ID Help Please -

[310Ants]

Hi all - I'm new here and I found this lady... she was crawling on the carpet in my basement of all places.

I caught her 20 April 2019 - she is 3/8 of an inch long or 9.525mm and after a week in the dark she laid 1 egg... today I checked her again and now she has 4 eggs! The few times I've checked she is always hovering/standing over them like she is sleeping with them so I take it this is a good sign (but not a guarantee) that they are fertilized. I'm excited!

I assume she is Camponotus... any ideas?

[310Ants]

... and sorry, she was caught in Bowie, MD USA

[23brendan]

It might just be me, but I can't see the images you posted. Try using a link to an imgur post.
Sign up page: https://imgur.com/register?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fimgur.com%2F

[310Ants]

Hmm, thanks for the heads up - hope this works better!

[WillWithAnts]

I can't quite tell where the red is on her. . . I'm going to throw out the guess of Camponotus pennslyvanicus just for fun.

[23brendan]

I agree, definitely a Camponotus pennsylvanicus

[310Ants]

Wow! Thanks WillWithAnts and 23Brendan... very much appreciate your replies/input.

So far she seems happy in the dark in her test tube setup. Is it okay to peep in on her once a week? I get nervous that the water won't seep through the cotton ball (it's a bit tight) and that she will dehydrate. I used to push it back farther every now and then, but she attacked the tweezers when I tried that last time so I want to leave her alone as much as possible. I guess she knows where the water is and if need be she will pull on the cotton to get at it?

310Ants

[WillWithAnts]

From my experience, I don't think she will have any troubles as far as moisture goes. And yeah, momma Campos are vicious defenders of their founding chambers. Peeping once a week doesn't hurt! They don't like vibrations or bright lights, but hey, the whole idea is to check out cool ants, so you gotta peek! I'm excited to see how she does I need some of my own. . .

[AntsDakota]

From my experience, I don't think she will have any troubles as far as moisture goes. And yeah, momma Campos are vicious defenders of their founding chambers. Peeping once a week doesn't hurt! They don't like vibrations or bright lights, but hey, the whole idea is to check out cool ants, so you gotta peek! I'm excited to see how she does I need some of my own. . .

Tell me about it. Once I dropped a dying major into a small colony of C. pennsylvanicus, and the queen ripped its head off!

[AntsDakota]

I agree, definitely a Camponotus pennsylvanicus

I can't quite tell where the red is on her. . . I'm going to throw out the guess of Camponotus pennslyvanicus just for fun.

I don’t know.....

She looks too skinny and lightly built. Also, I’ve noticed that species is dull black-grey.