Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Register
·
Log In
Home
Guide
ID Request
Recent
Frass
Forums
Donate
Help
Clickable Guide
Calendar
Upcoming Events
Registration
is open for the
2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho
July 24-27
Moth submissions
from
National Moth Week 2023
Photos of
insects
and
people
from the
2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico
, July 20-24
Photos of
insects
and
people
from the
Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana
, April 28-May 2
Photos of
insects
and
people
from the
2019 gathering in Louisiana
, July 25-27
Photos of
insects
and
people
from the
2018 gathering in Virginia
, July 27-29
Previous events
Taxonomy
Browse
Info
Images
Links
Books
Data
Home
» Guide »
Arthropods (Arthropoda)
»
Hexapods (Hexapoda)
»
Insects (Insecta)
»
Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera)
»
Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps
»
Ants (Formicoidea)
»
Ants (Formicidae)
»
Formicinae
»
Lasiini
»
Citronella Ants (Lasius)
»
Subgenus Acanthomyops (Lasius Subgenus Acanthomyops)
»
Lasius latipes
Photo#29091
Copyright © 2005
tom murray
Queen Ant -
Lasius latipes
-
Harvard, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA
August 19, 2005
Size: 10mm
Is this some odd species, or just a queen of one of the common ant species?
tag
·
login
or
register
to post comments
Contributed by
tom murray
on 21 August, 2005 - 11:47am
Last updated 22 August, 2005 - 5:54pm
Strange.
I have no idea what this is, but Alex Wild would know. You might send a link to this image to him. He runs myrmecos.net.
…
Eric R. Eaton
, 22 August, 2005 - 12:26pm
login
or
register
to post comments
Thanks
for all the ID's again Eric. I emailed Alex Wild like you suggested, so maybe we'll find out what this ant is.
I heard back from Alex Wild, and here's what he said.
"That's a queen of one of the parasitic subterranean Lasius
species, probably Lasius (subgen. Acanthomyops) latipes. The workers will look something like the related species L. claviger:
Myrmecos
The queens sneak into nests of other Lasius species like L. alienus or
L. neoniger, kill the resident queen, and use the sizeable worker force
to start raising her own brood. After a couple years, the worker force
will have completely turned over to the parasitic species. Colonies are
entirely subterranean- you will rarely ever see workers above ground-
they tend scale and aphids on plant roots. Acanthomyops ants are not
uncommon but they are patchily distributed. They also have an alarm
pheromone that smells strongly of citronella."
…
tom murray
, 22 August, 2005 - 4:04pm
login
or
register
to post comments
Comment viewing options
Flat list - collapsed
Flat list - expanded
Threaded list - collapsed
Threaded list - expanded
Date - newest first
Date - oldest first
10 comments per page
30 comments per page
50 comments per page
70 comments per page
90 comments per page
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.