Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
I am having difficulty identifying the queens I have caught. Mainly because of a lack information pertaining to ant identification in Alberta, or any of the surrounding areas. These queens are almost...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Camponotus herculeanus sounds likely. I'm not sure how far C. modoc occurs into Canada. Formica have not yet produced any alates for the years, at least not northern populations, and as you point out...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
I didn't think that the carpenter ants flew until around June to August sometime. The only flight of carpenters I have ever seen was around mid-summer and was over a decade ago. I could be easily be...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
I will try to get some pictures tomorrow of my queens and of the local nests that I know are flying their alates.
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Remember that the common ants in lawns and other habitats are different in different places. Without pictures, no clear idea what ants are in your lawn. All carpenter ant (Camponotus) species in...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Wow. Pictures enlarge the details that your eyes don't see. The flash brings out the red in the ants, it isn't that visible to the naked eye. Will carpenter ants build nests in straight dirt? Good...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
The soil-nesting colony is in a different genus, Formica, than your Camponotus queen (which, at least to me, also looks like C. chromaiodes).
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Thanks. I had thought that my queens had come from those soil-nests, but perhaps not. I am really hoping that they are carpenter ants. Another question, how do you keep your ants warm while they are...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
The queens are indeed carpenter ants, however the large nest is from the genus Formica, not Camponotus. I use a 15 watt reptile heating cable for my ants. I simply lay it down onto a cloth, and place...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Camponotus chromaiodes will keep satellite nests sometimes in the soil under the logs the main nest is in. I have found queens lurking in these areas, but only those that have given rise to fairly...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Definitely NOT chromaiodes, which does not live anywhere near Alberta. The Alberta ant fauna is essentialy a Rocky Mountains assemblage. This is either C. herculeanus or C. novaeboracensis. The...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Thank you! I could never figure out what the name of those Formica were. All I could ever get in my google searches, calls to various town halls, and exterminators, was black field ant. I know lots...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
A fairly large yellow puddle? Are you sure they're not eggs? Cause some Camponotus lays yellow eggs.
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Yes, a yellow puddle. Definitely not eggs, I have seen ant eggs from this species before. It was only millimeters from her mouth, so I assume it was puke and not from the rear end. After raising the...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Hi. I just finished building my first ant farm. The first queens I caught to populate it are the same as the one iin your pic (boreal carpenter?). just how warm did you need to keep them before they...
View ArticleRe: Large black queen ID (Alberta, Canada)
Mine liked it about 25-26C (77-78.8F). My journal for this species is in my signature below.
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