23 replies to this topic

[Nathant2131]

Hello everyone! 

 

I have a bunch of different speces and genres of ant I want to find next Spring, Summer, and Fall. I'll list, you can give me any sort of general info and/or where they are commonly found or have their flights (Ex: Pine Forest, Open field). I live in Massachuetts so the closer you are to me, the better.

 

-Aphaenogaster fulva

-Aphaenogaster picea

-Aphaenogaster rudis

-Myrmica rubra   

-Myrmica punctiventris

-Myrmica americanus

-Ponera Pennsylvnica

-Pheidole pilifera

-Crematogaster cerasi

-Crematogaster lineolata

-Formica subsericea

-Camponotus novaeboracensis

-Camponotus americanus

-Camponotus Herculeanus

-Lasius flavus

-Lasius nearcticus

 

I may add to the list over time.

 

Thanks for any help, big or small. 

 

 

[Kingjay]

You could use the black light trap.Which works for me also for the camponotus look in forested area's that's where I found my camponotus.My grandma has this huge tree which ants love since it has pine sap.You could also try to look in rotten trees or branches and tree stumps.Good luck and HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

[dspdrew]

The best thing to do is spend some of your time researching each of those species.

[Canadian anter]

Aphaenogster spp.

These ants are usually found in deciduous forests, especially in forests with trillium. (I have only seen these once though ) They usually fly in late July to Early August.

Myrmica spp.

These ants are usually found in deciduous forests, usually near streams, other wetlands or in humid areas. Rubra fly in late July to Early October, Punctiventris fly in September, and Americanus fly in November.

Ponera pennsylvanicus

I usually find these ants under flat rocks. Especially in my garden. They fly in Late August to Early November

Pheidole pilifera 

I have never seen these However I have heard that they are found is sandy areas.

Crematogaster spp

These ants usually found in wood, whether on trees or on rotten logs, especially near forests. They fly in late August to Late september

Formica subsericea

These ants are found in fields or gardens, They fly in July to Early August.

Camponotus/camponotus spp

These ants are found in wood, whether in trees or on rotten logs. They fly in early may to Early July. Late aborted flyers fly in Late September to Late October

Camponotus/tanaemyrmex sp

These ants are found in the ground, They fly in early may to Early July, Late aborted flyers fly in Late September to Late October.

[noebl1]

Being in a neighboring town of you, hope this helps:

 

Back at the end of May, I noticed that Camponotus flew pretty much all together on the same nights; there were a few smaller flights, but a huge flight on May 26th starting a couple hours before sunset.  I also noticed 2015 about the same night for camponotus flying as well (at least within a few days.)  Prior there were a couple smaller flights, but the major nuptial flight was pretty noticeable (of almost biblical proportions) and other's from PA thru the North East in the AC forum reported seeming them.  That night I observed:

• One or two species of Camponotus Myrmentoma (saw about a dozen or so)
• Camponotus Pennsylvanicus (for me the most popular spotted)
• Camponotus Novaeboracensis (only saw 1 or 2 of these.)
• Camponotus Americanus (only saw 2 or 3 of those flying, but managed to catch a couple for another member)
• Camponotus Herculeanus - I have not seen any of these (ever), guessing location and popularity of Camponotus Pennsylvanicus are the reason for this.

I took a look at the weather history at my station, and on May 24th we got over 1" of rain over the course of the day, and May 25 and 26th were hot (upper 80s.)  Tip:  Once you see them flying, don't stop hunting, even after dark.  Around 8-9pm, they were moving in HUGE numbers along lawn and driveway.  Very easy spotting with a flash light and almost impossible not to step on (it had a high-creep factor due the amount of queens).

 

I kept pretty good logs last year and weather data for these, so hit me up for details:

• Myrmica - First spotted 7/14 late afternoon some heavy Temnothorax nuptial flights the previous nights (unknown if recent alates or were foraging as no wings.)  Flew a few days during the week of 9/8 spotted in the afternoon several Myrmica alates (male and female) flying.  Tip:  Many caught stuck to a hammock or in a tiny kiddie pool. Several Lasius species started flying at the same time.
• Ponera Pennsylvanica - Started seeing them flying with the Lasius on 8/27. On and off for about a week or two.  Usually later afternoon and early evening.  
• Lasius Flavus and Lasius nearcticus - Spotted with the above Myrmica in early Sept.  They flew mid to late afternoon (was interesting to see colonies normally hidden underground popping up in random places).  In contrast, I noticed most of the L. Alienus and L. Neoniger flying in the later evening, and super easy to catch just after sunset with a flashlight as they looked for places to hide.

I'm not much of a morning person, but would often find dead Crematogaster alates in the late morning. 

 

EDIT:  Pheidole also on my list, but didn't see any last year.  Not sure if related to environment, or poor flying conditions.  I read on the forum here they usually fly after a heavy thunderstorm in the later afternoon, and fly when still wet outside.  However with the drought we had last season, that almost never happened.  

 

EDIT2:  Pretty much all of these were found in a rural location, surrounded by heavy oak/pine woods, a small swamp, and a large pond near by.  No real fields near by.  There is a granite quarry, and majority of what I see there are Lasius, and some other super-fast moving large-ish red ant I haven't ID'ed yet.

Edited by noebl1, January 1 2017 - 8:38 AM.

