23 replies to this topic

[neoponera]

i was on a nice day walking on my back yard (near a desert that's near a river)  and thought

 

that rock looks lift-able, and found a pheidole colony (mind thatt at the moment i just had 1 catch cup) i was observing them  until i find the queen,

 

i lifted the queen with my hand and saw something odd, there was another ant  that wasnt pheidole, it was a solenopsis phoretica queen, the queen 1 (solenopsis phoretica) realized that she was in danger and started franticly looking for the pheidole

queen to ride her as seen in this picture (credit of alexander wild)

 

so i placed the queens on a rock filled with workers and brood and took them home to place them in a test tube

 

i passed them into a test tube  and after doing some research the only thing i found was, very few info is known about their activities after the host queen has found a nesting place

 

so i did oservations like

 

 

*the queen will not kill the host, there fore the host will develop a colony wich will feed her, i find pheidole is easy to trick in that way because they are used to having more than 1 queen.

 

*the queen 1 will not produce any type of workers, yet

 

* the queen 1 will stop riding piggyback after the queen has the host workers to defend her.

[ponerinecat]

HOW!? This is one of the most rare ant species, only two ants ever found and no records of any other castes than the queen. If you raise these, try to contact a myrmecologist. This queen may only produce other alates and drones though.

[gcsnelling]

How did you come up with this species as the correct Id?

[AntsBC]

Pictures or it didn't happen.

[Mettcollsuss]

That's a really rare find. Can you get some photos? I'd love to see her.

[gcsnelling]

Any update?

[anttics]

Dude you got the holy grail of ant keeping. Record thier behavior. It might be useful to science. I have found strange behavior in my camp. Fragilis. That no one even people keeping them have witnes them do. They use the cacoons to culture some type of fungus. Which they feed to the larva. All they feed the fungus is nectar. And cacoons. I have videos, and pics. Your case is much more exciting

Edited by anttics, January 28 2019 - 10:17 AM.

[gcsnelling]

Dude you got the holy grail of ant keeping. Record thier behavior. It might be useful to science. I have found strange behavior in my camp. Fragilis. That no one even people keeping them have witnes them do. They use the cacoons to culture some type of fungus. Which they feed to the larva. All they feed the fungus is nectar. And cacoons. I have videos, and pics. Your case is much more exciting

 

I think this is a claim for which the phrase "photos or it didn't happen would apply"

[Leo]

Dude you got the holy grail of ant keeping. Record thier behavior. It might be useful to science. I have found strange behavior in my camp. Fragilis. That no one even people keeping them have witnes them do. They use the cacoons to culture some type of fungus. Which they feed to the larva. All they feed the fungus is nectar. And cacoons. I have videos, and pics. Your case is much more exciting

Photos or this is fake

[anttics]

I agree how about a journal, and a video where you can see them dump their cacoons into the goo culture.

Here is thr link
http://www.formicult...e-3#entry107064

[Mdrogun]

I agree how about a journal, and a video where you can see them dump their cacoons into the goo culture.

Here is thr link
http://www.formicult...e-3#entry107064

The only thing your journal proves is that your ants were putting their trash on the wet cotton in their formicarium.

[gcsnelling]

 

I agree how about a journal, and a video where you can see them dump their cacoons into the goo culture.

Here is thr link
http://www.formicult...e-3#entry107064

The only thing your journal proves is that your ants were putting their trash on the wet cotton in their formicarium.

 

 

Ahh you beat me to it.

[AntsBC]

Sadly enough, I think we will all have to wait before we get to see this profound discovery. This user, (at least according to FC), hasn't been active since the day he made this thread. This means he isn't necessarily avoiding the cries for photos, he just hasn't seen them. Hopefully he takes some photos after he logs in next. 

Edited by AntsBC, January 29 2019 - 5:26 PM.

[anttics]

I agree how about a journal, and a video where you can see them dump their cacoons into the goo culture.

Here is thr link
http://www.formicult...e-3#entry107064

The only thing your journal proves is that your ants were putting their trash on the wet cotton in their formicarium.

Maybe you are right. It does not disprove the fact that the cacoons turned into that stuff. Which they later feed the larva. With out a proper study. Its just a theory. Still its a strange behavior

[123LordOfAnts123]

I agree how about a journal, and a video where you can see them dump their cacoons into the goo culture.

Here is thr link
http://www.formicult...e-3#entry107064

The only thing your journal proves is that your ants were putting their trash on the wet cotton in their formicarium.

Maybe you are right. It does not disprove the fact that the cacoons turned into that stuff. Which they later feed the larva. With out a proper study. Its just a theory. Still its a strange behavior

The “stuff” is mold and decomposed cocoons and exuviae. Also ant poop. Ants poop a lot and they make designated toilets. The claim the larvae are fed it because they have black stomachs is a bit wishful thinking; black is the standard for most ant larvae that have been fed.

[anttics]

I agree how about a journal, and a video where you can see them dump their cacoons into the goo culture.

Here is thr link
http://www.formicult...e-3#entry107064

The only thing your journal proves is that your ants were putting their trash on the wet cotton in their formicarium.

Maybe you are right. It does not disprove the fact that the cacoons turned into that stuff. Which they later feed the larva. With out a proper study. Its just a theory. Still its a strange behavior

The “stuff” is mold and decomposed cocoons and exuviae. Also ant poop. Ants poop a lot and they make designated toilets. The claim the larvae are fed it because they have black stomachs is a bit wishful thinking; black is the standard for most ant larvae that have been fed.

Well I did mention in the journal. That I stoped giving them protein for more than a week. The black mold started to decrease. Larva were feed well with Black stomachs. Even a major larva was raised with out a gram of protein. I know ants can keep food in their gaster. In these species you can see if they have food stored. Which they did not. Their bathroom is outside. Have u ever wonder. how some camponotus species grow so big, with so little protein. Maybe they use this cacoon culture as an extra boost. I'm not saying I'm correct. Its a theory. With out proof it will stay that way. I'm also aware of other people should have notice this behavior. Who knows. It will be awsome if it is true.

[neoponera]

after some time of scool business and anting

 

i decided to come back to see that many people have sent me messages of disbelief

 

now, i cannot take pictures of a crumb size ant accurately

 

sooo...... 

[neoponera]

  how do you place images on this place

[neoponera]

 i do have images

 

but they are blurry

 

and this place doesnt allow for the typical copy + paste

and a whole new parasite topic started here

[EthanNgo678]

You can find how to post photos here.