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Posted July 25 2018 - 3:51 PM
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1. Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
2. Date of collection: 21 July 2018
3. Habitat of collection: City Sidewalk
4. Length: Queen: 8mm
5. Coloration, hue, pattern and texture: Brown/Yellowish tinge to gaster, much darker (black thorax and head)
6. Distinguishing characteristics:
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Posted July 25 2018 - 6:20 PM
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Maybe Lasius americanus.
You may be right on that. I pulled up a few pictures of queens of this species and they sure do look a lot like mine. I tried putting her under the microscope to get a better look but she was not cooperating, insisting to cling onto the cotton an not allowing me to get a good top view.
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Posted July 25 2018 - 6:56 PM
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Lasius americanus is the only niger-group Lasius sp. flying until mid August.
If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.
Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.
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Black lives still matter.
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Posted July 29 2018 - 1:16 PM
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Sadly she died. 
I just took a peak in her tube and she was clinging to the front cotton (not the one with the water).
Could she have died because she was stuck on it and either exhausted herself or could not get to the moist cotton to hydrate herself?
Is this a common thing that happens on occasion? I ask because I once saw videos of a person wrapping their front cotton with some very sheer material forming a smooth surface. Could that have been to avoid this?
This was a double whammy day for me returning from Toronto to find this AND my one other Lasius, a neoniger I caught last year that seemed to be doing fine, also dead. She had about 70 workers.
Edited by Lazarus, July 29 2018 - 1:17 PM.
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