13 replies to this topic

[TheGamblingAnt]

Hey everyone. Found one of these running on the grass all by herself. A couple of days ago I saw another one under a rock all by herself. I don't think these are queens, but curious if anyone knows the species?

1. Location (on a map) of collection: Southeast Wisconsin 75 and sunny

2. Date of collection: 5/6/25

3. Habitat of collection: under a rock and in the grass all alone.

4. Length (from head to gaster): about 6.5mm

5. Color, hue, pattern and texture: dark brown to black with multi colored legs light brown and dark brown/orangish

6. Distinguishing characteristics:

7. Distinguishing behavior:

8. Nest description: n/a

9. Nuptial flight time and date: n/a

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Edited by TheGamblingAnt, May 6 2025 - 2:22 PM.

[ColAnt735]

Lasius aphidicola queen. This species is a social parasite so you will need Lasius host workers.

[TheGamblingAnt]

Ok I will see what I can find. Have to do some research on this as I'm not familiar at all. Is it strange that she was just walking on the grass all by herself in the middle of the day? And any lasius species will work?

[L.H]

I second the lasius, not sure if it is a aphidicola though.

This is not strange behavior at all for parasitic queens during spring as they wander around in search of a host colony immediately after waking up from hibernation

Edited by L.H, May 6 2025 - 3:02 PM.

[TheGamblingAnt]

Found a small colony of these and grabbed some brood. Pretty small about 4mm or so. Any chance these are a lasius species I can try and combine with that queen?

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[bmb1bee]

No, those are a different species. Seems like Aphaenogaster probably, which you can't use as hosts. If you look up pictures of Lasius workers, they're pretty different.

[TheGamblingAnt]

Yep you're right for sure. Didn't see any today I don't think. How long will this queen I found survive without workers? Should I just put her in a test tube with water like normal for now and see if maybe tomorrow I can find some lasius workers ?

[RushmoreAnts]

Yep you're right for sure. Didn't see any today I don't think. How long will this queen I found survive without workers? Should I just put her in a test tube with water like normal for now and see if maybe tomorrow I can find some lasius workers ?

Absolutely put her in a test tube. All ants and living things need water to survive. There is no way to know how long the queen would survive without workers, but it's safe to say at least a couple weeks, in some cases a couple months. Get her hosts as soon as possible, though, as not to risk it.

[bmb1bee]

Feed her a bit of sugar water. She should last for a while without workers if you have water and sugar water provided.

[ANTdrew]

The ant in the photo is not a queen.

[TheGamblingAnt]

The ant in the photo is not a queen.

Drew you saying the first photos in the original post isn't a queen? Or were you saying the little ant on the back of my hand isn't a queen? I just went outside looking for a lasius colony that I could grab some workers from

[Artisan_Ants]

 

The ant in the photo is not a queen.

Drew you saying the first photos in the original post isn't a queen? Or were you saying the little ant on the back of my hand isn't a queen? I just went outside looking for a lasius colony that I could grab some workers from

 

He means the one on your hand isn't a queen which is true.

[TheGamblingAnt]

Ok cool yeah yeah I was out looking for some lasius workers I could steal and wasn't sure which species these little ants were. Haven't seen ones like those before

[ANTdrew]

I suggest starting a new thread to avoid confusion then.