Help me ID these Big Freaking Ants

[aquabee]

I don't care what it is kill it...

That is one thing I don't like about houston is the bugs lol

Agreed! And agreed!

[ssrprelude]

Bee loves roaches. Like the one right behind her!

[TonyO]

Outside of Texas being the only place I've lived in the natural range of the brown recluse, I haven't been particularly taken aback by the insects. Maine during blackfly season? Awful.

[sunkenmetal]

Outside of Texas being the only place I've lived in the natural range of the brown recluse, I haven't been particularly taken aback by the insects. Maine during blackfly season? Awful.

Was stationed at Edwards AFB in the mojave desert. Taranchula Migration talking about gross... Oh and at Kadena AB Okinawa Japan the Mother ****ing banana spider those things would chase you...

[TonyO]

Was stationed at Edwards AFB in the mojave desert. Taranchula Migration talking about gross... Oh and at Kadena AB Okinawa Japan the Mother ****ing banana spider those things would chase you...

Yeah, I don't need that.

[Totenkampf]

lol, we have tarantula migrations in west texas too and they are something to see. i dont mind most spiders (other than the recluse since they keep biting me) but i do hate webs for some reason. i got a shipment of jackson chameleons from hawaii once and there was some big mean banana looking spider in the box...i would have ID it if there was much left after the paintball gun ran dry.

the queens are on the way to a TAMU entomologist who specialized in ants here in houston (Texas A&M is a leading researcher in texas ants, especially fire ants, and how they may affect crops) but after looking at them closely once they stopped moving around so much i agree that tonyo is likely right. from the side, they do very much resemble texas leafcutter ants. the workers i saw appeared to be red harvester ants and the mound looked like the type that they make, which is not really a mound on the surface. i am wondering if the leafcutter queens were trying to invade an established den for another type of ant? I saw many trying to go in but only a few trying to come out.

[TonyO]

I think they were kicking them out. Nuptial flights for the queens where they fly off and make their own nests.

That's cool. I know a few fire any experts, but it is a different species than the one here. I've been stung probably 1000 times over 2 summers from those things.