18 replies to this topic

[Shaye]

Collected in Corpus Christi, Texas.
In a field on 7/8/16 at 6pm
17.5 millimeters.
Black with I guess a strip of flashy short fur on its back?

It looks very similar to a Bullet ant, to me..

P.s.: Been a while since I've posted an identification request. How do I add photos again?

[VoidElecent]

That's a large ant. I'd recommend getting an imgur account first if you want to post photos.

[Shaye]

It is very large..
It is very large..
Sorry, didn't mean to double that statement.

[nurbs]

[Shaye]

http://s1079.photobu...ulture/library/
This work?

[Shaye]

Haven't used a lot of this in a while due to work picking up. Sorry if that link ends up being incorrect.

[Shaye]

I can attempt to take more pictures if needed.

[Martialis]

I'm thinking Diacomma.

[Shaye]

Would this then just be a worker? I still find it strange to have found this in Texas. It has large shoulders which lead me to belive it was a new queen since there are many species flying at this time.

[Martialis]

Wait -- Those aren't in Texas. I thought they were, I must be imagining things.

[Martialis]

These are Neoponera villosa, the only member of its genus present in Texas.

[cpman]

These are Neoponera villosa, the only member of its genus present in Texas.

Yep. It's probably a worker. The workers and queens are pretty similar, but this doesn't seem to be a queen. It's missing the wing scars that queens have.

The only other possibility would be Pachycondyla harpax but that is smaller and does not have that hair that N. villosa does.

[Shaye]

This one has wing scars.. My previous pictures were horrible, let me see if I can get a clear picture of the shoulder(s).

[Shaye]

From my very limited research on Neoponera villosa so far, they are very similar to the bullet ant in regards to the pain of their sting, aggressiveness, and ability to reproduce without a queen? Slightly smallier though?

Edited by Shaye, July 24 2017 - 8:37 PM.

[Ants_Texas]

From my very limited research on Neoponera curvinodis so far, they are very similar to the bullet ant in regards to the pain of their sting, aggressiveness, and ability to reproduce without a queen? Slightly smallier though?

Sounds interesting. If I kept them I'd wear a hazmat suit when detaching tubes.

[Shaye]

I plan on it if I keep it. Always wanted an Australian bullet ant queen, but of course it isn't wise to do so in the US. This could be an excellent substitute.

[Shaye]

New photos in the Album above. I think you can see the scars better now. It still isn't the best. Trying to not disturb her.

[Martialis]

Bullet ants are found throughout the Amazon.

[cpman]

She does have scars.

 

Remember that she is semi-claustral. She'll need to hunt to raise eggs successfully.

 

Also, these aren't particularly closely related to bullet ants (Paraponera is in its own subfamily). I don't know if they have gamergates or not. From the description here, it looks like queenless colonies will only create males.