Ant ID: Havasu, Arizona (Mojave Desert) 7-28

[Dhakar]

Hey everyone, hoping to get an ID on this gal. She's actually the 5th I've caught out of my pool since July 3rd, all of them between 5-7pm. The one I caught today (and the pics are of) looks to be about 6.5mm. She's fairly active in her test tube so it's hard to get a good clear picture of her, but it's only been a couple hours so not really surprised. I was a little surprised when I caught her though - literally 10 seconds after putting her in the test tube, she pulled her wings off.

Anyway, for my specific area of Lake Havasu, the street behind me borders the open desert, in case that is useful at all for ID. I'll try to post a couple pics directly here and I'll include an imgur for a gallery of all 7 of them. I also included a measurement of the cork she's on for reference. And yeah, the cork is temporary - she's already in a test tube and cotton set up.





Imgur album link: http://imgur.com/a/6cGwJ


Would it be possible to ID exact species with those pics or would they need to be clearer?

[AntsOnTheCoast]

Looks like a Camponotus festinatus, or could also be a Camponotus vicinus.

Edit: it is most likely Camponotus vicinus.

[Phoenix]

Solenopsis Sp; Two Petiole Nodes, Not Camponotus For Sure.

[Soundwave]

I haven't seen those out yet, I'll have to keep looking.