How To Identify a Queen Ant

Summary

This Ants Canada video offers a timely guide on identifying queen ants during their nuptial flights in July, debunking the myth that it's too late to start a colony. The host explains how queens differ from workers and male ants, focusing on size, wing scars, and mesosoma structure. The video also features a visual guide to common queen ants in North America and Europe, aiding viewers in recognizing and possibly identifying the species of their caught queens.

Takeaways

• 🌳 It's the peak season in July for many ant species to have their nuptial flights in North America and Europe.
• 🚫 Contrary to common belief, it's not too late to catch a queen ant to start a new colony.
• 📧 The video creator has received many emails asking for help in identifying queen ants.
• 👀 Size alone can be misleading when identifying a queen ant; other characteristics are needed.
• 🔍 Look for the 'Mesosoma' or the thorax of the ant, especially for wing scars, which are a clear sign of a queen.
• 🦋 Male ants also have wings but do not have wing scars and often look different, resembling skinny wasps.
• 🔎 The size and structure of the mesosoma, including a 'plateau' or 'dome-shaped' area, can indicate a queen.
• 🧐 Practice is key to distinguishing queens from workers and other ants, especially in Myrmicine ants.
• 📚 The video lists common ant species found in North America and Europe to help with identification.
• 🌐 The video creator's website, AntsCanada.com, offers resources for ant keeping and a marketplace for colonies.
• 📹 Thanks are given to Alex Wild for providing photographs used in the video.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the Ants Canada video?

The main topic of the video is how to identify queen ants, especially during the nuptial flight season in North America and Europe.

Why is it important to distinguish queen ants from other ants?

It is important to distinguish queen ants because they are the reproductive members of the colony and starting a pet ant colony requires catching a queen.

What is the easiest way to tell if an ant is a queen according to the video?

The easiest way to tell if an ant is a queen is by its size; queens are larger than workers and male ants.

Why can size alone be tricky when identifying a queen ant?

Size alone can be tricky because some large worker ants might be mistaken for queens, and queens can sometimes be of similar size to large workers.

What are 'wing scars' and why are they important for identifying queen ants?

Wing scars are the marks left on the mesosoma of a queen ant after she breaks off her wings post-mating. They are important because they are a definitive sign that an ant is a queen.

How do male ants differ from queen ants in appearance?

Male ants look completely different from queen ants. They usually have tiny heads, large eyes, and resemble skinny wasps rather than ants.

What is the term used to describe the middle part of an ant's body, which is important for identifying queens?

The term used is 'mesosoma' or 'Mesosoma', which is where wing scars and the size of the segments can indicate if an ant is a queen.

How can the mesosoma of a queen ant differ from that of a worker ant?

The mesosoma of a queen ant is larger and has more parts, particularly the mesothorax and metathorax, which house the queen's wing muscles and are larger than those of a worker.

What is a 'plateau-like' or 'dome-shaped' structure on an ant's body and what does it indicate?

A 'plateau-like' or 'dome-shaped' structure refers to the mesothorax area of a queen ant, which forms this shape due to the housing of wing muscles, indicating that the ant is a queen.

What are some common ant genera that the video lists for viewers to help identify their caught queen ants?

Some common ant genera listed in the video include Tetramorium, Lasius, Camponotus, Formica, Solenopsis, Aphaenogaster, and many others.

What advice does the video give for those who have extra queen ants or colonies they can't care for?

The video suggests visiting the 'Adopt A Colony' project section on their website to sell or give away colonies that become too much to care for.

What additional resources does Ants Canada offer for ant enthusiasts?

Ants Canada offers a website with information and a forum, an ant tutorial playlist, a Solenopsis geminata playlist, and ant farms for growing healthy colonies.

Who is Alex Wild and why is he mentioned in the video?

Alex Wild is a photographer whose photos of ants were used in the video. He is mentioned as a credit for the use of his images.

