Thought it was Formica, now wonder if it is Lasius?

Help with identifying the species your ants

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MaxGen
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 9:26 am
Location: Toronto

Thought it was Formica, now wonder if it is Lasius?

Post: # 31180Post MaxGen
Sun Sep 10, 2017 4:46 pm

I caught several queens in Montreal Canada at the end of July, July 23. Now that the workers are out, they seems to be the size and shape of Lasius workers, about half the size of my other queens that I'm pretty sure are Formica Subserecia.

The workers are about 3mm and the queen is about 9mm, maybe 8mm.

Here is a video of the species I am wondering about:



Here is a shot of the queen:

Image

Here is a shot of my Formica next to this species I think is Lasius. You can see the difference in size of the workers:

Image

Thanks

MaxGen
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 9:26 am
Location: Toronto

Re: Thought it was Formica, now wonder if it is Lasius?

Post: # 31194Post MaxGen
Sun Sep 10, 2017 9:49 pm

I really think this is Lasius niger.

I've been searching the internet and found mention of an established population of L. niger in Quebec, which is where they were found.

The other Lasius pictures I have seen for North America seem to be browner or yellowish.

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Batspiderfish
Posts: 3315
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:47 pm
Location: Maine

Re: Thought it was Formica, now wonder if it is Lasius?

Post: # 31204Post Batspiderfish
Mon Sep 11, 2017 1:06 am

This would almost certainly be Lasius alienus. A clearer view of the antennal scapes would help. There are practically zero legitimate Lasius niger finds made by hobbyists in North America.
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.

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