16 replies to this topic

[OhNoNotAgain]

Northern California/Bay Area, August 15th.

They remind me of alates I've seen, but they don't have wings, and they were wandering around solo instead of running off in pairs. I collected 4 yesterday. 1 died overnight. These 2 like hanging out together I guess.

Are they alates (err dealates) or some other caste?

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Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 16 2020 - 2:39 PM.

[Antkid12]

 Inscisitermes minor? And yeah, they are alates.

Edited by Antkid12, August 16 2020 - 2:37 PM.

[gcsnelling]

They look like drywood termites alates.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Thanks! What are they doing wandering around solo and without wings? I've seen mating flights around here and I've watched termites pair off, but why do they wind up wandering wingless (will edit main post to "dealate") and solo?

[gcsnelling]

Typical drywood reproductive behavior.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Interesting. They don't meet in a swarm and pair off? Or were these the unlucky ones who just didn't find a mate and are out looking? Thanks!!

(Unlike most ants I assume they can mate on the ground, as I understand the queens don't store sperm or don't store it for long or something.)

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 16 2020 - 2:52 PM.

[gcsnelling]

Yes this is a mated or soon to mate pair.

[Solenoqueen]

A classic romantic tale... they run off together and live happily ever after, bringing thousands upon thousands of termites into the world.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Household member already not happy about Termitat.  OTOH ants love to eat termites and this would be such a great source of termites....  

I would love to try keeping them but it could lead to a lot of trouble at home.

I wonder if they need to be in complete darkness like AC's.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 16 2020 - 4:46 PM.

[Manitobant]

I would give them a test tube with a piece of wood in it. Termites also don't like to be disturbed very much.

[Swirlysnowflake]

I found one in the Bay Area too, but sadly it was only one, so it can’t found a colony 

[LC3]

To start off, drywoods aren’t ideal feeders, they grow very slow. Youll probably end up with a hundred to a few hundred or so workers after a couple of years. Secondly termites don’t die from the light more than ants do, that’s just AntsCanada not understanding correlation doesn’t equal causation. Drywoods don’t do very well in test tubes. Would recommend you just drill a hole into a sound piece of wood and shove it into a container.
See: https://www.formicul...ermites-colony/

[OhNoNotAgain]

Mysterious. The two were getting along great on a piece of paper towel. Today I drill a small hole in a scrap piece of wood and BOOM! the first one in viciously attacks the second termite and kicks it out. I dunno what’s going on..... Here you can see the loser sitting outside at a loss of what to do.

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[OhNoNotAgain]

If a female termite dealate is unmated and she somehow manages to survive long enough to lay eggs, what would hatch (if anything)?

 

EDIT: Okay I'm told their diploid so that nothing would hatch.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 21 2020 - 7:14 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

And the rejected termite is now dead. Oh well. 

[RushmoreAnts]

EDIT: Okay I'm told their diploid so that nothing would hatch.

Do you mean 'haploid'? Diploid cells are the result of an egg-sperm merger, hence 'di' = '2'. A 'haploid' cell is unfertilized. 

[OhNoNotAgain]

 

EDIT: Okay I'm told their diploid so that nothing would hatch.

Do you mean 'haploid'? Diploid cells are the result of an egg-sperm merger, hence 'di' = '2'. A 'haploid' cell is unfertilized. 

 

 

Wow, I mistyped "they're" as "their" ... sheesh.

Nah I mean termites as a whole have a diploid system of reproduction. So if the termite was unmated then yes, the cells would be haploid and nothing would hatch.