8 replies to this topic

[jdsaunders1390]

Found a dealate at 4:30 pm two feet up from the ground, on a vertical brick wall outside of the house in Gainesville, FL. The area is surrounded by houses with small yards and a few trees. She is missing her left hind limb and is 10-11 mm long. I assume she is a semi-claustral species. Does anyone have any advice on keeping these?

 

Album: 20170511 Dealate

3 images

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[VoidElecent]

Looks like Pseudomyrmex gracilis to me, but I could be wrong. I know for a fact that this is Pseudomyrmex, but you may have to dig a little deeper to determine the exact species.

Edited by VoidElecent, May 11 2017 - 1:12 PM.

[Aaron567]

Definitely a Pseudomyrmex gracilis queen. Nice find. I haven't found one of these yet this year, since where I live they fly more in the summer.

[AntswerMe]

Noice.

Cool ant you got. They are semi-claustral from personal experience. I almost got one of these my self today but it flew off when it saw me coming close. 😂

Edited by AntswerMe, May 13 2017 - 7:58 PM.

[jdsaunders1390]

I put a drop of honey and two dead ants in with her yesterday. She immediately started drinking the honey.

[123LordOfAnts123]

If you have access to dead vines where workers are spotted, colonies are incredibly easy to capture. Simply snap and shake.

[AntswerMe]

Snap and *shake*?

[123LordOfAnts123]

They live within dead hollow vines, with a diameter anywhere between 5-10mm, either ones bored by insects or by removing the pith themselves. The vines are normally extremely easy to break, and the brood pours out with a view shakes. The ants themselves jump ship; I've never been stung by one protecting it's nest. Sometimes it's a satellite nest, but often the entire colony resides within 6-12 inches of hollow vine.

Without dead vines they'll nest within cracks of fence posts, gaps in buildings, or holes in hardwood branches burrowed by other insects. In such cases they're much less accessible.

Edited by 123Lord Of Ants123, May 14 2017 - 11:28 AM.

[AntswerMe]

Cool. I will search for a colony and try that.