Insects of Richmond

 I've recently been finding ants a lot. I've been finding some remarkable species, such as Brachyponera chinensis. I've also encountered one that is rather bizarre. The species is Pheidole dentata.  Here it is:  P. dentata, major P. dentata, minor I've only ever seen one colony of these ants. They were at my school under a hollowed out log. There was a large number of workers (minors) and approx. the same number of soldiers (majors). These are cool ants, especially because of the way they use their heads: the majors heads fit together like puzzle pieces. When many heads are in an entrance, nothing can pass.  The ants, despite their weird looks, are passive and reluctant to attack humans. I've only had one bite me during the whole time monitoring their nest. They also seem to be pretty OK with other insects and ants near their colony. I've found millipedes on the main mound, a leaf beetle ( Chrysolina bankii ) and even a hibernating Lasius claviger queen . There...

 As winter comes and the temperature drops to the 30's here in Richmond, there is still invertebrate life  to be seen. Among these are springtails, centipedes, millipedes, and ants. I've been collecting lots of ants recently, because I've mostly just been finding colones wherever I look.   The species I wanted to highlight in this post (I'll probably do multiple today) is Brachyponera chinensis . It is the first Ponerine ant I've ever seen.  Brachyponera chinensis, lateral Brachyponera chinensis, dorsal   Throughout its rather expansive range, B. chinensis is going to be the largest Ponerine in the area. I've seen the species in Chesterfield, where I go to school. The above specimen was collected at my school (8706 Quaker Lane, Bon Air, Chesterfield, VA). This ant is rather small, measuring in at 3 - 4 mm.  I've found this species under sizeable logs. I'm aiming to get some photos of the habitat, and will upload them later.  They live in large col...