proceratium

Proceratium silaceum, alate queen. Last week at the Vermillion River Observatory I collected this alate queen of Proceratium silaceum, an odd and highly specialized subterranean predator of spider eggs.  Once I finished photographing the ant I pickled it in 100% ethanol.  The specimen should be in good shape for DNA work. As Proceratium is both relatively uncommon and phylogenetically interesting, I thought I'd offer the specimen to any lab that might have use for it.  Contact me if you're interested.

Proceratium californicum San Mateo Co., California From Antweb: This rarely collected ant is known from valley oak (Quercus lobata) riparian woodland in the Central Valley and from adjacent foothill localities (oak woodland; chaparral; grassland). It is presumed to be a specialist, subterranean predator on spider eggs. Alates have been collected in April and May. photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon D60 f/13, 1/200 sec, ISO 100, twin flash diffused through tracing paper