Tetramorium sp? - Tetramorium bicarinatum

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Ants (Formicoidea) » Ants (Formicidae) » Myrmicinae » Crematogastrini » Pavement Ants (Tetramorium) » Tramp Ant (Tetramorium bicarinatum)

Photo#1386352

Copyright © 2017 Alexander Mohn

Tetramorium sp? - Tetramorium bicarinatum -

Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA
June 16, 2017
Size: ~3mm

So, I was experimenting with pitfall traps for the first time today. They were baited with peanut butter.

One of the traps was full of many of these fairly big ants. At first, I thought they were just Solenopsis, but when I noticed the spines, it was obviously not right.

I think this is a Tetramorium species (one of the imported ones), and I'd like confirmation.

Using the key here, I arrived at T. bincarinatum. However, looking at the reports here, it doesn't seem like that species would be present in Austin. There was some brand new mulch put in where this trap was, and last winter had very brief cold (we had no freezes after December), so it's possible that it was able to overwinter and/or was brought in with the mulch.

If so, this would be the first Tetramorium I've seen at my house.

Images of this individual: tag all

Tetramorium sp? - Tetramorium bicarinatum - female

Tetramorium sp? - Tetramorium bicarinatum - male

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Contributed by Alexander Mohn on 16 June, 2017 - 11:43pm
Last updated 28 June, 2017 - 10:58am

Moved

Moved from Ants.

… James C. Trager, 28 June, 2017 - 10:58am

Thanks!

Thanks for the confirmation Dr. Trager!

I'm still surprised at how suddenly this species came to dominate my front yard. I was away for the spring term of school, and when I came back, this ant was everywhere.

… Alexander Mohn, 29 June, 2017 - 3:14am

Moved

Moved from Tramp Ant.

… James C. Trager, 28 June, 2017 - 10:58am

Gestalt looks more like one of the native spp.
How confident are you about the antennae being 12-merous? That would be the definitive character for an introduced Tetramorium in Texas. From your photos I can't tell definitively.

… E.E, 19 June, 2017 - 4:18pm

I'm actually very confident it has 12

I saw some more today -- there were many workers walking with slate queens and males earlier today.

I recounted the antennal segments on both the old specimens and some of the live workers. They have 12 segments.

I collected a queen and a male too. I'll add photos of those and another one of a worker.

… Alexander Mohn, 22 June, 2017 - 10:19pm

If it's native

Would I be right to say that it's probably T. spinosum instead of T. hispidum?

The eyes look to be smaller than T. hispidum, and the hairs (especially on the pronotum) are about the same length as the eye width to my eye.

I've also never come across a record of T. hispidum this far east.

… Alexander Mohn, 19 June, 2017 - 5:20pm

I'm not too confident

I've got like 10-15 workers, and counted multiple times on all of them -- the first thing I wanted to know was wether or not they were introduced...

I'll add a couple photos that show it better...

EDIT: Seeing the photos, I realize I may be counting the first segment of the funiculus as two because of the constriction -- so it may be 11

… Alexander Mohn, 19 June, 2017 - 4:35pm

Moved

Moved from ID Request.

… Ken Wolgemuth, 17 June, 2017 - 12:00am

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