The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

Oh wow! Thanks for all the replies everyone. I am going to try and get some better photos of her on Monday. As I don't want to keep taking her out of her setup.

out of the three suggestions Pogonomyrmex Rugosus looks the closest. She has those tiny hairs, similar coloration and eyes.

I am fairly certain it is not a type of be or wasp for a few reasons. One, no flying attempt at all, and she was still live 3 days after capture. So I would think a wasp healthy enough to live for that long and show no negative signs would have flown all up in my face haha. Two, her gaster is not super pointy and no sign of a stinger. Gentle to handle.

She had some odd behavior that I have since looked into a bit, but not sure. After being placed in her setup she started grooming a lot (read this would be normal), but kept curing into what I was thinking was a death curl. It looked like she was biting at the end of her gaster or simply twitching into a ball. The last time I had checked on her she was just walking around like normal, so not sure what that was about. She also had not shed her wings yet. So possibly not mated if indeed a queen ant.

For not I am just hoping that when I open her up on Monday she will be alive.

I've heard grooming the gaster is a good sign of mating. So there's some good news!

That is good to hear!

I am learning how hard it is to not check up on her every 2 minutes haha. We will see how she is doing Monday.

Hard to tell exactly with those pictures but definitely looks like Pogonomyrmex rugosus.

Sinprex wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 10, 2018 6:32 pm

Hello,

I have been a long time follower of AntsCanada and have always wanted to try my hand at raising a colony. Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time to find a queen. Today, on my bedroom floor I found this guy/gal. It looks to be a queen to me, but I am far from an expert. Could someone tell me what I found here? Thanks so much.

https://imgur.com/a/5OtLuKt

Any queens for sell

Here are some clearer photos for everyone. At this point I do not think she is mated and am thinking about letting her go. She likely wont find a mate now, but better in nature then stuck in a tube right?

https://imgur.com/a/mzByHuK

Pogonomyrmex rugosus

Why do you think she is unmated? If it's her wings, know that many queens will retain their wings through the entire founding process. Having them does not mean she hasn't mated.

StormDancer wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:18 pm

Why do you think she is unmated? If it's her wings, know that many queens will retain their wings through the entire founding process. Having them does not mean she hasn't mated.

Yes that was why I was thinking so. I was under the impression that if they mated they would drop them within a few days. That is good to hear =)

I will just poke in on her once or twice a week then.