Outlines

00:00

🐜 Queen Ant Identification Basics

In this video, the host discusses the best time of year for catching queen ants, which is during their nuptial flights in July in North America and Europe. The video aims to help viewers identify queen ants from worker ants and male ants. The host clarifies that queens are generally larger than workers and males, but size alone can be misleading. Key identifiers include wing scars on the mesosoma (thorax), which are left after queens break off their wings post-mating. Male ants, in contrast, retain their wings and have a distinctly different appearance, resembling skinny wasps. The video also highlights the importance of examining the mesosoma for a 'plateau-like' structure, which is indicative of a queen due to the larger wing muscles housed in this area. The host challenges viewers to identify queens in a photo and provides guidance on distinguishing between queens and major workers based on the mesosoma.

05:04

🌐 Common Queen Ants in North America and Europe

The second paragraph of the video script focuses on helping viewers identify the type of queen ant they might have caught. The host provides a list of common ant species in North America and Europe, including Tetramorium, Lasius, Camponotus, Formica, Solenopsis, Aphaenogaster, Brachymyrmex, Cephalothes, Crematogaster, Prenolepis, Linepithema, Monomorium, Myrmica, Novomessor, Pogonomyrmex, Pheidole, Tapinoma, Myrmecocystus, and Ponera. The video also covers tropical species such as Acromyrmex, Atta, Odontomachus, Polyrachis, Oecophylla, Myrmecia, and Paratrechina. The host encourages viewers to use these visual references to identify their queen ants and offers further assistance through their website. Additionally, the video promotes their ant keeping products and services, and invites viewers to engage with the community by subscribing to their channel, participating in their forum, and checking out their ant farm products.

Keywords

💡Nuptial flights

Nuptial flights refer to the mating flights of certain species of ants, where queens and males fly out to mate. In the video, this term is central to the theme as it explains the timing of the year when most ant species are having their nuptial flights, which is crucial for catching queen ants to start new colonies.

💡Queen ants

Queen ants are the reproductive females in an ant colony, responsible for laying eggs and producing offspring. The video focuses on helping viewers identify queen ants, which is essential for starting new ant colonies and understanding the ant's life cycle.

💡Workers

Worker ants are the non-reproductive female ants that perform various tasks within the colony such as foraging, caring for the young, and defending the nest. The script differentiates workers from queen ants by size and other physical characteristics.

💡Males

Male ants are the reproductive males of the species, which mate with the queen during the nuptial flight. The video script mentions that male ants are easily distinguishable from queens and workers due to their different physical appearance.

💡Mesosoma

The mesosoma, also known as the thorax in ants, is the middle section of the body that houses the wing muscles. The video emphasizes the importance of examining the mesosoma for identifying queen ants, particularly looking for wing scars and the size of the mesosoma.

💡Wing scars

Wing scars are the marks left on the mesosoma after a queen ant breaks off her wings following the nuptial flight. The script explains that the presence of wing scars is a definitive sign of a queen ant, as male ants do not leave such scars.

💡Gaster

The gaster is the posterior section of an ant's body, which contains the reproductive organs. In the video, large gasters are mentioned as a characteristic of queen ants, especially in Formicine ants, indicating their reproductive capacity.

💡Myrmicine ants

Myrmicine ants are a subfamily of ants that includes genera such as Myrmica, Pogonomyrmex, and Aphaenogaster. The script notes that identifying queens among Myrmicine ants can be more challenging due to less pronounced physical differences compared to other types of ants.

💡Formicine ants

Formicine ants are another subfamily of ants, including genera like Lasius, Formica, and Camponotus. The video script points out that queens of Formicine ants are more easily identifiable due to their large gasters and other distinct physical features.

💡Ant keeping

Ant keeping refers to the hobby of raising ant colonies, often in artificial environments. The video provides information on how to identify queen ants, which is fundamental for those interested in ant keeping and starting their own colonies.

