7 replies to this topic

[yfaykya]

One of my Lasius Flavus colonies is adding new dead alates to the trash pile every day. I guess the workers are killing them off as season is over? Most just roam the outworld anyways (with fair number of workers) was wondering would it be less stressful for the colony if I remove the alates?  

 

Thx.

[Antkid12]

I would remove them.

[ANTdrew]

I second this. Let them fly if you can. Congrats on alates, by the way!

[gcsnelling]

Let them live out their lives, they should not be released.

[AleeGuy]

If they're native then just release them

[CheetoLord02]

This really isn't out of the ordinary. If alates are unable to fly (as is the case in captivity, more often than not), the workers will simply kill and/or eat the alates so that they don't continue to live in the nest and take up resources. Seeing workers killing their own alates at the end of the season makes sense. Personally I'd just leave them to do as they please, but if you wanted to release all the alates I suppose there's a chance they could fly, although ultimately I think either way you'd end up with all the alates dying in one way or another. It's up to you, though.

[yfaykya]

This really isn't out of the ordinary. If alates are unable to fly (as is the case in captivity, more often than not), the workers will simply kill and/or eat the alates so that they don't continue to live in the nest and take up resources. Seeing workers killing their own alates at the end of the season makes sense. Personally I'd just leave them to do as they please, but if you wanted to release all the alates I suppose there's a chance they could fly, although ultimately I think either way you'd end up with all the alates dying in one way or another. It's up to you, though.

 

 

This was what I always thought. My question was whether me removing and killing the alates (most have removed their wings) would be less stressful to the colony. 

[RushmoreAnts]

I believe the workers were attempting to kick them out of the nest, as alates consume a lot of the colony's resources. Since they couldn't 'get rid of them' by forcing them to fly, they 'got rid of them' in another way.