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First queen

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 8:53 pm
by Dinoff
Hey everybody. I live just south of Hanover Pennsylvania in Maryland. I just caught this ant queen over the weekend and need help figuring out what she is. She is about 6-7mm. Hard to get an accurate measure as she found a dip in the cotton to sit in. I have a large variety of species in my backyard and still trying to ID them all. The only one i know of for sure is the massive camponatus Penn. colony chewing through my deck (deck is not connected to the house) (will ask about them later as i need them to stop without killing them).

I found her on the concrete step in my backyard, which is mostly shaded and tends towards the damp side. she was trying to crawl behind the step and into spider city so i decided to save her. she seems to have taken well to the test tube and likes to hang out on the cotton ball in the back. I did not see any nuptial flights that day so not sure where she came from. She was not around any other ants at the time. My neighborhood is just full of the little black pavement ants, i mean everywhere, so hoping she is one of them.
Thanks,
Dinoff


Images - sorry will try to get better images but i do not have a great camera
https://ibb.co/gf1awT
https://ibb.co/jWiAVo
https://ibb.co/dzkeO8

Re: First queen

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 9:09 pm
by Batspiderfish
Lasius umbratus dealate from last fall. They often hibernate and look for host colonies in the spring.

http://www.formiculture.com/topic/3252-much-ado-about-the-founding-of-lasius-temporary-social-parasites/

Re: First queen

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 10:37 pm
by Dinoff
Do you have any recommendations for getting a clearer picture of her without stressing her out?

Re: First queen

Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 10:16 pm
by Dinoff
Thanks for the ID. Will need to find some workers and brood for her then.