💡Ant identification

Ant identification is the process of determining the species of an ant. The video script provides guidance on how to identify queen ants, which is an essential skill for ant keepers and enthusiasts to know what type of ants they have caught or are raising.

Highlights

It's July, the time when most species of plants are having their nuptial flights in North America and Europe.

You're not too late to catch a queen ant this year to start your pet and colonies.

The video will help identify queen ants and distinguish them from workers and male ants.

Queens are larger than workers and male ants, but size alone can be tricky for identification.

Wing scars on the Mesosoma (thorax) are a definitive sign of a queen ant.

Male ants have wings but do not have wing scars as they die after mating.

The size and number of parts in the Mesosoma can help identify a queen ant.

The queen's Mesothorax and Metathorax are larger, housing the wing muscles.

A plateau-like or dome-shaped structure in the Mesothorax is indicative of a queen.

Large Gasters are a clue for identifying queens in Formocine ants like Lasius, Formica, and Camponotus.

Myrmicine ants like Myrmica, Pogonomyrmex, and Aphaenogaster are trickier to ID based on Gaster size.

Queens have wing scars, don't look like wasps, have large Mesosomas, and tend to have large Gasters.

Photos of commonly found ants in North America and Europe will help identify the type of queen ant you have.

Examples of queen ants include Tetramorium, Lasius, Camponotus, Formica, Solenopsis, and Aphaenogaster.

Tropical ant queens like Acromyrmex, Atta, and Oecophylla are also featured in the video.

Ants Canada provides resources for ant keeping needs and a forum for enthusiasts.

Ants Canada is looking for moderators for their forum.

Pro Ant Farms are available to help grow healthy ant colonies.

Photos used in the video are courtesy of Alex Wild from alexanderwild.com.

Transcripts

Greetings everyone welcome to another Ants Canada video

Alright so it's July and this is the time of the year when the most

species of plants are having their nuptial flights in North America and a lot of Europe so for those of you who feel like you're

Too late in catching a queen ant this year to start your pet and colonies you're wrong the fun has actually just begun

So in light of this I've been getting a lot of emails lately asking me to identify

Queen ants that some of you might have caught and it seems some still may be having troubles trying to identify

Whether an ant that you caught is a queen or not, so I hope that when you finish watching this video

you'll have a better idea of what a queen ant looks like and how to distinguish it from other workers and male ants and

Also for those of you who caught a queen ant the season and aren't sure what kind of ant she is

stay tuned until the end of this video because I will list some of the most commonly kept and found ends by genus around the

World and show you exactly what the queens look like and perhaps you just might spot your ant in the list

So let's get to it guys this week's episode of the Ants Canada and channel is our re-tutorial on how to identify queen ants

Now there are several ways to tell if an ant is a queen or not, but I'll start with the easiest way

Queens are larger than workers and male ants. Seems simple, I know and I think everyone knows this

However sometimes using size alone can be tricky for example take a look at this photo

do you see a Queen ant in this photo if

You answer yes, and we're looking at this ant

Don't worry. You're not alone. There are many out there who would say that this is a queen based on its size

Truth is, this is a worker so you see in order to identify a queen in some cases

We may need more than just size to go on so let's proceed then with other clues

when looking to see if an ant is a queen the first place to look is the ant's Thorax or

The technical term is the Mesosoma

Get used to that term. I'll be using it a lot in this video

now when I catch a strange

Ant that I've never seen before and I can't tell if it's a queen or not the first place

I look is her Mesosoma

And particularly, her wing scars

You see queen ants are born with wings which they used during nuptial flight then after they mate these Queens break off their wings

Leaving some very prominent wing scars

So if an ant that you catch has wing scars on her Mesosoma, you know for sure. She's a queen as for male ants

They also have wings but they keep their wings and die directly after mating so in nearly all cases

you won't see wing scars on a living male ant

You'll only see them on Queen ants

Another thing about male ants by the way is male ants look completely different from Queen ants

They usually don't even look like ants at all. They look more like skinny wasps they have tiny heads and large eyes

sometimes examining for wing scars can be a challenge

So another clue in the Mesosoma region (area) of the ant that shows you it's a queen is the size of the mesosoma

and number of parts take a look at this photo from alexanderwild.com

It shows a Queen ant and a worker ant. In this species the difference is a little more subtle.

But with a closer inspection of the queen you'll see her mesosoma

parts you can see her prothorax here in blue her mesothorax in yellow

the Metathorax in Red and her propodeum in Green and

Here are the corresponding parts in the worker end

Now comparing the two you'll notice that the queen's mesosoma is larger and has more parts the queen's

Mesothorax the Yellow part and

Metathorax the red are areas which housed the queen's wing muscles and are therefore much larger than those of the worker

When I look at it, I find the mesothorax forms a sort of plateau like structure in Queens

Which is lacking in the worker ants

So when I look to see if an ant I caught is a queen, and I can't readily notice any wing scars

I look for this sort of plateau like or dome-shaped structure housing the queen Ant’s wing muscles

Alright, so now that you know this let's do another test

Which of these two large ants in the picture is a queen?

And which is just a major worker?

if you answer the ant on the right, congratulations!

You got a right! You can clearly see that plateau the dome-shaped, Mesothorax.

If you got it wrong don't worry about it too much, you'll get the hang of it

the more you get used to seeing queen ants. Other clues that point to queens especially in Formocine ants are large Gasters

Lasius, Formica, Camponotus Queens are unmistakable

They have large Gasters in relation to the rest of their body Myrmicine ants like Myrmica

Pogonomyrmex and Aphaenogaster tend to be a bit trickier to Id based on just Gaster to body size ratio

So to Id if Myrmicine ants are queens you mainly have to go by body size compared to workers and their mesosoma

So to recap them queens are larger than workers and males have wing scars

Don't look like Wasps with small heads and big eyes have large Mesosomas' with that

dome-shaped area and tend to have large Gasters.

Alright, so here are some of the commonly found ants in North-America and Europe.

Hopefully for those of you who have a queen ant now and aren't sure what type event she is

This section of the video may help you

So let's start with a photo of what a Tetramorium queen looks like. This is a Lasius Queen, the Camponotus Queen

Formica

Solenopsis, Aphaenogaster

Brachymyrmex (manho)

Cephalotes, Crematogaster, Prenolepis,

Linepithema,

Monomorium,

Myrmica,

Novomessor, Pogonomyrmex

Pheidole,

Tapinoma,

Myrmecocystus,

and Ponera. Now Let's move on to the tropics

Acromyrmex, Atta,

Odontomachus,

Polyrachis,

Oecophylla,

Myrmecia and Paratrechina

Okay, thanks so much for watching this video. Hope it helps you out this season in catching your queen ends

If you like this video, please do subscribe like share and leave me a comment

I love to hear from you guys and visit us at ncAa.com for all your and keeping needs

oh and don't forget if you have extra queens that give rise to colonies that become too much for you to care for

Visit our again project section under queen ants for sale on our website

And we can help you sell those colonies off or give them away to Aunt Lavinia City or region

Good luck catching those queens guys stay tuned for next week's video and yes

We now upload a new ant video every Monday. It's that love forever. Bye

Thanks so much for watching our video

It really meant a lot to me don't forget to subscribe to our channel if you liked this video

We upLoad once a week be sure to check out our ant tutorial playlist

And if you like watching ants and large colonies do check out our Solenopsis geminid a playlist

Finally be sure to visit our website antscanada.com we've got tons of great information there.

We've got a fantastic forum and by the way we're looking for moderators

so be sure to email me if you have some moderating experience and

We've got some great Pro

Ant farms available for you to choose from that are easy to use and help you grow super big and healthy.

Also thank you so much to Alex Wild from alexanderwild.com for allowing us to use his photos in this video and in other ends

Canada videos, be sure to check out his amazing photography. Take care! It's ant love forever. Bye. Bye