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Connecticut Anting


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14 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Technomyrmex - Posted March 17 2020 - 6:34 AM

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Hello all,

With temps rising here in Connecticut I have noticed some ants starting to become active.

Excited to see how many species I can find locally! Will post my photos and observations here!

 

This week I found two species in front of my apartment building with nests along the sidewalk

 

Tetramorium immigrans

 

49652769898_8bf2c60421_b.jpg

49653307471_349599dc0e_b.jpg

 

Lasius neoniger

49653585592_d2cbb08b9f_b.jpg

 

49653307996_de7f558bd5_b.jpg


Edited by Technomyrmex, April 12 2020 - 7:06 PM.

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#2 Offline Technomyrmex - Posted March 17 2020 - 7:09 AM

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Here is a short video I made of the Lasius neoniger

 


Edited by Technomyrmex, March 28 2020 - 4:00 PM.

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#3 Offline Technomyrmex - Posted April 12 2020 - 7:00 PM

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Hi again,

I have been out anting a bit and trying to identify everything I find. My goal is to do a survey of all the local ants in my area.

So far I have found 12 different species but some are proving to be quite difficult to ID without a microscope. Microscope arrives next week!

 

Aphaenogaster rudis

49755029661_6096d1b55b_b.jpg

 

Tetramorium Immigrans

49705971587_598561a487_b.jpg

 

In the past couple weeks I have witnessed three different Tetramorium territory wars in locations around my apartment building..One was huge and contained hundreds of workers.

Here are two videos of the larger battle:

https://flic.kr/p/2iPL4se

https://flic.kr/p/2iPNyxP

(Sorry not sure how to embed this here?)

 

 

Formica pallidefulva

49699647882_2b1b9531de_c.jpg

49699339761_1638d9246c_c.jpg

 

Formica subsericea

49699339456_2758b48d1d_c.jpg

 

Lasius interjectus

49683310446_ede030d32d_b.jpg 

 
49682776673_978f0090f4_b.jpg
 
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Lasius aphidicola  (Queen)
I found this queen walking right past a nest entrance of Prenelopis imparis. From what I understand this species was formally L.umbratus here in the USA?
49744367147_94eb5abcd0_c.jpg
 
49744367107_c606ace9f7_c.jpg
 
Lasius sp."?"
Not far from this queen i found this colony of Lasius under a piece of pavement. They were tending to Aphids. Still not sure on an ID for this
species but it could perhaps also be aphidicola or may be even pallitarsis?
49747850111_83d7546617_b.jpg
 
49747851286_1edbbc3c80_c.jpg
 
49747299158_4c7654b448_b.jpg
 
Prenolepis imparis
April 7th Prenolepis imparis was flying here in Connecticut!
49748171867_54a433fd5b_b.jpg
 
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More soon!!
-Chris

Edited by Technomyrmex, April 12 2020 - 9:29 PM.

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#4 Offline AntsDakota - Posted April 13 2020 - 6:54 AM

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Lasius sp."?"

Not far from this queen i found this colony of Lasius under a piece of pavement. They were tending to Aphids. Still not sure on an ID for this
species but it could perhaps also be aphidicola or may be even pallitarsis?
49747850111_83d7546617_b.jpg
 
49747851286_1edbbc3c80_c.jpg
 
49747299158_4c7654b448_b.jpg

Lasius neoniger.


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"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#5 Offline NickAnter - Posted April 13 2020 - 7:40 AM

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Lasius sp."?"

Not far from this queen i found this colony of Lasius under a piece of pavement. They were tending to Aphids. Still not sure on an ID for this
species but it could perhaps also be aphidicola or may be even pallitarsis?
49747850111_83d7546617_b.jpg
 
49747851286_1edbbc3c80_c.jpg
 
49747299158_4c7654b448_b.jpg

Lasius neoniger.

 

You can't tell neoniger from pallitarsis with this image(though amazing). You have to look at the teeth on the mandibles, which is easiest with a microscope.


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#6 Offline ANTdrew - Posted April 13 2020 - 8:32 AM

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Amazing photos! What do you use??
"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 Technomyrmex - Posted April 13 2020 - 2:41 PM

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Amazing photos! What do you use??

