Huge queen near 1.7cm, can someone help with ID?

[BrunoB]

Hey everyone, I found this queen on vacation near a dam in Portugal. She is the biggest queen I have ever seen, I won't say the biggest ant because of the size of some of the majors I found from the colonies around that I believe belong to her specie. She is around 1.7 cm and can't turn around on her test tube, I built a set up specially for her but I'm afraid she won't start laying in such a big space...

If someone can help to identify her specie or give a suggestion on how to care for her It would be a huge help. I believe she is fully clautral since she is very fat xD

Her on a normal test tube set up:



Her on a specially built setup





The setup:


I already caught her yesterday but could only put her on the setup tonight, do you guys think she will lay eggs on such a big space?

[MissMercy]

Wow! What a gorgeous looking queen. Looks very similar to the 2 I caught two days ago which I believe they are Camponotus Sp. queens so you should definitely look up pictures of queens of that genus to see if they are similar to her. Of the two I caught one of my queens has already started laying eggs, I am keeping them in very small pill bottles with a bit of water due to lack of a better housing option with several tiny holes punched in the top and 2 days later one of the queens is already laying. I hope this info helps

[BrunoB]

It helps a lot, Could I ask you to post a photo of your setup the next time you check on them? I wanted to compare the size of the chamber they are in, since you already had good results

We have been discussing her species and how to care for her on a thread on Ant Care and Ant Keeping, if you want to take a look at it it might give you some ideas, Hawkeye gave some nice tips on how to reduce space on the chamber

Here is a link https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=15065

Thank you for your help, I'm trying to find larger test tubes, when I finally manage to get a hold of some I'll check on mine and see if she layed on such a huge container, I'll keep both the posts updated

Also, since you found 2 similar already, are species with queens this large common? I've never seen such a huge one, when I saw the ants on the place I found her I was very surprised by their size. Especially here in Portugal i was unaware of ants this big xs

[Hawkeye]

Camponotus ants live worldwide and are quite common in European forests...

[Hawkeye]

It helps a lot, Could I ask you to post a photo of your setup the next time you check on them? I wanted to compare the size of the chamber they are in, since you already had good results

We have been discussing her species and how to care for her on a thread on Ant Care and Ant Keeping, if you want to take a look at it it might give you some ideas, Hawkeye gave some nice tips on how to reduce space on the chamber

Here is a link https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=15065

Thank you for your help, I'm trying to find larger test tubes, when I finally manage to get a hold of some I'll check on mine and see if she layed on such a huge container, I'll keep both the posts updated

Also, since you found 2 similar already, are species with queens this large common? I've never seen such a huge one, when I saw the ants on the place I found her I was very surprised by their size. Especially here in Portugal i was unaware of ants this big xs

There is a large ant shop in Spain, anthouse.es you should be able to order there and receive them relatively quick. Well a lot quicker than ordering them from the States at least...

[MissMercy]

My two queens, sorry for the horrible picture quality but as you can see I'm keeping them in modified empty pill bottles with water, cotton, and holes in the top for air and keeping them in a dark drawer in my room and they seem to be doing good.

They might look small in the pictures but don't be fooled, these are some really massive queens, I have yet to measure them.

[Hawkeye]

If it works, it works! If you can post some more pictures, preferably not through green plastic, we could help you identify them. Though if you look through pics of carpenter ants in your area I am sure you'll manage

[MissMercy]

If it works, it works! If you can post some more pictures, preferably not through green plastic, we could help you identify them. Though if you look through pics of carpenter ants in your area I am sure you'll manage

I'll be sure to get some better pictures of them later when I have them in a better setup.

[BrunoB]

These ones look great, If mine does not start laying and I don't find large test tubes I might do something like that!

Maybe you could cover the holes with some paper, she will obviously not escape thru there but since the interior will be humid it could attract mites or small insects, I usually put a napkin covering the holes and attach it with a rubber band

[MissMercy]

These ones look great, If mine does not start laying and I don't find large test tubes I might do something like that!

Maybe you could cover the holes with some paper, she will obviously not escape thru there but since the interior will be humid it could attract mites or small insects, I usually put a napkin covering the holes and attach it with a rubber band

That is a good idea, but I may be moving them into a proper test tube fairly soon so I'm not too worried about it.

I also found both of these girls in my front yard, in my driveway to be precise, so I didn't have to go far to find queens at all