What kind of ant do you think this is?

Help with identifying the species your ants

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Jackalope
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:03 pm
Location: Gilbert AZ

What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54296Post Jackalope
Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:25 pm

Hey guys! So I live in Arizona and I found this little ant here. No, it isn’t mating season for any ants currently, but I’m wondering what species it is so I can prepare for their nuptial flight. She was about 5mm long. I’ve attached the best quality pictures I could take of her. She was very active and fun to watch. Sorry if it’s still a little blurry. :| (I also had to crop them quite a bit to be able to attach them, so that adds to the fuzziness)
I’ve since released her back where I found her. Your input would be very valuable to me. I would really like to start a colony with this type of ant if I can. Thanks!
(I actually don’t know if the pictures attached or not, but I’ll try and figure it out if not.)

Jackalope
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:03 pm
Location: Gilbert AZ

Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54297Post Jackalope
Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:59 pm

Here are the pictures I tried to attach :)
(You'll have to copy and paste it into your search bar because it wouldn't post as a link)

Images: https://imgur.com/a/6QyGLeo

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antnest8
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Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54301Post antnest8
Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:14 pm

she almost looks like a social parasite queen. i'm not an expert but just my opinion
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Jackalope
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Location: Gilbert AZ

Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54303Post Jackalope
Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:31 pm

Thanks for your opinion, but she actually wasn’t a queen (at least from what I observed). She had no wings and no scars where wings would have been. Just not the look of a queen ant. I realize that you can’t see these details in my pictures, so I don’t blame you for anything :) Good thought though antnest8! Perhaps I’ll do some more research and see if you were right or not.

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antnest8
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Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54304Post antnest8
Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:40 pm

You did get to see her in real life. she just looked so skinny...
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antnest8
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Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54306Post antnest8
Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:49 pm

maybe she could be temnothorax
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    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

Jackalope
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Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:03 pm
Location: Gilbert AZ

Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54307Post Jackalope
Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:58 pm

Yes. I caught her by my house. Hmmm...I’m trying to remember if she actually looked that skinny in real life. When I had her, she didn’t look particularly skinny to me, but maybe she actually was. Idk. I’m pretty new to the hobby.

Also, I think you could be right about her being a temnothorax. It seems to match the description pretty well. If I find another one, I’ll look for the telltale signs of a Temnothorax curvispinosus (as they are the only type of temnothorax in my area) I’m still open to suggestions if any other ideas come to anybody’s mind. Thanks so much for your input!

DontSquishTheAnt
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Location: Connecticut

Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54433Post DontSquishTheAnt
Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:17 am

I don't know if you still have it, but this does look like a queen to me. Sorry if I'm resurrecting this post.
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CreeperUniverse
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Location: New York, NY

Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54929Post CreeperUniverse
Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:58 pm

Jackalope wrote:
Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:58 pm
Yes. I caught her by my house. Hmmm...I’m trying to remember if she actually looked that skinny in real life. When I had her, she didn’t look particularly skinny to me, but maybe she actually was. Idk. I’m pretty new to the hobby.

Also, I think you could be right about her being a temnothorax. It seems to match the description pretty well. If I find another one, I’ll look for the telltale signs of a Temnothorax curvispinosus (as they are the only type of temnothorax in my area) I’m still open to suggestions if any other ideas come to anybody’s mind. Thanks so much for your input!
This is super tough to ID. The pics are pretty crappy so no way of telling if it's truly a queen. But it's probably just a Pogonomyrmex major or super major.
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Jackalope
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:03 pm
Location: Gilbert AZ

Re: What kind of ant do you think this is?

Post: # 54933Post Jackalope
Fri Dec 21, 2018 6:13 pm

Yah. Thank's anyways guys!

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