21 replies to this topic

[kellakk]

3-6-15

 

I caught 13 dealates from the flight on this day.  Since the queens were very receptive of each other, I set up some polygynous (4,3, and 2 queens) and some monogynous in agar-base test tubes. I think from now on I'll use agar tubes for any good diggers and normal tubes for anything else.

 

Edited by kellakk, June 10 2015 - 9:56 PM.

[kellakk]

3-17-15

 

1 of the monogynous died, and all three in one of the polygynous tubes died. The rest have laid eggs, though.  The polygynous queens have huge egg piles.

[Foogoo]

Have yours been digging in the agar? Both my dealates don't look too comfortable in their test tubes and I thought I had seen an egg but it may have been eaten. Their gasters also appear quite thin, will they accept food or do they depend on workers to feed them?

[kellakk]

Only a couple of mine have dug into the agar.  I think in the future I'll set up this species in a normal test tubes.  Just to be safe, I fed mine, but I can't tell if they ate or not.

[Miles]

Did it rain the day before?

[kellakk]

Yes, it rained the day before they flew.

[Foogoo]

Have you fed or done anything else with your bicolor queens? I think mine are eating the eggs they've laid. The insanus queens all have nice piles of eggs.

[kellakk]

I fed them as I do all my queens.  I figure it doesn't hurt to give them some food, even if they don't eat it.  My polygynous queens have so many eggs...  I need to take a picture of it.

[kellakk]

3-21-15

 

I took pictures of all the eggs.  The tube in the first picture has 4 queens, the second has 2.  One of the queens in the first picture is also obstructing at least 10 more eggs.

 

Edited by kellakk, March 21 2015 - 9:27 AM.

[kellakk]

4-3-15

 

Every single one of my queens has now died.  I can't think of any reason for their deaths, which makes it even more disappointing.  Hopefully they fly again this year and I don't miss it, I really like how this species looks.

Edited by kellakk, June 10 2015 - 11:23 PM.

[dspdrew]

Well that certainly sucks. Did they all die at once, or was it gradual?

[kellakk]

They died off one by one, and then all 4 queens in one test tube died at once.

[Foogoo]

Dang, sorry to hear. I have one left but I don't think she's fertile. I'm going back to where I found them to try and fine where the colony moved to.

[BinaryAnt]

It's possible they could've killed each other. When I was catching freshly mated queens, I kept them together in a single container until I noticed they started fighting with one another. I had to separate them in their own individual containers so they wouldn't kill each other before I got home. One did end up dying by way of decapitation.

[kellakk]

I'm almost positive these ants are polygynous, but regardless I don't think they killed each other.  I never saw any signs of aggression, and I looked at them nearly daily.  They also had a large combined egg pile at one point, which wouldn't have come together without some sort of cooperation.

[Vendayn]

They are multiple queened species. The nest way up the road has TONS of queens in the nest. So, would be a bit weird they'd fight. My colony was good, but they escaped. But before that happened, the queens were living together and had produced a huge amount of brood. There wasn't any conflict at all.

 

Its possible they need soil or something like Pogonomyrmex do. I personally found they did a lot better in a substrate nest than a test tube. Granted, I only got them when they already had a bunch of workers...not when they were just queens by themselves.

Edited by Vendayn, April 3 2015 - 9:36 PM.

[Foogoo]

For species with multiple queens, are they typically all fertile?

[Vendayn]

Mine must have been. They had over 1,000 eggs in less than a week. Maybe a bit less, but it was a lot. My container, the bottom of it was covered in piles and piles of eggs in one massive cavern. Forgot how many queens I had, but it was over 10. I doubt that was done by one queen.

 

Once I get fluon, it will be a lot easier to keep ants. No more escaping ants and I'm more free to use a larger selection of containers.

Dorymyrmex bicolor are really awesome ants though, and grow super quick if you get "too many" queens. They are super fast though, so hard to keep without a proper barrier.

[kellakk]

4-23-15

 

On April 10, I collected a wild colony of this species from Chino Hills.  I dug down about 8 inches under a rock to find a queen and some brood. They are now nesting in a test tube with dirt beneath them.  They don't seem to like eating very much; whenever I put liquids in there they put dirt on it, and they will attack insects I put in there but won't eat them.

[kellakk]

6-10-15

 

The queen of the wild-caught colony died. It's a shame, there was a large pile of brood and males started popping up too.

 

I really like this species now, and I hope they fly again this year.  If not, they're a big target for me next year.

Edited by kellakk, June 10 2015 - 10:06 PM.