well as several smaller flights that yielded around 30 queens per hour. This was a small forest preserve with large populations of the species, and despite plenty of other ant diversity, this was the only large Camponotus species present there. I would always find the most queens after 8pm and before 11pm, although queens could be found wandering all night, and in founding chambers for months following

Sorry in advance for the question bombardment...

 

Where there any specific conditions about this forest that made it different?

 

Was this something that you could find consistently, or just a one-off thing?

 

Would you say the size of this forest was different?

 

Could you note any species which also lived in the same area?

 

Where were you finding the queens? (e.g. on the ground, on trees, digging into logs)

 

Do you remember any specific details about the forest? (e.g. leaf litter cover, most dominant tree species, soil type, humidity, proximity to wetlands, proximity to urban centers/subrubs)

 

At most I have been able to collect 5-10 queens per hour of this species, and I have seen as much as 20 per hour. In contrast, some other species I have seen far more queens, and it seems strange that these have been the exception for me.

 

 

I understand where your reasoning is, but have you seen massive C. pennsylvanicus flights, or rather queens sporadically like the rest of us?

Yes. But I believe the sparodic flights are due to not entirely ideal flight conditions. Some areas may have just the ideal amount of heat/humidity. About four years ago I tested temperature and humidity within a four mile radius in various locations within those four miles. You would not believe how much it can range. I have it saved somewhere, but some areas sat at 80 something degrees Fahrenheit while other areas weren't even in the mid 70's. On separate days, they all would be at 80's and even 90's. On days like this you would see mass flights. Especially in early June.

 

I will agree with TC on the sporadic conditions within an area-- it's not a factor I was previously thinking about. Most of the areas near me with large pennsylvanicus populations are within ravines and particularly next to wetlands-- I typically have to select microclimates with warmer temperatures for blacklighting/collecting even within a given forest. Maybe collecting trips during flights are "flat" forests would be more fruitful.

 

I swear every year I have to add a dozen new factors to whether or not it's a good time/place to look for ants.

[CheetoLord02]

 

Where there any specific conditions about this forest that made it different?

 

Was this something that you could find consistently, or just a one-off thing?

 

Would you say the size of this forest was different?

 

Could you note any species which also lived in the same area?

 

Where were you finding the queens? (e.g. on the ground, on trees, digging into logs)

 

Do you remember any specific details about the forest? (e.g. leaf litter cover, most dominant tree species, soil type, humidity, proximity to wetlands, proximity to urban centers/subrubs)

 

At most I have been able to collect 5-10 queens per hour of this species, and I have seen as much as 20 per hour. In contrast, some other species I have seen far more queens, and it seems strange that these have been the exception for me.

 

 

The forest was nothing special, and also quite small at only around half a square mile. Just your standard midwestern US forest, quite flat and with various trees. I couldn't note any specific tree being more common, as I never paid much attention to the plants there.

I'm not entirely sure about consistency, as I only anted in that area for around 2 years, but I found C. pennsylvanicus queens there every year, especially in founding chambers post-flights.

The general diversity of the forest was a substantial Aphaenogaster population (A. rudis, fulva, and tennesseensis), sporadic Myrmica and Aphaenogaster, various cryptics, both fusca and pallidefulva-group Formica, and Camponotus nearcticus, subbarbatus, pennyslvanicus, and americanus (althought the only C. americanus individual I ever found was a single dealate queen.)

The queens were generally located along the paths in the forest, however a few queens could be seen on low hanging tree branches or fallen logs.

The forest had a small creek running through it. The soil was almost entirely clay. There was copious amounts of leaf litter, especially in given areas. There was maybe slight elevation changes in certain areas, but nothing too significant. 

I'm sure other midwestern anters, especially from the chicagoland area, have similar experiences with C. pennsylvanicus flights, as I remember others in my area also noting the extreme abundance of C. pennsylvanicus, especially during flight season.