| Pogonomyrmex californicus | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Genus: | Pogonomyrmex |
| Species: | P. californicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pogonomyrmex californicus Cole, 1968 |
|
Pogonomyrmex californicus is a species of insect in family Formicidae. It is endemic to the southwestern United States.[1] It is best known as the ant that is sent out for Uncle Milton's Ant Farm.[2]
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Pogonomyrmex californicus can be found in open, warm, and sandy areas. Typically, they forage during the day as either individuals or in a group, forming columns as they work. They will typically prey on arthropods, although they are also known to go for a variety of seeds. Additionally, they can form colonies of up to hundreds of individuals. The nest entrances are often irregular and are surrounded by loose sand arranged in either a circular or semi-circular pattern. Reproduction also occurs in July, when reproducing ants are present.[1]
It has also been noted that Pogonomyrmex californicus forms multiple queen colonies. Although the majority of colonies will be founded and sustained by one queen, one population has been noted to contain multiple queens, in a relationship that appears to have been started as a cooperative, also known as pleometrosis. Normally, colonies with multiple queens form because over time queens are allowed into a colony which originally started with one queen. Over time, the queens start fighting one another, are killed off by the workers, or both occurs. In this species, it seems that this route occurs, but it not the only way to form a colony with multiple queens.[1]
The insect has a range that stretches from western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Utah, southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Baja California, and Sonora, Chihuahua.[1]