| Author | Comment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
MrILoveTheAnts |
Name That Ant #89 (06, June 2008) |
Lead | ||
|
Last Edited By: MrILoveTheAnts 06/06/2008 1:18 PM.
Edited 1 time.
|
||||
|
|
||||
antdude |
What number is this? | #1 | ||
|
Is this NTA #89?
Quote of the Week: "No, I'd prefer a cooler WITHOUT an ant-door, thank you..." --unknown. Ant/AntDude @
The Ant Farm (Personal Web Site), Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL), and The Ant Farm and Myrmecology Forum.
|
||||
|
|
||||
djecko |
#2 | |||
|
Lasius sp?
|
||||
|
|
||||
Harpegnathos |
#3 | |||
|
MILTA, I did a little work on your photo. Lost some of the aesthetic quality, but the ants are easier to see and maybe you'll get some more folks to try a
guess.
H |
||||
|
|
||||
MrILoveTheAnts |
#4 | |||
|
I didn't think we were allowed to do that but it's fine by me. It's neat how the third ant appeared with the level and color adjustment. Anyhow it
saves me the trouble of posting a follow up picture.
|
||||
|
|
||||
MrILoveTheAnts |
#5 | |||
|
The answer will be revealed on the 20th (this Friday!) eastern standard time. Yes it is a Lasius but can anyone name the species?
|
||||
|
|
||||
Harpegnathos |
#6 | |||
|
MILTA, I suppose I should have asked before adding my photo...glad you don't mind. I like your photo and this is a good NTA, but it seems like NTA
doesn't get much participation lately. That's too bad, because I have found it really has helped me to improve my identification skills. Not as good
as Ant Course, maybe, but a lot more accessible.
H |
||||
|
|
||||
Doctorant |
#7 | |||
|
As for H's tweaking the photo, seems fair game to me, since it was only a minor modification that actually made the color of the ant look a bit more
natural.
It is not possible to see the more certain diagnostic character, presence or absence of erect bristles on the scape (first antennal segment), so one has to go by the less reliable characteristic of color for this NTA. |
||||
|
|
||||
Harpegnathos |
#8 | |||
|
Can't see hairs on the scape, and color is unreliable, especially on a "color corrected" photo...so I'm guessing based on the shape of the
propodeum. Seems like the shorter declivity and more conical peak fits Lasius alienus better than Lasius neoniger. So that's my guess:
Lasius alienus.
|
||||
|
|
||||
Doctorant |
#9 | |||
|
I don't recall a significant difference in propodeal shape between those two species -- I'll have to look into that...
|
||||
|
|
||||
MrILoveTheAnts |
The Answer! | #10 | ||
|
I felt this was worth being a NTA because there are two silhouettes of the ant in question. One appears to be a Crematogaster while the other is more Lasius like. Both are known to tend aphids which
are the other bumps all over the plant. But the tuff of hair at the tip of the abdomen I believe is consistent with Lasius species and enough to give you an idea that's what both ants are.
I make it no secreat that I live in North America, and New Jersey of all places, though I didn't post that here. Given it's a Lasius this leaves a few options. Lasius flavus group have orange workers and surely wouldn't cast such a silhouette with the lighter legs. Lasius claviger and umbratus also have orange workers and their silhouettes can also be ruled out. Not to mention they are both subterranean and not likely to be foraging for aphids above ground. So that leaves us with Lasius niger group which are above ground foragers and dark ants. The most common of these (I think) are L. neoniger and L. alienus. L. neoniger doesn't have lighter legs so that only leaves L alienus. So, the correct ID, as I see it, is Lasius alienus. However, my method of identifying them didn't involve any use of keys so this is open to debate. I've had queens of them ID'd before when the colonies fly in my yard. I know them simply as the Lasius with yellow legs. Unfortunantly I can't really post any follow up pictures besides this blurry one. Warm weather has caused the ants to move on and there are no more aphids on the plant, a Cosmos. Thank you very much to those who participated. And a special thank you to Harpegnathos for getting it right and posting it. Also thank you Doctorant who I showed the picture to and consulted with before posting this.
|
||||
|
|
||||
Doctorant |
#11 | |||
|
You are welcome, MrILTA. Note that the contrasting lighter legs are not seen in all L. alienus, but it is often a good characteristic for field ID of
this ant.
|
||||
|
|
||||
Doctorant |
#12 | |||
|
I feel like putting one up, so, okay to move this one and start a new one, MrILTA?
|
||||
|
|
||||
MrILoveTheAnts |
#13 | |||
|
Yes sure.
|
||||
|
|
||||
.