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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 16:55:47 GMT 1
Hello There! Since I'm new to ants, I'm having a hard time telling whether I'm dealing with a queen ant or not. I've included a photo of an ant I captured... ( He She was way larger than all the other ants in the same spot) Could anyone please tell me if this is a queen ant or not? And what species am I dealing with? I hope you can help me! Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 16:58:17 GMT 1
No, looks like a carpenter ant major. Queens thorax will be higher then the head. PLus they have a bigger bum!
Also sometimes they have small heads.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 17:23:23 GMT 1
Ok, thanks for your help! (can you identify my other ant as well?)
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 18:17:13 GMT 1
Here are the requirements for an identification, as written by Doctorant: "FIRST-Where collected? Country and nearest city or town on map, elevation if in a very mountainous area such as the Rockies, Alps, Himalayas, Andes. SECOND-Habitat of collection, including nesting medium (wood, soil, leaves tied together with silk, etc.) and type of vegetation (forest, grassland, park/lawn/garden, desert). THIRD-Coloration, hue and pattern? Uniform?, Head darker?, Gaster darker?, Legs lighter or darker?, Any spots? Also, shininess, dullness. FOURTH-Distinguishing characteristics, such as one or two segments in waist; location, length and orientation of any spines or bumps on the mid portion of the body or waist; head shape, etc. FIFTH-Length in millimeters. (Width is also helpful.) NO guessing! Stretch out a dead or chilled individual or several individuals of different sizes along a millimeter rule. 16ths of an inch will do as a poor second to millimeters. SIXTH-Anything else distinctive, such as odor, behavior, etc. Tip #1: If you can take clear photographs of the ants close up, then please post them. This would help a lot." Also, remember that all workers/soldiers/majors and queens are female.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 19:37:59 GMT 1
How about this ant? She looks like she may be a different species from the other one you've asked about (maybe not Camponotus). Do you think you could get a clearer photograph of her?
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 22:10:03 GMT 1
Do you think you could get a clearer photograph of her? No sorry, I let her out into "the wild" after I knew she wasn't a queen! Sorry! Thanks for all the help!
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 22:17:42 GMT 1
Well that's the thing; she could have been a queen, especially if she was so much larger than the ants around her. She looked a little like Lasius fuliginosus, but the photograph was very blurry. She might have been a worker as was suggested, but another photograph would have helped.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 22:39:24 GMT 1
To me she looked much like a Formica fusca, but as BSF states "The photograph was vAry Blurry!" ;D.
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