ID Please: Caught June 21, 2018 Houston, TX

[TheRealAntMan]

Yes, they’re fully claustral.

[kykel09]

Hmmm....couple different opinions here. Is solenopsis invicta clausteral?

Yes, both Tetramorium and Solenopsis Invicta are fully claustral. Is the ant black or dark red. That's honestly going to be the biggest telltale. Solenopsis Invicta are red with black tipped gasters. But honestly, I would trust Batspiderfish. They are far more experienced at identifying species than I am.

[TheRealAntMan]

Hmmm....couple different opinions here. Is solenopsis invicta clausteral?

Yes, both Tetramorium and Solenopsis Invicta are fully claustral. Is the ant black or dark red. That's honestly going to be the biggest telltale. Solenopsis Invicta are red with black tipped gasters. But honestly, I would trust Batspiderfish. They are far more experienced at identifying species than I am.

I find that some subspecies of S. Invicta are actually are more black than red especially the polygynus queens and the hybrids.

[kykel09]

Hmmm....couple different opinions here. Is solenopsis invicta clausteral?

Yes, both Tetramorium and Solenopsis Invicta are fully claustral. Is the ant black or dark red. That's honestly going to be the biggest telltale. Solenopsis Invicta are red with black tipped gasters. But honestly, I would trust Batspiderfish. They are far more experienced at identifying species than I am.

I find that some subspecies of S. Invicta are actually are more black than red especially the polygynus queens and the hybrids.

This post is repeatedly shattering my reality...

[Batspiderfish]

Solenopsis invicta generally have a red-brown head and mesosoma, with a mostly dark gaster. I think she looks so dark in one of the images because of the photograph itself. Tetramorium has coarse rugae (wrinkles) over it's head and much of its body that make it less shiny.