18 replies to this topic

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Today I caught two Formica pallidefulva queens outside the Mitchell Park Domes. I know Formica are polygynous, so I introduced both queens to a test tube setup, and they moved in together. They are like two peas in a pod, huddled up together. Both are slightly bloated, but not to the extent that I can see any white flesh showing. I like this species, and I hope they do well.

[Acutus]

Good luck!!

[Kaelwizard]

Formica are not polygonous. Not usually anyway. The will suffocate in the acid they try to kill each other with if they fight.

[TennesseeAnts]

Formica are not polygonous. Not usually anyway. The will suffocate in the acid they try to kill each other with if they fight.

Formica in the pallidefullva group are polygynous. Some in the fusca and neogagates groups are.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I know F. montana is as well. A small colony in my yard has 5+ queens. 

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The gaster of one of the queens is very swollen. There may actually be a couple eggs already, but I can't get a good look at them.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

They certainly have a few eggs! I can't tell how many, but the off-white clump that is currently captivating the queens sure looks like an egg pile to me. If the one queen's gaster is any indication, there will be many more where those came from.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I caught two more queens today, one of which I started a journal for before realizing it was the same species. Both are in their own test tubes, I would not mix queens that I caught at a different time or place. Is there a way I can delete the accidental journal?

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The two new queens are combined now. I really needed a test tube.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The two queens from yesterday are separate again. The 2 queens I am keeping together are getting along together very well. One of the recent queens twitches her legs constantly.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Queens 1 and 2 are still getting along, and have a nice amount of eggs. Queen 3, who is a bit smaller and darker than the others, has about two eggs as of today. Queen 4, appears to have no eggs, but she stares intently at one point on the cotton ball, indicating that there may be unseen brood.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

All queens now have eggs. Queens 1 and 2 have a large pile, and possibly small larvae as well.

[Acutus]

Sounds like things are going well! 

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Do you have any tips about this species, like what to expect, what to watch out for etc.? It seems almost too good to be true that I would have so much success with a genus I always heard was full of brood-eating, acid-spraying nervous wrecks.

[TennesseeAnts]

It seems almost too good to be true that I would have so much success with a genus I always heard was full of brood-eating, acid-spraying nervous wrecks.

When most people say this, they really mean Coptoformica and Raptiformica, the parasitic Formica. They are exactly what you said: nervous wrecks. But Serviformica are not, in my experience.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, August 7 2019 - 9:55 AM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Oh, good! So how long will it take for an egg to grow to an adult worker. The temperature is about 73-75 F consistently, sometimes higher or lower.

[TennesseeAnts]

About a month and a half.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

So I will have workers by early September.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

All queens have some brood, but the co-op test tube has a colossal pile of larvae.