[noebl1]

Also check out this book (really helpful, @batspiderfish recommended it to me.)  Can get it used from Amazon or other sources to save money:

A Field Guide to the Ants of New England

Edited by noebl1, January 1 2017 - 8:56 AM.

[Nathant2131]

Also check out this book (really helpful, @batspiderfish recommended it to me.)  Can get it used from Amazon or other sources to save money:

A Field Guide to the Ants of New England

 

Thanks for the help!

Edited by Nathant2131, January 2 2017 - 1:10 PM.

[AnthonyP163]

Crematogaster Cerasi had a huge flight on September 6th, 2016. I managed to catch three of them.

Edit: Also, I found 2 of them on the pavement near a few trees, and the other I found by tearing the bark off of a log.

Edited by AnthonyP163, January 3 2017 - 10:39 AM.

[AnthonyP163]

Formica are almost always in July, July is the hotspot of the year.

[noebl1]

Formica are almost always in July, July is the hotspot of the year.

 

I think during July I mis-IDed some of the Formica flights as a Camponotus at the time.  Live and learn.

[Nathant2131]

Thanks for the help, everyone! I'll keep this topic in mind when anting.

[Batspiderfish]

Formica are almost always in July, July is the hotspot of the year.

Most Formica do fly during July, but there are many species which fly in the spring (often members of the rufa group). Some Formica (including F. subsericea) will be seen into August and September.

[Shareallicu]

Formica are almost always in July, July is the hotspot of the year.

A neighbor of mine found a formica podzolica under a rock in early september for me, but I live in washington state.  

[Salmon]

Aphaenogaster colonies are really easy to find by peeling back the bark of dead logs in warm, humid weather. 

 

C. pennsylvanicus queens and small colonies can be found the same way, but it's best to look in cold weather. (So they don't run away.)

 

P. pilifera are found in open, grassy places with a very specific type of sandy, clay-ey soil. If you see Cicindela punctulata tiger beetles or their larvae, that seems to be an indication of Pheidole habitat. Their nests tend to be small, piled high and lopsided with grass seed husks around the edges. They aren't abundant or conspicuous, but they seem to be common in proper habitat.

 

Myrmica americana are also found in open, sandy places. Queens often roam aboveground in overcast weather, seemingly at any time of year so long as its warm enough.

[noebl1]

@Salmon Thanks for the info!  I really need to look at the old granite quarry near my house with several acres of flat sand/gravel and such.  We don't typically see Cicindela punctulata, but saw several Myrmica this summer (not sure if Americana or not.)  However there were several ant hills (similar to Lasius), but smaller in size (with smaller ants foraging from them.)  Not sure how many ant species here in MA create those small volcano like ant hills?

Edited by noebl1, January 12 2017 - 5:25 PM.

[Salmon]

If they're smaller than Lasius or Tetramorium but bigger than Monomorium or S. molesta, there's an excellent chance they're Pheidole pilifera. If you see them once it warms up, leave a chunk of walnut next to the nest and come back in a few minutes and there'll be no mistake.

[noebl1]

If they're smaller than Lasius or Tetramorium but bigger than Monomorium or S. molesta, there's an excellent chance they're Pheidole pilifera. If you see them once it warms up, leave a chunk of walnut next to the nest and come back in a few minutes and there'll be no mistake.

 

Pretty certain not S. Molesta, but not sure about Monomorium (though not sure if they build the "volcano shaped" small hills.)  The granite quarry is 2 "levels", the top is where it is open and meets the forest.  Closer to the edge is solid rock (with some very impressive glacial scraping patterns and loaded with graffiti), however a sandy/clay soil (guessing from the quarrying), then slowly soil layer gets deeper until it's no longer open and dense forested with trees.  This is where I've seen most of the Lasius, and potential Pheidole  The areas with clay/sandy (almost like large islands of soil on the rock), is where I see them.  There is no top soil at all until you get to the trees, so very scrub like and little plant growth other than stunted trees, moss, and some other scrub like bushes.

 

Lower level (about 30-50' below) is where the granite was removed, so base of cliff is huge chunks of granite, and that opens up to a large flat area of clay like soil with large granite particles, that is very desert like. Very very little grows down here.  Along the fringes where some plants are I find Lasius, camponotus Americanus, and another reddish-black species (not as large as camponotus but substantial in size) that is very very fast moving so impossible to get any pics of for ID.  They are often found under flat rocks in very large numbers, and between crevices in the rock ledge as you climb down.

 

Thanks for the tips on walnut, will try that for sure.  Where I live is down the hill from this location, is dense forest, top soil covered in dense leaf layers, and property is littered with boulders from glacial till.  Not the right environment I don't believe for them.

[Salmon]

Could the fast moving things be Formica?

[noebl1]

Could the fast moving things be Formica?

 

 

They could be Formica pallidefulva based on images on Antweb from someone in the closest neighboring town to the location.  They are not aggressive if disturbed, but scatter very very fast.  this Spring I'll try to get a solid ID on them.

[Salmon]

Could the fast moving things be Formica?

 
 
They could be Formica pallidefulva based on images on Antweb from someone in the closest neighboring town to the location.  They are not aggressive if disturbed, but scatter very very fast.  this Spring I'll try to get a solid ID on them.

If they're indeed Formica pallidefulva or incerta, be on the lookout for Polyergus on midsummer afternoons!