Girlfriend caught a queen today

[Cale3459]

Girlfriend caught a queen today in a founding chamber by herself while gardening. We live in central Illinois and the queen appears to be 11-12 mm(she wouldn't cooperate for omeasurements and keeps moving in the cotton each time I try). Used a sewing gauge in CM for the last picture where I was able to kind of get her to stay still long enough to get a measurement.

[Martialis]

Resembles Camponotus pennsylvanicus. Did your girlfriend find workers with her?

[Batspiderfish]

I would take a look at the descriptions for Formica argentea and Formica subsericea. Assuming she was not found with any workers or brood, I am guessing the latter.

[Martialis]

She seemed small for Camponotus, I believe you're right.

[Cale3459]

Yeah she's smaller than my Camponotus species and there were no workers or brood. I was also leaning towards Formica before posting.

[Cale3459]

I've never kept any Formica before. Anything terribly different from keeping Camponotus? I have her in a test tube setup in the dark currently. Is she parasitic? Do I need to provide brood to get her started?

[Batspiderfish]

She is one of the claustral Formica species. They are probably a little easier to keep than Camponotus, but they are very sensitive -- they have decent vision (for an ant) and will be agitated more easily by bumps or irregular vibrations.

[Cale3459]

Update for this queen: she's got a little clutch of eggs now.