6 replies to this topic

[Froggy]

Almost every night when I go outside to look for ants, all the Novomessor cockerelli take out their brood from 9:00-10:00 PM, I'm not sure if they are just taking them out to air them out or if they are doing something else, does anyone know why they are doing this?

 

Edited by Froggy, May 25 2020 - 9:11 PM.

[FSTP]

Perhaps there is a satilite nest nearby that they're relocating some of the brood to. 

[Antkid12]

 I was reading about these guys on Antwiki. It says they do this naturally in the wild at 9:pm. 

Edited by Antkid12, May 26 2020 - 3:36 AM.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Is it all of their brood or only one of the three? In the pictures above, most seem to be carrying pupae but a few are carrying larvae. Strange.

 

Do you ever see them reentering the nest with brood? Is there a trail that you could follow?

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, May 26 2020 - 4:58 AM.

[Froggy]

Is it all of their brood or only one of the three? In the pictures above, most seem to be carrying pupae but a few are carrying larvae. Strange.

 

Do you ever see them reentering the nest with brood? Is there a trail that you could follow?

They aren't any trails that the ants are following, their all just standing outside the nest entrance, most of the time it looks like there's about 100-200 ants out with about half carrying brood, the ones carrying brood, are just standing still in groups, they reenter the nest with the brood after about 15-30 minutes. If the ants are out again tonight I can try study their behavior more.

Edited by Froggy, May 26 2020 - 10:33 AM.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

Do you see them carrying out soil while the brood is out?

Maybe they are cycling the soil of the brood chambers to avoid mold and bacteria growth and I could imagine they don't shift them between chambers to avoid possible cross contamination.

To catch heat from the sun would make sense but not at those hours

[gcsnelling]

I never did figure out what was going on however it seems to be a very common practice and I have observed the behavior in numerous colonies in many different locations. Although they are often seen carrying the brood they will also lay it on the soil surrounding the nest as we..