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Post by RedBullBabe on Aug 17, 2015 18:31:12 GMT
My son came back from being out on his scooter with a queen (I hope) ant on one of his wrist guards. He found her wandering on the ground. I quickly got ready and we went back out again in search of more. I done a quick Google, but I have no idea what they are, so can I get an identification please? Picture 1Picture 2Picture 3Thank you. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2015 19:39:16 GMT
Picture 3 is a dead link.
The insect in the second picture does not look like a queen ant to me. The antennae are too long and not elbowed at the right place. |
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Post by RedBullBabe on Aug 17, 2015 19:46:17 GMT
Picture 3 is a dead link.
The insect in the second picture does not look like a queen ant to me. The antennae are too long and not elbowed at the right place. Sorry, link fixed. Picture two and three are of the same ant, just one is clearer. |
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Post by Thebugman on Aug 17, 2015 20:07:12 GMT
Pictures 2&3 look like a wasp of some sort, a quick way to tell the difference is to look for elbowed antennae, which most ants have but most wasps do not. Picture 1 looks like a Myrmica queen, though a species will be difficult to say from a picture.
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Post by RedBullBabe on Aug 17, 2015 20:46:08 GMT
Pictures 2&3 look like a wasp of some sort, a quick way to tell the difference is to look for elbowed antennae, which most ants have but most wasps do not. Picture 1 looks like a Myrmica queen, though a species will be difficult to say from a picture. They actually all look the same. Just one is a side view. They definitely have elbowed antennae. And they have no stingers. We had both been handling others that were wandering on the ground and we didn't get stung or bit. I have test tube with one in, two with two in, and two with five in each. No fighting so far. Thank you for responding. |
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Post by Thebugman on Aug 17, 2015 21:18:06 GMT
Difficult to tell the size, but if they are slightly smaller than the females then they are probably drones.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 18, 2015 6:55:18 GMT
Pic 1 is definitely a Myrmica queen, and the other 2 are most likely males of the same species; but as to the exact species it is hard to say unless you know what Myrmica species live in the area?
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Post by RedBullBabe on Aug 18, 2015 15:29:32 GMT
Pic 1 is definitely a Myrmica queen, and the other 2 are most likely males of the same species; but as to the exact species it is hard to say unless you know what Myrmica species live in the area? Thanks for replying everyone. Now the daylight is brighter I can definitely see the ant in the first picture is different. She looks way more red all over than the others. Going to pop out today, so hopefully there might be some queens around. I have Googled, but there isn't much recorded ant species in my area. Nearest results I found were about endangered ones in Galway. The ones I found were on a five minute walk to the lake, from nuptial flights. Thanks again. |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 18, 2015 15:35:23 GMT
There are 3 main Myrmica species found over Ireland, these are M. ruginodis, M. scabrinodis and M. sabuleti. Also Myrmica rubra in the south.
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