Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Help with identifying the species your ants

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Nico12
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Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 95283Post Nico12
Sun Jul 31, 2022 9:17 am

So I found this queen at about 12:00, in late july, and I don't know what species she is. She's 10mm long; and red. I think she might be camponotus, but unlike most red carpenter ants, her gaster is the same color as the rest of her body. I would put a picture, but the rules and requirements say that I shouldn't put blurry or unclear photos, and I have a really bad camera, what you could imagine in your head would look better than the picture I took, really sorry :( but on a good note, she has a pile of eggs in her test tube, and she looks really healthy! :D BTW, she seems protective of her eggs, but not exactly aggressive.
8-) Ants Are Cool 8-)

SolenopsisKeeper
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Re: Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 95287Post SolenopsisKeeper
Sun Jul 31, 2022 9:48 am

Nico12 wrote:
Sun Jul 31, 2022 9:17 am
So I found this queen at about 12:00, in late july, and I don't know what species she is. She's 10mm long; and red. I think she might be camponotus, but unlike most red carpenter ants, her gaster is the same color as the rest of her body. I would put a picture, but the rules and requirements say that I shouldn't put blurry or unclear photos, and I have a really bad camera, what you could imagine in your head would look better than the picture I took, really sorry :( but on a good note, she has a pile of eggs in her test tube, and she looks really healthy! :D BTW, she seems protective of her eggs, but not exactly aggressive.
I can throw a few guesses your way without photos.

Camponotus nearctarus

Formica subsericea
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Nico12
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Re: Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 95291Post Nico12
Sun Jul 31, 2022 10:47 am

Thank you for giving me some clues; again, I am really sorry I don't have pictures but after doing some research, I have determined that she is (most likely) not camponotus, because her gaster is not darker, but the same shade of red as her abdomen, and not formica subsericea for the same reasons. She could be solonopsis invicta, (same size and color) and, looking at the pictures, it seems likley. Also I will attempt to put a picture this time, but not sure if it will help. [img]blob:chrome-untrusted://media-app/ebb515d0-83cf-41ff-b8a5-14fb4acde19e[/img] I have no idea weather I did that right, sorry if it didn't work, but it probably woudn't have helped you. Anyway, other than this I have three other queens which are all really tiny, and one of them got their wings wet, and when I checked on her a week later, she was either sleeping or... dead :shock: And one of them seems fine, but is curled up on the cotton of the test tube :? and the last one was hurt to begin with, I found her in a bucket of water, drowning, and she has a leg missing and an antenna missing, but other than that, she seemed fine getting into the test tube :? I think I want to just release the three other ants, do you think that's a good idea? (BTW I'm going camping, so I won't reply until tuesday)

(PS: sorry about the really long reply, I'm a beginner and I have a lot of stuff to talk about)

SolenopsisKeeper
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Re: Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 95300Post SolenopsisKeeper
Sun Jul 31, 2022 10:35 pm

Nico12 wrote:
Sun Jul 31, 2022 10:47 am
Thank you for giving me some clues; again, I am really sorry I don't have pictures but after doing some research, I have determined that she is (most likely) not camponotus, because her gaster is not darker, but the same shade of red as her abdomen, and not formica subsericea for the same reasons. She could be solonopsis invicta, (same size and color) and, looking at the pictures, it seems likley. Also I will attempt to put a picture this time, but not sure if it will help. [img]blob:chrome-untrusted://media-app/ebb515d0-83cf-41ff-b8a5-14fb4acde19e[/img] I have no idea weather I did that right, sorry if it didn't work, but it probably woudn't have helped you. Anyway, other than this I have three other queens which are all really tiny, and one of them got their wings wet, and when I checked on her a week later, she was either sleeping or... dead :shock: And one of them seems fine, but is curled up on the cotton of the test tube :? and the last one was hurt to begin with, I found her in a bucket of water, drowning, and she has a leg missing and an antenna missing, but other than that, she seemed fine getting into the test tube :? I think I want to just release the three other ants, do you think that's a good idea? (BTW I'm going camping, so I won't reply until tuesday)

(PS: sorry about the really long reply, I'm a beginner and I have a lot of stuff to talk about)
Can you link a photo via imagur or google photos?

A missing antennae is not a problem, she only needs one. A lot of queens curl up(Not fetal position) when they settle in. It is usually with smaller species.

If you want to, you may, but I would ask you feed them sugar water before. That way, they have enough energy to build a founding chamber. I also ask that you do it near hiding places like leaves and sticks.
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Nico12
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Re: Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 95362Post Nico12
Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:51 pm

Thank you so much for the information, I was getting worried. I will make sure to feed the queens before freeing them into the wild. I'm sorry, but I don't understand how to put a photo using imagur, and even if I did, it probably wouldn't help you, it's blurry, and all it shows is a dark figure of a queen ant, I'll try to take another photo of her this weekend.
8-) Ants Are Cool 8-)

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Nico12
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Re: Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 95740Post Nico12
Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:21 pm

Hi, so, I know I haven't said anything in a while, but while I was gone, I have concluded that it is a red carpenter ant! And... she now has pupea! I am so excited! Also, my plan is to just put the test tube in a red container, do you think that would work?
8-) Ants Are Cool 8-)

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Nico12
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Re: Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 99420Post Nico12
Sat Jun 03, 2023 1:35 pm

Update: She has about 5 workers and they are in a tubs and tubes setup, doing okay.
8-) Ants Are Cool 8-)

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Nico12
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Re: Please help me identify this queen! (Batavia, IL)

Post: # 100059Post Nico12
Sun Jul 30, 2023 11:15 am

I finally know what the species is, but its not camponotus. Turns out it's Formica Pallidefulva, the uncertain field ant.
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