Ant experts out there?

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
I'm suspicious I my have honeypot ants in my yard. Then I noticed they behaved much like Camponotus, they spray and have no sting so I wrote them off as Componotus. But then I read they very closely related and that Honeypots also spray and have no sting, there is even the honeypot ant Componotus inflatus in Australia. I also have a species of common Camponotus running around my house but these are definitely not that common species I see. the lanky workers is what makes me especially suspicious but I don't know much about ants. What do you think? I put a plant pot base over their hole and that encouraged a lot of them to come up and warm the pupa I suppose so I was able to take a good pic. I don't have a close up for detail though. I'll have to get my dinolite going again with my new computer. Feel free to send the pic to somebody you think might know.
DSCN1565.JPG
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
What about this http://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Regional-Ant-Faunas/Ants-of-the-American-Deserts/i-fwf7q3r/A I know it's almost impossible without some close-ups, what should I look for to rule out honeypots? I think my mind is trying to turn them into honeypots because that's what I want them to be haha. I also found this on my back porch a couple of years ago, I kind of looks like pics of honeypot queens I've seen on the internet, it was pretty large.


Here's another look-a-like, and they are native to Tx. Just can't figure it out.
http://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/T...era/Myrmecocystus/i-wx7QQvc/2/S/MyrMex5-S.jpg
 
Last edited:

myrmecophile

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
654
Your queen image is indeed a Myrmecocystus, again no telling which species.
The shape of the mesosoma in profile is one give away, In Camponotus it is nicely evenly convex from front to back,
Myrmecocystus has a more "Stepped" shape to it. Your image shows the shape well enough to see the convex shape.
Myrmecocystus has maxillary palps which are generally longer than the head, Camponotus does not.
Although Myrmecocystus does have a range of caste sizes, the larger works do not exhibit the change in color pattern
which is evident in your ants. A yellow species like yours would be solid yellow over it's entire body, no dark head.
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
OK, interesting. Too bad I let that queen go, it was a few years ago and didn't know what it was it the time. I would have been interested in starting a colony. I've been searching the porch light in hopes of finding another one.
 
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