I can't believe my luck. I have been trying to entice these girls since this morning. It seems like even 78° is not warm enough for them.
I just went out to check on them and saw a few wandering around so I moved the potato chunk back by there nest and in five minutes they proved they had more sisters then what I suspected.
It is a fairly new, young nest (from this summers nuptial flight) but this queen has at least 50 foragers (workers).
I suspect after this meal she will start producing soldiers. In this picture you can also see some of them coming out of the nest to feed.
This is not the same one I showed a month or so ago.
I believe this poor queen became spider food. Shortly after she closed up the nest to start laying eggs a spider built a home next to where she had.
It is SO cool to be able to get such a close up shot and not have to worry about getting bit. That may not be the case next summer
Anyway. They have a nicely shaded starter spot. I can only hope I can get them a mouse before they hibernate in December. They will need the protein.
Now for this ant nest. I have been watching them for some time as well. They do not come out often during the day.
Last night I got curious and went into my yard around midnight to see if the cooler weather would be attractive to them and low and behold, they were foraging. I left them a chunk of sweet potato that I found them still munching on when I woke up this morning.
It was fun and surprising to see SO many of them. I did not think this nest was so big. They do quite well in staying inconspicuous.
Last time I checked on them they appeared to have abandoned their treat. Then I saw movement.
They had dug underneath the food so they could still eat while staying out of the sun.
Looking at the drops of food they have scattered at the base of the potato, I can now understand why some bug poisons are shaped the way they are. It looks like food. I am sure there is a pleasant (sweet) taste to it as well.
There was another, smaller colony stealing bits from time to time that got in these ants way. I am not sure how the disputes where going on but from time to time I could see these girls react to something.
Now, I am going to call on any bug enthusiasts for an id on these girls. In my search I have only been able to find two with any similarities and one is a Tasmanian ant.
Thank you for reading this and I look forward to engaging with you in the comments. If you are coming from outside of hive and enjoyed my content, please consider supporting me.
