My #Formica#subsericea queen is very skittish and if there is a loud nose or vibrations she runs out of her nest and tries to hide in the water feeder. Only she is much too large for this to work. Poor girl.
Here is my small nervous Formica subsericea. These are black field ants, you can tell them from carpenter ants because they are shiner, only come in one size (no majors with big heads) and their thorax has a dent rather than a hump. They also move differently from carpenter ants which tend to be more deliberate and less spastic.
Today I gave them fruit flies and they have eagerly piled them up in front of the queen. Who looks like she just wants to go to sleep.
Even the queen moves quickly. They are always fighting over who gets to carry what. There is generally a small clutch of eggs in the nest and I have never seen them set it down. An ant is always proudly holding the cluster of new eggs and she won’t let her sisters help her hold it. I think they must sit it down when it’s dark and quiet in the nest— but if I’m taking photos? well we never get to see them calm first that reason! Ants notice photographers! #formica#ants#antvideo