QUEEN ID PLEASE

[Qjunrr]

Caught today an hour or two ago in Ontario

[JoeHostile1]

Lasius neoniger

[JoeHostile1]

Lasius sp.

Hey just wondering what prevented you from identifying the species. Because I just identified an ant that looks exactly like this as Lasius neoniger and now I’m wondering if I should have just said Lasius sp.

Niger-group Lasius can only be properly identified with a view of the hairs on the antennal scapes and the teeth on the mandibles. Lasius neoniger is *most likely* what people are finding in Eastern North America at this time of year, but to assume this identity every time is to neglect species like Lasius pallitarsis and members of the flavus group which happen to be darker.

So I’ll have to change my answer to Lasius Sp..

[Batspiderfish]

Hey just wondering what prevented you from identifying the species. Because I just identified an ant that looks exactly like this as Lasius neoniger and now I’m wondering if I should have just said Lasius sp.

Niger-group Lasius can only be properly identified with a view of the hairs on the antennal scapes and the teeth on the mandibles. Lasius neoniger is *most likely* what people are finding in Eastern North America at this time of year, but to assume this identity every time is to neglect species like Lasius pallitarsis and members of the flavus group which happen to be darker.

So I’ll have to change my answer to Lasius Sp..

We can also give them the "Lasius cf. neoniger" answer, so long as we explain why they can't be identified with certainty.