Anting/Field Observations/Sightings

Not sure what species any guesses

feeds@yuku.com (azgrower15) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:02:39 GMT

I found 2 of these queens around 2 and a half weeks ago. She is laying eggs and are now larvae, she is very very small, that yellow line paper is smaller that most, if you can use that for scale.

Any ideas, I live here in Phoenix

thanks

Ants eat acorns

feeds@yuku.com (elmnt) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:59:44 GMT

Well today I was raking my lawn when I noticed squirrels collecting acorns and such. I started to think acorns are basically seeds and must have carbs or good nutrition if squirrels eat them. So I decided to break open an acorn and feed the crushed insides to my ants. My Pheidole started dragging in chunks as soon as I dropped them in and began crushing them up inside the nest. If anyone else would like to give this a try, as I have only tried it on one colony since my others are...

United Kingdom (UK)'s 7ft hairy northern wood ant nests get global positioning system (GPS) addresses to stop them being destroyed.

feeds@yuku.com (antdude) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:42:09 GMT

http://www.telegraph.co.u...hem-being-destroyed.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/h...england/tyne/8342215.stm (has a 51 seconds video).

Stone Ants

feeds@yuku.com (antdude) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:17:00 GMT

http://colfaxrecord.com/detail/134273.html ...

Question about a colony producing a single alate at the wrong time of year?(Includes a large picture)

feeds@yuku.com (Chuck) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:11:00 GMT

I was preparing my Aphaenogaster colony I've had since May for hibernation when I made a disturbing discovery. I had removed the lid to add some water to their nest when I found what I thought was the queen dead. Disappointed I got prepared to dig through the remaining colony to remove all the brood to give to my other Aphaenogaster colony. Before I moved one spoon full of sand I removed the plastic cap I keep the wet cotton ball in. Much to my surprise there was the queen alive and well....

Are Pogonomyrmex subdentatus queens fully claustral or semi-claustral?

feeds@yuku.com (ekimmik) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:39:24 GMT

I've read Robert A. Johnson's Notes from Underground on Pogonomyrmex. He notes some species are fully claustral while others are obligate foragers during the founding stage. However, he doesn't list whether Pogonomyrmex subdentatus is fully or semi claustral. I've tried giving my queens a few Kentucky Blue Grass seeds, but they move them to the opposite end of the test tube and ignore them.

Interactive 3D Ant Pheromones Simulation by ForgeFX

feeds@yuku.com (antdude) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:20:36 GMT

http://www.forgefx.com/ca...icehall/ph/ants/ants.htm (Adobe Shockwave required to use).

Ants in Kauai, help with identification pls. (big pictures)

feeds@yuku.com (Antimidation) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:14:16 GMT

Hey gang, Im back from Kauai and I have some pictures I would like to share. The Hawaiian islands are not home to any native ants..but there are a number of introduced species and the only type of ant i was able to identify was a solenopsis species, the others were strange to me. I ran into a small almost medium sized black ant that had long legs and was quick on its feet. The pictures of these did not come out as well as i thought...but the others came out great. Take a look.

While...

Smithsonian's Ant Lab (Live Atta cephalotes Video)

feeds@yuku.com (MrILoveTheAnts) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:26:59 GMT

Atta cephalotes Live!
from The Ant Hunter Blog.

Lasius claviger Blue Aphids? (Pictures)

feeds@yuku.com (MrILoveTheAnts) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:03:36 GMT

Video 1
Video 2

Formica transmontanis

feeds@yuku.com (dgphelps) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:46:14 GMT

I was lucky enough to find a nuptial flight of Formica transmontanis this past weekend on the beach near Jenner, California. I caught a video of a freshly mated female shedding her wings along with a few females moving about trying to find a suitable place to settle. I even witnessed, though no video, a coupling of a male and female with them female going on to remove her wings and the male flying back up into the air for another chance to spread his DNA.
...

Polygyny in Lasius alienus

feeds@yuku.com (ekimmik) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:29:57 GMT

I have a Lasius alienus colony that is currently setup in a test tube. There are 5 queens that live harmoniously even though the first worker eclosed about a week ago. Now there are 3 little workers running around cleaning all the queens and tending the brood. I've read that most Lasius species tend to be monogyne, and that queens tend to kill each other off right before or after the first workers eclose. Is...

Another ant area bites the dust...another one down

feeds@yuku.com (Vendayn) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:31:43 GMT

Well, the LAST ant area is gone by my apartments. Some of you may remember my two threads about them. No, no construction this time...the last two ant areas got destroyed by construction. But, a cop told my parents (plus a few other people) that the valley is very dangerous to be alone in. People have been mugged and attacked down there, even in broad day light. A lot of homeless people and illegals have made camps in the valley. I can go with my parents still, but they don't wait an hour...

Myrmicinae Queen ID Needed (Large Photos)

feeds@yuku.com (ekimmik) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:59:39 GMT

Today I took a trip out to Black Diamond Mines in California, due to the information from Antimidation of recent Pogonomyrmex and Myrmecocystus flights. I caught some Pogonomyrmex subdentatus queens but also caught this small Myrmicinae queen that I believe is most likely Solenopsis xyloni or maybe even
During a nuptial flight last week I noticed lots of Lasius claviger queens all over my Goldenrod plants. Specifically they were on the flower bud parts to...

Taxonomic revision of the Nearctic genus Acanthomyops

feeds@yuku.com (MrILoveTheAnts) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:36:23 GMT

Is there any way to get a copy of "Taxonomic revision of the Nearctic genus Acanthomyops (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)" by M. W. Wing?

I'm looking for a second opinion on my identification.

feeds@yuku.com (Chuck) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:55:40 GMT

I'm pretty sure these are Tetramorium caespitum, but I want to make sure. I caught 20ish of them during the flights they had yesterday and today. I'm going to try a little experiment by feeding some of the queens to see if they produce more nantics then unfed queens. These gals form polygyne colonies and are an invasive species right? The polygyne part doesn't really matter, but the invasive part effects what I'll do with...