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[Okeedoke22]

Found today 7/14/2016
New York City
Found in backyard behind Cemetery
9mm

We had a quick but heavy rain storm earlier in the day

http://www.formicult...age/7092-image/

[Batspiderfish]

Lasius claviger, or a close relative. If you want to attempt to keep her, give her some honey/syrup and look for a nest of Lasius alienus or Lasius neoniger that has access to a flat stone. Lasius flavus/L. nearcticus and other yellow Lasius will work as well, but they can be shy foragers. Collect at least 20 workers (from inside the nest) in a spacious container with fair amount of brood (if there happens to be any). Put a test tube setup in a foraging arena with the collected ants and let them move in. Either chill the workers in the fridge and then connect the queen's tube to them or put both tubes in the foraging arena, next to each other. The queen will hopefully discover the workers and do her thing. When the queen and the workers are hanging out amongst each other, you'll know the adoption was successful.

Lasius claviger comes from the Acanthomyops subgenus of Lasius, and there is not much we know about their requirements (the Chthonolasius of Eurasia and North America are the social parasites most commonly kept). These Lasius seem to do better when kept in groups of three, so if you see any more of them when you are looking for workers, introduce them to the other queen(s) before the workers.

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 14 2016 - 6:12 PM.