unknown ant - Neivamyrmex opacithorax

Moved

Moved from Legionary Ants.

… Ben Coulter, 27 April, 2014 - 10:54pm

News flash...

Gordon Snelling, after examining the specimen determined that it is Neivamyrmex opacithorax.

… Diane Young, 27 April, 2014 - 9:13pm

Moved

Moved from Ants.

… Mike Quinn, 28 October, 2013 - 3:30pm

Progress...

I obtained several members of different castes from the same nest (which had been relocated a few feet away from the original location) and keyed this species with "A Field Key to The Ants found at Brackenridge Field Laboratories. 1) petiole & post petiole, 2) eyes minute.- Ecitoninae 3) pretarsal claws of middle & hind legs without preapical tooth (placed an ant in a well slide and examined with my compound microscope)- Neivamyrmex 4) eyes reduced to a yellow spec -
Neivamyrmex fallax. That's how I key it.

… Diane Young, 28 October, 2013 - 1:54pm

swainsonii and fallax

Diane,

I think you may have found something significant. The image looks like a male to me, not a queen. Look at the genitalia poking out in your picture, and compare it to this male's. Also, look at this male N. swainsonii. From Snelling 2007(1) (page 490), "We have determined that N. fallax is the worker of N. swainsonii. The evidence for this association is scanty: it is based on a worker of N. fallax found attached to the leg of a male collected in Arizona." If you are correct that the worker is N. fallax, and you have both workers and a male from the same nest, you may be in a position to make the association less "scanty", or make a correct association. BTW, the nest moves frequently, as you have noted, and may not be locatable next season.

Gordon C. Snelling (the author and BG contributor) may be interested.

… Edward L. Ruden, 5 January, 2014 - 9:03pm

This is a queen of a species

This is a queen of a species of Neivamyrmex army ant. What other inquilines did you collect? There's a new genus with Neivamyrmex that I'm curious about.

… K. Taro Eldredge, 27 October, 2013 - 3:59pm

the colony moved a few feet away

this morning I was able to collect a nice set of different casts. Shall I send those also in ethanol. I'd like to know exactly what species this is.

… Diane Young, 28 October, 2013 - 11:44am

I would be interesting in see

I would be interesting in seeing the specimens. I can say with some certainty that this is not N. swainsonii though, therefore the workers would not be fallax. Queens are wingless, therefore this is a male.

… Gordon C. Snelling, 5 January, 2014 - 10:57pm

Please let us know

Please let us know with a follow up here what your finding are. If it's an interesting association, I'd be happy to take and post some nice pictures of a male and worker.

… Edward L. Ruden, 7 January, 2014 - 11:18pm

Email me your address...

and I'll send you the specimens from that nest.

… Diane Young, 6 January, 2014 - 8:57am