8 replies to this topic

[Turtle]

 

Location: Northern Colorado (West Fort Collins)

I think they are Camponotus Herculanus, or C. Pensylvanicus (sp?)

I caught two queens in early June. One alate, and one that had already dropped her wings. The alate queen laid eggs, and now has 3 workers (still has her wings), and the De-alate queen still has not laid any eggs after nearly 2 months.  Perhaps she is waiting until after she overwinters first?

I'll post some more after I get some more recent pics.

Thanks for looking, and giving any insight/tips/thoughts.

[Turtle]

Still figuring out the site.... Hopefully the pic posts

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[Artisan_Ants]

Definitely not Camponotus pennsylvanicus as that is an Eastern species and is unheard of in the west. I'd say it's between Camponotus modoc and Camponotus herculeanus, although we need better pictures of the legs and mesosoma (thorax) for a more accurate ID. It might even help if you get pictures of the workers but I feel like queens are better in this scenario (both of these species workers are exceptionally similar to one another, but queens are more likely to have a difference than workers).

[Ants_Dakota]

Definitely not Camponotus pennsylvanicus as that is an Eastern species and is unheard of in the west. I'd say it's between Camponotus modoc and Camponotus herculeanus, although we need better pictures of the legs and mesosoma (thorax) for a more accurate ID. It might even help if you get pictures of the workers but I feel like queens are better in this scenario (both of these species workers are exceptionally similar to one another, but queens are more likely to have a difference than workers).

Queens are indeed noticeably different to an experienced ant keeper, but as you said more pictures in better (natural) light are required.

[Somethinghmm]

Definitely not Camponotus pennsylvanicus as that is an Eastern species and is unheard of in the west. I'd say it's between Camponotus modoc and Camponotus herculeanus, although we need better pictures of the legs and mesosoma (thorax) for a more accurate ID. It might even help if you get pictures of the workers but I feel like queens are better in this scenario (both of these species workers are exceptionally similar to one another, but queens are more likely to have a difference than workers).

Camponotus pennsylvanicus are known to be found in Colorado. It's a possibility along with a handful of other species, but we can't really ID with photos this blurry and with this poor lighting.

[Turtle]

I got a few more pics.

Sry, my macro skills are a lil rusty...

I tried to get diff parts of their morphology.

I hope I didn't traumatize the queen with the flash

Thanks for the help

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[Ants_Dakota]

You are likely going to need pictures in natural light. Sunlight helps macro lenses capture hairs, for example, on the abdomen, which are important for an ID in this case.

[Turtle]

Hello Ant Gurus,

Thanks for your patience so far.

I managed to get access to a

AmScope SM-3T

Microscope that should allow me to get some decent close up shots. 

 

What parts of the ants should I be focusing on?

So far we have: Hair on the abdomen, and legs and mesosoma (thorax) coloration, I also saw that "beard hair" on the queen's face can also be useful in identifying Camponotus. So, I'll try and get some better super close ups of the queen's head.

I'll try to get some high CRI lighting as well. Unfortunately the setup is away from any natural sunlight so I'll have to experiment a bit to find the best lighting.

Again, Thanks for the help.

[Ants_Dakota]

Hello Ant Gurus,

Thanks for your patience so far.

I managed to get access to a

AmScope SM-3T

Microscope that should allow me to get some decent close up shots. 

 

What parts of the ants should I be focusing on?

So far we have: Hair on the abdomen, and legs and mesosoma (thorax) coloration, I also saw that "beard hair" on the queen's face can also be useful in identifying Camponotus. So, I'll try and get some better super close ups of the queen's head.

I'll try to get some high CRI lighting as well. Unfortunately the setup is away from any natural sunlight so I'll have to experiment a bit to find the best lighting.

Again, Thanks for the help.

A microscope is actually more powerful than you need, as someone who has kept both C. pennsylvanicus and C. herculeanus. Just look at the abdomen. If it has golden hairs on the abdomen that are fairly thick, it is likely C. pennsylvanicus or C. modoc, which is what I was trying to spot. I suppose a microscope would be helpful istraightforwardf you can't move the setup, but personally I would just bring the test tube outside and snap a few macro shots. It is pretty straight forward to ID from there. If you want to try yourself, you can watch one of a few videos we made a little while back of a black variant C. herculeanus queen and compare her to your queen: Camponotus sp. closeup 6/2/‘25. Camponotus sp. 6/2/‘25. Good luck!