5 replies to this topic

[SelfDeludedFool]

Collected at Beverly Beach State Park, just north of Newport Oregon.

Collected about mid August 2017.

Habitat: Coastal forest, not 200 feet from the beach.

Length: 11-13 mm

Coleration: She appears lighter in full light, more orange/red than black. Translucent banded pattern on the gaster. Distinctive red pattern on thorax and the head has a red tint in most light.

Distinguishing characteristics: No nodes, spines or bumps. Relatively "hairless". The one thing that stands out to me is the shape of the mandibles, they're wide, meet with little gap between, pincer like.











Those are all of just the Queen, to assist in identification I'll include a few of the workers, as well as a decent shot at the Queen with a worker as well as a pile of brood.

A few notes about the workers:

They're black, they're fast, they share the same translucent banded pattern about the gaster and have exceptionally long antannea and legs.









I've been attempting to identify this species for some time now but I'm stumped. It's actually my motivation for joining this forum. I've been at the hobby for a couple years now but had only really found success this last fall. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[AntsAreUs]

I'm not too familiar with these ants but could they be Liometopum occidentale? If not I would say some sort of Formica.

[SelfDeludedFool]

I'm not too familiar with these ants but could they be Liometopum occidentale? If not I would say some sort of Formica.

A quick search makes me think not, I spot a few differences between the Queens, specifically in the gaster and thorax. Liometopum Occidentale Queens seem to lack the thorax marking. The major differences are in the workers, however. The coleration is all wrong, as well as the body proportions. These guys look and act very "dainty". Light on their feet. Small bodied, long legs and antenna.

Antweb has a few collected specimens imaged and some info. Geographic location does fit but I don't think these are them.

https://www.antweb.o...setProject=true

I'll look into formica again, however, that was one of my first guesses and an entire genus is hard to narrow down with the limited imaging and information found online.

Thank you for the direction.

[TennesseeAnts]

These are Formica pacifica. As the colony gets older, the large "majors" get bright orange on the thorax, like the queens. I have TONS of these colonies. One of which was caught in July 2016, and now has over 550 workers. They are very aggressive towards prey, but not so much larger animals like humans. They grow VERY quickly, so be prepared for a huge population explosion this year!

[SelfDeludedFool]

These are Formica pacifica. As the colony gets older, the large "majors" get bright orange on the thorax, like the queens. I have TONS of these colonies. One of which was caught in July 2016, and now has over 550 workers. They are very aggressive towards prey, but not so much larger animals like humans. They grow VERY quickly, so be prepared for a huge population explosion this year!

Thank you! Finally, I have my answer! 

 

When I started looking I thought that marking would be a dead give-away and yet I turned up nothing, a quick search on Formica Pacifica and there it is! I'm very excited to hear she'll have majors, I was a bit disappointed when the first workers eclosed given their minute size in comparison to the queen. I was also surprised at the number of pupae present in the few months since hibernation, I could tell they were ramping up for a population increase. This is awesome, I'm very excited and now have some reading up to do!

 

Thanks again!

[TennesseeAnts]

Your welcome! This year your colony (based on my experience) should get over 100 workers by hibernation. Today around 20-30 workers in my huge 550 worker colony found a gap in their THA fortress and escaped! I found them all under the nest though.