22 replies to this topic

[Works4TheGood]

Location of collection:  My suburban home in State College, PA

Date of collection:  8/14/15 (yesterday)

Habitat of Collection:  Most were just flying through my yard, or landing on my driveway.

Length:  See photos showing penny.

 

I'm guessing that the 2nd queen species is Solenopsis molesta again.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 

[Ants4fun]

Lasius sp. I believe fully cloustral.and Solenopsis molesta.

[ctantkeeper]

the two pictures on the right are of Solenopsis molesta (thief ant).  the other one is some type of lasius but i am not sure what it is exactly. my best guess would be lasius flavus.

[LC3]

Looks like L.umbratus to me but I doubt my guess is anywhere close.

[Jonathan21700]

No not a parasitic species. I guess this is some kind of Lasius with yellow workers.

[Works4TheGood]

Hey this is great!  My first non-parasitic Lasius!!!  Thanks you guys!

[Works4TheGood]

So how did you folks know that this was a Lasius and not a Camponotus? Or anything else for that matter? What gave it away?

Edited by Works4TheGood, August 16 2015 - 6:30 PM.

[William. T]

Camponotus fly early this season. That makes it not Camponotus for sure.

[oz646]

Really Camponotus fly all year for me. But, Camponotus  is way bigger then lasius. They are one of biggest queens in North America. They have more proportionate heads as well. There are a lot of fine details as well that differentiate them. Petiole needles, color, thorax/gaster sizes ect. 

[Works4TheGood]

I believe that this is Lasius neoniger. The eyes are too large to be L. flavus. Also,the mesosoma is pretty rounded, and I seem to remember these coming out of the grass, which would automatically exclude L. alienus.

Edited by Works4TheGood, August 17 2015 - 8:51 PM.

[William. T]

I believe that this is Lasius neoniger. The eyes are too large to be L. flavus. Also,the mesosoma is pretty rounded, and I seem to remember these coming out of the grass, which would automatically exclude L. alienus.

Lasius queens fly at the same time and all look the same. The workers are more accurate.

[Works4TheGood]

Excellent point!  I'll wait for more detailed identification when the workers appear.

[William. T]

Excellent point!  I'll wait for more detailed identification when the workers appear.

You got to wait..........until next spring. The queens need to be hibernated soon.

[Works4TheGood]

I thought they only had to hibernate for a month or two. No? My plan was to hibernate them Jan and Feb. Wouldn't they have workers before then? That's like 120 days of doing nothing and then they sleep for an additional 60 days. Sounds like a psychiatric experiment in sensory deprivation to me!

[LC3]

I think they need to hibernate before laying eggs, who knows maybe the will lay eggs before you hibernate them. 

[William. T]

I thought they only had to hibernate for a month or two. No? My plan was to hibernate them Jan and Feb. Wouldn't they have workers before then? That's like 120 days of doing nothing and then they sleep for an additional 60 days. Sounds like a psychiatric experiment in sensory deprivation to me!

Sorry. That's life for fall flying Lasius. They won't produce any eggs if there is no hibernation. 

[Works4TheGood]

Bummer.  So I guess I should expect absolutely nothing from my queens for 6 months.  Does "Lasius" derive from the Greek word for "Lazy" by chance?  ... ... bad joke.

[William. T]

Bummer.  So I guess I should expect absolutely nothing from my queens for 6 months.  Does "Lasius" derive from the Greek word for "Lazy" by chance?  ... ... bad joke.

Sorru. On the bright side, anything that flies in the fall can't lay eggs for 6 months, so you have a lot of singe queens to keep yours company.

[Works4TheGood]

They're all laying eggs now.  I thought they weren't supposed to do this until they've hibernated 

 

 

Excellent point!  I'll wait for more detailed identification when the workers appear.

You got to wait..........until next spring. The queens need to be hibernated soon.

 

They're all laying eggs now.  I'm confused - don't they need to hibernate first?   

[William. T]

They're all laying eggs now.  I thought they weren't supposed to do this until they've hibernated 

 

 

Excellent point!  I'll wait for more detailed identification when the workers appear.

You got to wait..........until next spring. The queens need to be hibernated soon.

 

They're all laying eggs now.  I'm confused - don't they need to hibernate first?   

You are lucky. I don' think the eggs will make it to hibernation, though.  

Edited by William. T, August 24 2015 - 5:28 PM.