The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

RainbowScience wrote:

Batspiderfish wrote:

RainbowScience wrote:I would be careful of putting all of the Brachymyrmex together. Brachymyrmex depilis should have 4 segments to the abdomen and some of those appear to have more. Possibly multiple Brachymyrmex species.

I count five gastral tergites on every living queen. Brachymyrmex depilis is the only Brachymyrmex sp. north of Virginia.

ALTHOUGH, Brachymyrmex depilis (as we know it) might actually be more than one species.

You are absolutely correct, my mistake. I don't know where I read 4, it is indeed 5 for queens. I am surprised by how dark queen 8 appears in the picture, aren't B. depilis typically yellow? Mine is very yellow.

Coloration is variable, but these are light enough.

RainbowScience wrote: I am surprised by how dark queen 8 appears in the picture, aren't B. depilis typically yellow? Mine is very yellow.

I think that is from the lighting. They are all a yellow-y orange. They were so light in color that it was hard to see them on the white sidewalk pavement.

I have some extra photos of the Lasius sp. queens 3 and 4. These are the first two queens I have to have nanitics. These are 2 of the 3 Lasius queens caught in August. The remaining August Lasius has no eggs/brood. I also caught a Tetramorium at the same time and it appears to only have a single egg. The other 2 Lasius queens from the original images were caught in September.

Queen 3




Queen 4

The fact that I can't see any hairs on the scapes points to Lasius alienus, although this is the only real diagnostic we have to go on, and the photos are kiiiiinda unclear (although better than the originals). The pictures of the abdomen are, sadly, not of much use for distinguishing niger-group Lasius.