Thanks ANTdrew! I use a Nikon D3300 and a Nikon 105mm F/2.8 macro lens with a Raynox DCR-250 attached at the end. Some of the photos were taken with a speedlight attached and some with just the cameras built in flash. I use a homemade diffuser to soften the light which is just some computer paper between a clear plastic sheet.

-Chris


Edited by Technomyrmex, April 13 2020 - 2:41 PM.


#8 Offline m99 - Posted March 5 2022 - 10:19 AM

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About ten days ago I was down in CT in the tristate area and we caught a nuptial flight of what I'm pretty sure were Crematogaster sp. based on body shape, but not sure. I didn't get a good look at her butt for the tear drop shape, but the overall profile was right. The other weird thing was she was completely monotone, sort of a dark molasses honey orange—where all pics of Crematogaster queens seem to include the two-tone body.

 

But whatever it was, it was flying!



#9 Offline ANTdrew - Posted March 5 2022 - 10:52 AM

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Dark molasses orange queens flying in March up north were almost certainly Prenolepis imparis.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#10 Offline m99 - Posted March 5 2022 - 11:21 AM

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No it definitely wasn't a preno. She was low and limousine-sleek like Crematogaster and tetramorium. No badonk or high carriage.

 

It was 40-60 degrees in the area at the time she wasn't even the only species out. Just the only queen I saw.

 

*edit* Actually I suppose that's a slim possibility based on a few pics of new and unfed preno queens, but I really don't think so. Their gaster is so distinctly rounded and lasius-like even when small, this lady's was not. It was longer and flatter, wish I'd snapped a pic at the time.

 

*edit edit* For reference based on the preno pics above, she was darker and redder, and a LOT more monotone. Those girls have the typical slight stripes with the exoskeleton on their abdomen, she didn't have anything like that, it was much more uniform. She was kinda uniformly jewel-like in the sun from head to tail.


Edited by m99, March 5 2022 - 11:33 AM.


#11 Offline m99 - Posted June 22 2022 - 10:31 AM

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S. molesta is flying like crazy in southern CT, been seeing nearly half a dozen queens around 4-7pm every time I've been in the area for a pool day the last couple weeks. But C. pennsylvanicus activity has fallen off a cliff, seems like they're done with their primary season that far south.

 

Also caught what I'm 90% sure was a Temnothorax sp. lady a few days ago, but I suspected at the time that she was unmated (still winged and very listless) and it seems that's the case and she didn't make it. I'm guessing she was an early launch and they'll start properly mating soon though.


Edited by m99, June 22 2022 - 10:34 AM.

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#12 Offline futurebird - Posted June 22 2022 - 2:11 PM

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I recently went to CT to visit my inlaws. I decided to go "anting" and see what ants I could find in the suburb. Here are two videos with narration about what I found. 

 

I'm a little worried about my identification of the species ... Criticism is welcome.

 

 


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Starting this July I'm posting videos of my ants every week on youTube.

I like to make relaxing videos that capture the joy of watching ants.

If that sounds like your kind of thing... follow me >here<


#13 Offline m99 - Posted June 22 2022 - 2:22 PM

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Oh my god I've never seen a pseudo-scorpion before, that totally explains the bizarre thing I saw running along the patio last weekend hahaha. How cool.


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#14 Offline ANTdrew - Posted June 22 2022 - 2:35 PM

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The small ants with the Tetramorium in the first video look like Nylanderia to me.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#15 Offline futurebird - Posted June 22 2022 - 4:22 PM

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Oh my god I've never seen a pseudo-scorpion before, that totally explains the bizarre thing I saw running along the patio last weekend hahaha. How cool.

 

They make nice pets apparently. There are some good videos from Clint's Reptiles about how to keep them. 

 

When I get around to making my multispecies vivarium I'd like to include a colony. The babies eat spring tails, the adults will eat small ants, and spiders! But they won't gobble a whole colony and steer clear of ant nests so they make a nice "natural predator" for smaller ants. 

They live all over the US, but are very cryptic. 

In South America there are pseudo-scorpions that live in colonies and hunt collectively. Amazing creatures. 


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Starting this July I'm posting videos of my ants every week on youTube.

I like to make relaxing videos that capture the joy of watching ants.

If that sounds like your kind of thing... follow me >here<





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