Nuptial flights in Vic Australia

Where and when are you finding queen ants? A section to share nuptial flight schedules by ant species and locality

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Antdom

Re: Nuptial flights in Vic Australia

Post: # 15635Post Antdom
Wed Dec 28, 2016 5:34 am

Ochetellus glaber :)

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Batspiderfish
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Location: Maine

Re: Nuptial flights in Vic Australia

Post: # 15639Post Batspiderfish
Wed Dec 28, 2016 10:55 am

Antdom wrote:Ochetellus glaber :)
Guys, I'm sorry, but you haven't gone through the necessary steps to obtain an ID. The ant needs to be examined by somebody who knows what they are doing -- to which the photographs are insufficient and there are no measurement of the workers in the images. One needs to follow a dichotomous key or a detailed anatomical description, else you are absolutely doomed to get the ID wrong.

If I had to guess, I would say these look more like Iridomyrmex than Ochetellus.
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.

Antdom

Re: Nuptial flights in Vic Australia

Post: # 15644Post Antdom
Wed Dec 28, 2016 4:13 pm

Your right, after some research it does look more like an Iridomyrmex, the glaber queen has a more bulbous pronounced gaster. Still hard to tell with all the variances as you say, I'll have to get better pics and proper ID info accordingly.

On a lighter note, the ant world reminds me of the Roman Empire families with all the family and house naming conventions, but times a million! Lol

Antdom

Re: Nuptial flights in Vic Australia

Post: # 15673Post Antdom
Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:55 am

Anyone looking for a different protein source for ants try a little bit of Tuna in spring water - I've been experimenting feeding a large wild colony and they absolutely loved it, cool to watch too

Antdom

Re: Nuptial flights in Vic Australia

Post: # 16064Post Antdom
Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:03 pm

Ant hunting in Wilsons prom, and I've found a species of ant that has the "big headed workers" as well as the smaller ones - exciting stuff! Looks like a lot of new nests are springing up, so hoping to find a new queen of this interesting species!!

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