27 replies to this topic

[CatsnAnts]

I’ve never seen a Pheidole ant in my life. Period.

I’ve only ever seen one. I caught it during a large tetramorium nuptial flight and thought nothing of it. I later learned just how cool they were and regretted it soooo much when I had released it!

If we’re talkin’ workers though, I’ve found 2 colonies as of all my years in ant keeping.

Edited by CatsnAnts, June 10 2019 - 7:55 PM.

[Acutus]

Ok so why are these so cool? Apparently there are 4 species here in MD. They're pretty small though right? How large are Queens?

[Herdo]

Ok so why are these so cool? Apparently there are 4 species here in MD. They're pretty small though right? How large are Queens?

They are polymorphic. You get majors and with some species a third caste of supermajors.

See these P. tepicana as an example:

[Ferox_Formicae]

Ok so why are these so cool? Apparently there are 4 species here in MD. They're pretty small though right? How large are Queens?

They're also harvester ants with chambers full of plant seeds. I actually just saw a Pheidole bicarinata minor worker bringing a grass seed back to the nest earlier today. They're also very diverse, which is always nice to see in ant genera. They also have repletes in some species, some species have a phragmotic major caste, some have the coolest looking spines, some have literal mustaches, and the queens look really cool. Honestly, what's not to love about Pheidole?!

[CatsnAnts]

Ok so why are these so cool? Apparently there are 4 species here in MD. They're pretty small though right? How large are Queens?

They're also harvester ants with chambers full of plant seeds. I actually just saw a Pheidole bicarinata minor worker bringing a grass seed back to the nest earlier today. They're also very diverse, which is always nice to see in ant genera. They also have repletes in some species, some species have a phragmotic major caste, some have the coolest looking spines, some have literal mustaches, and the queens look really cool. Honestly, what's not to love about Pheidole?!

Amen

[DJoseph98]

Honestly, I see so many colonies everywhere but I never see any flights. It drives me nuts.

[Herdo]

Honestly, I see so many colonies everywhere but I never see any flights. It drives me nuts.

Come to my house, it's the exact opposite for me. I probably find hundreds of queens a year just in and around my pool, but I almost never see the actual colonies anywhere.

About 2 years ago I found one colony on my whole property. I saw them again last year, but haven't yet this year.

I've caught plenty of that same species, but never got them to more than 30 minors and 3 majors at a time. I'm thinking they are probably highly polygynous, so this year I'm gonna put a bunch of queens together to see if that helps.

[DJoseph98]

Honestly, I see so many colonies everywhere but I never see any flights. It drives me nuts.

Come to my house, it's the exact opposite for me. I probably find hundreds of queens a year just in and around my pool, but I almost never see the actual colonies anywhere.
About 2 years ago I found one colony on my whole property. I saw them again last year, but haven't yet this year.
I've caught plenty of that same species, but never got them to more than 30 minors and 3 majors at a time. I'm thinking they are probably highly polygynous, so this year I'm gonna put a bunch of queens together to see if that helps.

I actually have a similar plan in mind if I can finally get my hands on some P. dentata