15 replies to this topic

[TennesseeAnts]

I found this Myrmica colony in a hollow nut. I found about 40 workers and 2 queens. There were some larvae and eggs as well. I really hope these do well. Anybody know when these colonies produce alates?

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, May 30 2019 - 4:41 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

5-7-19

Took a fruit fly and some honey.

[Karma]

I found this Myrmica colony in a hollow nut. I found about 40 workers and 2 queens. There were some larvae and eggs as well. I really hope these do well. Anybody know when these colonies produce alates?

I'd assume they produce them around the same time as the average colony, maybe 2-3 years after founding.

 

However, I have come across small colonies about the size you found with plenty of alates so I could be wrong.

[TennesseeAnts]

Me too. I think it is really weird. Maybe since they are slow growing they get alates at a smaller size than, let's say Tetramorium?

[Karma]

Me too. I think it is really weird. Maybe since they are slow growing they get alates at a smaller size than, let's say Tetramorium?

This could be the reason, they are also very picky with their nest so maybe the type of nest they have plays a role.

[TennesseeAnts]

5-8-19

Well the queens laid some new eggs, so if they hatch into alates, we will know! How large do these colonies normally get with a single queen? I know they accept new queens into the nest after flights.

[TennesseeAnts]

5-8-19

Ok... They have 3 small larvae that were NOT there yesterday... I thought Myrmica were slow... I guess they like 82 degree weather!

[TennesseeAnts]

These Myrmica are way different than the Myrmica I had in Washington. These are bigger and polygynous, with different nesting habits. These live in nuts, the Myrmica in Washington lived in mossy soil.

[Karma]

I believe colonies can still get fairly large with one queen, mine is one queen and will probably be over 100 workers by the end of this year.

 

I believe myrmica are misunderstood too often. Many believe they are slow developing but that was not my experience either. They are very picky with their nesting most of the time though, I think if you give them a good nest and proper temperature they can develop very quickly like any other ant.

 

If they are pologynous they may be the same species of myrmica that I have (Myrmica incompleta), what colour is your queen?

[TennesseeAnts]

Almost dark brown.

[TennesseeAnts]

I found the bent antennae! They are Myrmica incompleta.

[Karma]

Almost dark brown.

Ya that definitely sounds like Myrmica incompleta, the queens I have seen range from dark brown to black. They are the only myrmica queens I have seen that do not have a bit of red on them somewhere.

 

Edit: Congrats on the ID!

Edited by Karma, May 10 2019 - 9:22 AM.

[Kaelwizard]

My Mrymica is not incompleta and has bent antennae I think. I will double check. She has red on her.

[Karma]

My Mrymica is not incompleta and has bent antennae I think. I will double check. She has red on her.

I have never seen a Myrmica incompleta queen with any red on the body, but I think where the bend is in the antennae is an important identifier. 

Edited by Karma, May 10 2019 - 11:40 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

5-15-19
Colony #1

They are growing fairly quickly with lots of eggs, larvae and a few pupae.

Colony #2

This is a single queen colony with 16 workers and some eggs and larvae. One of the larvae is bright red.

[TennesseeAnts]

5-27-19

Their first worker in captivity hatched a few days ago! The queens have been non stop laying. There are about 20 larvae, 30 eggs and 1 pupa. Extremely fast growth for Myrmica. The Myrmica I had in Washington took about 2 months for eggs to turn into workers. They were a smaller Myrmica too!