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Posted January 10 2017 - 4:57 PM
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So I got down an older vase earlier, and found this ridiculously tiny ant in it. She's most likely from the subfamily Dolichiderinae. She's ~1mm to 1.5mm total length. A link to the photos can be found here: https://goo.gl/photo...nDDN2G3F1XXHqz8.
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Posted January 10 2017 - 5:37 PM
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Might be an Argentine Ant, Linepithema humile, though what they're I don't know what they're doing in Indiana.
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Posted January 10 2017 - 5:44 PM
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Ochetellus maybe?
Also, those are ridiculously good macro shots. How did you take them?
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Posted January 10 2017 - 5:52 PM
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Ochetellus maybe?
Also, those are ridiculously good macro shots. How did you take them?
Ochetellus maybe?
Also, those are ridiculously good macro shots. How did you take them?
Microscope 
Also, Ochetellus is a more tropical genus, versus the temperate climate here in Indiana.
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Posted January 10 2017 - 5:54 PM
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The two photos of her on the slide are for scale. It's a standard slide, measuring 75mm x 25mm,
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Posted January 10 2017 - 5:57 PM
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Could've hitchhiked in the pot.
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Posted January 10 2017 - 6:07 PM
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Maybe.
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Posted January 10 2017 - 7:43 PM
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This is much more likely to be something like Tapinoma sessile. I need a picture with less zoom and of the entire ant to be able to tell you anything with more confidence.
Edited by Mdrogun, January 10 2017 - 7:43 PM.
Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis
Pheidole pilifera
Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi
Pheidole bicarinata
Aphaenogaster rudis
Camponotus chromaiodes
Formica sp. (microgena species)
Nylanderia cf. arenivega
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Posted January 11 2017 - 4:29 AM
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This is much more likely to be something like Tapinoma sessile. I need a picture with less zoom and of the entire ant to be able to tell you anything with more confidence.
I agree with you, but the size is a problem. I cannot think of any species in Indiana with 1.5mm workers. Tapinoma sessile are far too big to be this ant, measuring in at about 3mm in length.
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Posted January 11 2017 - 1:25 PM
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3mm is actually kind of large for Tapinoma sessile. 2mm is not uncommon, and I would not be surprised to find a 1.5mm specimen, especially if it was a little shriveled up.
Edited by Batspiderfish, January 11 2017 - 1:31 PM.
If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.
Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.
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Black lives still matter.
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Posted January 11 2017 - 2:25 PM
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Alright. Thanks for the input.
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Posted January 11 2017 - 2:48 PM
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If we suspect it might be a tramp Linepithema, Tapinoma sessile has a very flat petiole node.
If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.
Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.
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Black lives still matter.
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Posted January 11 2017 - 5:34 PM
Every T. sessile I've ever seen was about 3 mm. Maybe just slightly less.
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Posted January 11 2017 - 6:24 PM
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Every T. sessile I've ever seen was about 3 mm. Maybe just slightly less.
Some of the internet's imaged specimens are a little over 2mm, and some are 2.5mm. We also know that, in this case, there is at least a 0.5mm margin of error. I'm not ruling out the possibility that I am unaware of a very small dolichoderine ant that may have hitched a ride with that flower pot, but otherwise Tapinoma sessile (or much, much less likely, Linepithema humile) is the most sensible guess without a more complete view of the ant.
Edited by Batspiderfish, January 11 2017 - 6:27 PM.
If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.
Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.
----
Black lives still matter.
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Posted January 11 2017 - 6:33 PM
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I've already got her in some alchohol, or I'd try to get a better pic.. Though it's pretty hard to get the entire ant in focus under my mricroscope.
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