27 replies to this topic

[Antennal_Scrobe]

From what I've seen on this thread, all Myrmecocystus can create repletes, but some colonies do not as a result of environmental differences, age, or resource availability. It shouldn't really matter what species you get, so just ask around and find the hardiest/fastest growing species.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, June 14 2020 - 5:33 PM.

[TechAnt]

From what I've seen on this thread, all Myrmecocystus can create repletes, but some colonies do not as a result of environmental differences or age. It shouldn't really matter what species you get, so just ask around and find the hardiest/fastest growing species.

THANK YOU. Something that seems clear on this thread for once.

[Kaelwizard]

People said that before, but other people also said other stuff that made it hard to find information that didn't confuse whoever was reading it or conflict with other things that people stated.

[TechAnt]

People said that before, but other people also said other stuff that made it hard to find information that didn't confuse whoever was reading it or conflict with other things that people stated.

Ok fair point. Well, if anyone else has something to say, say it soon. I’m probably not gonna look at this thread for much longer. Maybe a few more days or so.

[Mdrogun]

Took this from antweb. Take from it what you will. It's just a hypothesis anyways. 

 

"Creighton (1950) ventured the opinion that replete production was a matter of opportunity, rather than an innate, physiological phenomenon. He further offered the idea that replete production is not a response to arid desert conditions but rather that it is the result of a previous xerophile having invaded less rigorous climes. In other words, replete production is the result of the availability of an excessive amount of nectar available in mesophytic environments."

 

The trademark honeypot repletes that you see are not filled with protein or fat but really only store sugars. Most of the species or variants that have been found to have repletes are also exclusively insectivores. Myrmecocystus is an extremely understudied genus, and from what I've read on antweb, whether honeypots make repletes is determined by the location where they were caught, as there are species of Myrmecocystus where replete production is completely absent in some locations but found in others. 

 

That being said, it seems like the honey pots which are not physiologically used to making repletes do still have some sort of capability to do so.

I'm assuming we are calling Myrmecocystus spp. "honeypots".

 

All Myrmecocystus spp. utilize and produce repletes. The only thing your quote from Creighton(1950) there says is that their ancestors come from less harsh environments and that they will only produce repletes given the resources to do so. Well..... of course. They don't fill the repletes with air. If they can't collect the resources to fill a replete.... they can't fill a replete.

 

Here is a quote from AntWiki: "in 1908 Wheeler described melliger mimicus, an ant in which he noted the lack of repletes even though he excavated many nests. However, a few years later he received samples from San Diego County, California, of Myrmecocystus mimicus which included repletes. Rather than abandon or re-evaluate his theory Wheeler (1912) described these ants as a new subspecies (lomaensis) closely allied to mimicus. It is true that he made note of some differences to separate the California specimens, but it is equally true, as Creighton (1950) has shown, that these differences will not hold up. Indeed, they do not even exist, for it is quite possible to find specimens in the type series of melliger mimicus which differ from melliger mimicus in precisely the same manner as does melliger lomaensis."

 

You are not the first person to suggest that there are species of Mymrecocystus that do not produce repletes. It is scientifically unfounded. Given the opportunity, all species of Myrmecocystus have and will produce repletes. It is likely that this is more a demonstration in our lack of self-awareness when excavating nests and expecting to find repletes than this is that some species do not produce repletes outright.

[FSTP]

When I've kept M. mimicus in the past they've always created repletes so I'm not sure where the idea that they don't have repletes came from. 

[TechAnt]

When I've kept M. mimicus in the past they've always created repletes so I'm not sure where the idea that they don't have repletes came from.

Apparently, people have said they may not create them based on age, or where they were caught I guess??

[ponerinecat]

 

When I've kept M. mimicus in the past they've always created repletes so I'm not sure where the idea that they don't have repletes came from.

Apparently, people have said they may not create them based on age, or where they were caught I guess??

 

It's the same exact theory as stated above. Some places don't have enough resources to fill repletes, and young colonies usually don't forage enough to fill repletes. Repletes are not something the species inherently has, they're not a separate caste, they're just fat workers that fill up when there's enough food present. All Myrmecocystus have the potential for repletes, heck nearly all formicines in general will have workers similar to repletes if there's enough resources.

It's quite simple really, animals with access to large amounts of food will gorge while animals with minimal amounts of food will not.