another new york id
Moderator: ooper01
another new york id
Went for an amazing hike in the finger lakes national forest and after the trail left the woods an entered a large pasture my girlfriend spotted this ant crossing the trail. 5mm
Re: another new york id
Parasitic lasius maybe?
With all the things ants can do, you wonder, who rules the planet
Keeper of:
Camponotus Pennsylvanicus
Pheidole sp.
Keeper of:
Camponotus Pennsylvanicus
Pheidole sp.
Re: another new york id
I was thinking that with the big mandiblesAntsRule wrote:Parasitic lasius maybe?
- Batspiderfish
- Posts: 3315
- Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:47 pm
- Location: Maine
Re: another new york id
Lasius umbratus.
Try offering her a sugary meal. If you want to keep her, you'll need at least 20 Lasius workers from inside a colony (preferably near the brood, some of which you might collect as well). Younger workers tend to brood, are less aggressive in general, and may not have fully imprinted on their own colony. The safest way is to collect a sample of Lasius workers and pupae, let them eclose a callow worker, and then add the worker to your social parasite's tube. That worker will feed and care for the queen, while also being capable of opening more pupae (it will be best to do this four or five times). You could also try introducing the queens to whatever workers you find in the colony, but either give them a little space in a foraging arena, or chill the workers and attach the test tubes in the fridge.
My most recent L. umbratus queen was placed adjacent to a tube of Lasius nearcticus. A couple of the workers attacked her and hung onto her leg and antenna, which the queen patiently killed and pulled off. She licked the corpse of the worker for a while and then spent a whole day alone in her tube. When I next saw her, she was amongst her host workers.
Try offering her a sugary meal. If you want to keep her, you'll need at least 20 Lasius workers from inside a colony (preferably near the brood, some of which you might collect as well). Younger workers tend to brood, are less aggressive in general, and may not have fully imprinted on their own colony. The safest way is to collect a sample of Lasius workers and pupae, let them eclose a callow worker, and then add the worker to your social parasite's tube. That worker will feed and care for the queen, while also being capable of opening more pupae (it will be best to do this four or five times). You could also try introducing the queens to whatever workers you find in the colony, but either give them a little space in a foraging arena, or chill the workers and attach the test tubes in the fridge.
My most recent L. umbratus queen was placed adjacent to a tube of Lasius nearcticus. A couple of the workers attacked her and hung onto her leg and antenna, which the queen patiently killed and pulled off. She licked the corpse of the worker for a while and then spent a whole day alone in her tube. When I next saw her, she was amongst her host workers.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.
Re: another new york id
Any tips for finding and telling a lasius colony apart? I seem to have trouble telling apart the black ants in my area. The first time a thought I found lasius it happened to be tapinoma, the second time a Formica colony lol.
Re: another new york id
There is obviously lasius colonies in my area because my yard seems to have an abundance of lasius interjectus colonies under stones.
- Batspiderfish
- Posts: 3315
- Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:47 pm
- Location: Maine
Re: another new york id
Yeah, the yellow formicines are most likely Lasius. They should work for the adoption, but you'll want to include brood with them because wild workers are shy foragers and you may depend on the protein from their brood to feed the first L. umbratus workers.
Feel free to post an ID request if you are unsure.
Feel free to post an ID request if you are unsure.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.
Re: another new york id
Now lasius interjectus are a social parasite as well right? Will this still work with another parasite species or will that not mater? And all these interjectus colonies colonies I can find so easy must have come from a young lasius colony to begin with so they must be around. It would be super easy to find interjectus workers with brood I find them all the time around my house when I flip large stones, making that citronella smell.
- Batspiderfish
- Posts: 3315
- Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:47 pm
- Location: Maine
Re: another new york id
It used to be assumed that social parasites had specific host species which they absolutely needed, but in captivity queens can adopt themselves to just about any species within the genus. I think the real consequences regarding host species come while the queen tries to rear her first brood. The host workers often want to eat the queen's brood rather than care for them. In most cases, a parasitic worker will eventually be born, but I'd bet that this process could be expedited the closer we happen across the appropriate host species. Once the parasitic workers arrive, the behavior of the colony adjusts somewhat, and they stop eating the brood.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests