IDing ants as a spider person, a short story
- "I have no idea what genus or tribe it is"
- "Well, maybe I can ID it to family at least"
- "Oh, right"
- *give up*
Did you get a photo?
@futurebird no it's just in general...like every time i see an ant...
To be fair even ant people get some of the ants mixed up. In someways, knowing where the ants are and what they are doing can tell you more about who they are than looks.
But once you learn the probably 5 or 6 common species in your area people will think you are some kind of ant-genius.
Show me something that isn't lasius, camponotus or one of the ants that really stand out and I will be reaching for my guides.
@futurebird I'll be happy if I can learn how to tell Crematogaster and Prenolepis imparis apart!
@nev As for the winter ant? I do get those mixed up with lasius... but they are capable of expanding their gasters to store food. They tend to have extra junk in the trunk.
It's kind of shocking how much time I spend on any given day thinking about ant butts.
@futurebird @nev I got called out to a house last week for a Lasius swarm. Huge nest in the crawlspace, and the un-naturally warm weather caused them to think it was spring. The Alates weren't thinking about food, so I had to use Tri-die. One of the biggest swarms I've ever seen. It was beautiful and I felt bad, but the couple's little toddlers were getting Alates in their Froot Loops, so I had to do it.
