Júlio came up with the correct answer to the questions in the last post.
Species 5 is Acromyrmex versicolor, and this worker was carrying a very large piece of caterpillar frass. As I noted in the comment, the frass is most likely from a Manduca rustica caterpillar, as there was a host tree nearby.
The challenge: to see how many species of ants I could find in Tucson, Arizona in two hours.
Species 5: You tell me.
To make this a little more fun, why don’t you tell me what the fifth species is.
Bonus: What is this ant carrying?
The challenge: to see how many species of ants I could find in Tucson, Arizona in two hours.
Species 4. Myrmecocystus placodops
In addition to the usual suspects, Tuscon has quite a few interesting species.
What are those peeking out of a hole?
Taking a closer look, I found worker ants with black bodies, red heads and long [...]
The challenge: to see how many species of ants I could find in Tucson, Arizona in two hours.
Species 2. Forelius
Most likely they are Forelius mcccooki, the species I have identified in Phoenix, but because this was a public place I didn’t take samples.
Chris Schmidt indicates that Forelius are probably the ants you are most [...]