I took a trip to Myrtle beach this past week, and while I encountered few ants, the ones that I did were very interesting.
1.) I saw a HUGE nest of Pogonomyrmex Badius, right in the middle of the nuptial flight. The hill itself was about 5 feet across, and had three entrances arranged in a triangle. Many workers rushed about on top, and drones flew around, but the queens stayed on the ground (The brothers didn't mate with the sister queens, I guess drones have to fly in from another nest) It's times like this I wish I had a digital camera! Some of the workers were as big as the soldiers from my young colony. I would have liked to collect some newly mated queens, but they stayed near the nest, and I never saw any mate. Only the drones flew around. Oh yeah, I noticed that the drones come in two different colors, The typical red of harvesters, and a black head and thorax and red abdomen variation. The black and red seemed more common than the solid red.
2.) Now, for the ant Ids.
1.) A carpenter ant nesting in rotting wood, I thought it was C. Pennsylvanicus, but it had a light, almost red thorax, and some yellow stripes on its abdomen. I didn't see the queen, so I can't tell you her coloration, but the above coloration was present on all worker castes.
2.) A cork headed ant, it had a flat face, and two large stripes at the very top of the thorax. I only saw unmated queens of these under lights, never saw any workers.
3.) I'm not sure what this is, I suspect it is a solenopsis.
They are TINY. They are monocaste, all having a red head and thorax and a black abdomen. Found in rotten wood.
4.) Pogonomyrmex Molefaciens. I heard about this species in a book called Empire of the Ants, but I couldn't find it any book, and I believe that SW Taber's World of the Harvester ants lists all Pogonomyrmex and Ephebomyrmex species. Has it been renamed, or does it even exist?
Help and comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
[revised the title] --antdude
1.) I saw a HUGE nest of Pogonomyrmex Badius, right in the middle of the nuptial flight. The hill itself was about 5 feet across, and had three entrances arranged in a triangle. Many workers rushed about on top, and drones flew around, but the queens stayed on the ground (The brothers didn't mate with the sister queens, I guess drones have to fly in from another nest) It's times like this I wish I had a digital camera! Some of the workers were as big as the soldiers from my young colony. I would have liked to collect some newly mated queens, but they stayed near the nest, and I never saw any mate. Only the drones flew around. Oh yeah, I noticed that the drones come in two different colors, The typical red of harvesters, and a black head and thorax and red abdomen variation. The black and red seemed more common than the solid red.
2.) Now, for the ant Ids.
1.) A carpenter ant nesting in rotting wood, I thought it was C. Pennsylvanicus, but it had a light, almost red thorax, and some yellow stripes on its abdomen. I didn't see the queen, so I can't tell you her coloration, but the above coloration was present on all worker castes.
2.) A cork headed ant, it had a flat face, and two large stripes at the very top of the thorax. I only saw unmated queens of these under lights, never saw any workers.
3.) I'm not sure what this is, I suspect it is a solenopsis.
They are TINY. They are monocaste, all having a red head and thorax and a black abdomen. Found in rotten wood.
4.) Pogonomyrmex Molefaciens. I heard about this species in a book called Empire of the Ants, but I couldn't find it any book, and I believe that SW Taber's World of the Harvester ants lists all Pogonomyrmex and Ephebomyrmex species. Has it been renamed, or does it even exist?
Help and comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
[revised the title] --antdude
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