49 replies to this topic

[Ants_Dakota]

Excellent video rptraut, your colonies love for chicken are yet another motivator for me to try that food source out; I just can't seem to remember it whenever I walk into the grocery store! I agree with you, it does appear that L. americanus workers are larger than L. neoniger, at least slightly, and this difference is noticeable in nanitic form if you look at the images in my previous post. Logically, why would a smaller L. neoniger queen have larger nanitics than a larger L. neoniger queen? It does not make sense. I have a few other journals to update or create first, but one of these days I will post an ID guide, when the weather permits and is sunny, on the differences between L. neoniger and L. americanus and settle this question once and for all. That thread you linked was very helpful as well; I especially appreciated the discussion of plastic vs mason jar culture container as I am considering going with the Por Amor method as well. I guess I can now say I am famous on youtube!

[RushmoreAnts]

Logically, why would a smaller L. neoniger queen have larger nanitics than a larger L. neoniger queen? It does not make sense.

Parasitic species as a rule (with few exceptions) have smaller queens than their hosts and larger workers than their hosts.

[Ants_Dakota]

 

Logically, why would a smaller L. neoniger queen have larger nanitics than a larger L. neoniger queen? It does not make sense.

Parasitic species as a rule (with few exceptions) have smaller queens than their hosts and larger workers than their hosts.

 

Correct, but I am speaking of claustral Lasius here, which are quite different.

[RushmoreAnts]

 

 

Logically, why would a smaller L. neoniger queen have larger nanitics than a larger L. neoniger queen? It does not make sense.

Parasitic species as a rule (with few exceptions) have smaller queens than their hosts and larger workers than their hosts.

 

Correct, but I am speaking of claustral Lasius here, which are quite different.

 

Different species have different proportions; there doesn't have to be a sensible pattern to it.

[Izzy]

Great updates and pictures, also I love Josh's Frogs. I get their large mealworms (they're almost super worm size) and I love freezing their crickets because the crickets from Petco are absolutely horrible and always dead and super dried out to the point my ants won't touch them. I know they feed the large mealworms some kind of hormone to prevent them from molting, I always wonder if stuff like that could make it into the ants diet though, but so far I've had good luck. Have you tried those?

 

I'm inclined to think its a Lasius americanus as well. I found a queen I'm pretty sure is one this year (when I usually never find Lasius till later Summer) in a forested area and she seemed very similar to yours. Her coloration appeared a little bit darker on the gaster than the Lasius neoniger I see. Although I'm not expert, I came to a similar conclusion as you. I guess we'll have to compare when workers arrive.

[RushmoreAnts]

Lasius crypticus and niger should also be taken into consideration for both of you, and Izzy there are likely other species native to Utah I am not familiar with that should be investigated as well.

[Ants_Dakota]

Great updates and pictures, also I love Josh's Frogs. I get their large mealworms (they're almost super worm size) and I love freezing their crickets because the crickets from Petco are absolutely horrible and always dead and super dried out to the point my ants won't touch them. I know they feed the large mealworms some kind of hormone to prevent them from molting, I always wonder if stuff like that could make it into the ants diet though, but so far I've had good luck. Have you tried those?

 

I'm inclined to think its a Lasius americanus as well. I found a queen I'm pretty sure is one this year (when I usually never find Lasius till later Summer) in a forested area and she seemed very similar to yours. Her coloration appeared a little bit darker on the gaster than the Lasius neoniger I see. Although I'm not expert, I came to a similar conclusion as you. I guess we'll have to compare when workers arrive.

Thank you! Yeah I have heard a lot of good things about Josh's Frogs as well, I think the only thing stopping me from buying from them is my assumption that the shipping might be high, but I have not adequately researched that. I have fed colonies in the past both large mealworms and superworms, but I have never heard of those type that don't molt. The issue is my Lasius colonies will not take mealworms as readily as fruit flies (or at all, really), and are not large enough to go through like 50 mealworms in a year, so I have just stuck with a few crickets from the pet store here and there and fruit flies.

I look forward to seeing more about that queen you caught!

[Ants_Dakota]

Lasius crypticus and niger should also be taken into consideration for both of you, and Izzy there are likely other species native to Utah I am not familiar with that should be investigated as well.

Lasius crypticus can really only be ID'ed with a microscope, but in general they appear to be more shiny and smooth; similar to L. brevicornis but darker. This is not definitive however. Here is a comparison:

 

 

Lasius crypticus ID'ed by AnthonyP. Note the color variation between the thorax and the abdomen.

 

 

My queen. Although she may appear shiny, this is because the camera is not capturing her at the highest quality due to direct sunlight. Also note the pubescence on the abdomen, which gives the queen a similar shine to Lasius neoniger

 

Color varies greatly over range, and the lighting you capture the colony at also plays a huge role. 

 

Another example of crypticus queens

 

In my opinion, it is better to assume the more common queen than the rarer one until an actual ID process takes place.

Edited by Ants_Dakota, June 7 2025 - 4:04 AM.

[Ants_Dakota]

Lasius neoniger feeding timelapse!

[Ants_Dakota]

It has been really fun watching this colony eat: enjoy another time lapse!