15 replies to this topic

[Gregory2455]

On June 9, 2015, I fished a single live Pheidole (pillifera) sp. queen out of my pool. There was also a dead one, but that does not matter. About a month later she got pupae, but mold started growing on her wings. I had to take her out of her test tube, and pluck off her wings, even though two of them stuck to her body but luckily did not get moldy.

 

Well today she got two little nanitics from the first pupae that she raised. I was real glad she did not eat them as pupae from the stress of being taken out of her tube and having her wings plucked. Hopefully these little guys can take the two wings off that I could not...

Edited by Gregory2455, February 20 2019 - 10:14 PM.

[dspdrew]

What color are these? It's hard to tell when the back ground is so light; it makes everything look black.

[Gregory2455]

I think they may be the ones you call sp.2 but they could be darker than that.

[Gregory2455]

Update: 7/28/2015

This colony now has five workers and a moderate number of brood.

A lot of brood is sitting on the roof of the test tube with some workers caring for it.

[William. T]

Very large mandibles. I see a lot of Pheidole queens with kare mandibles, but not as big as this one. I wonder if during the evolution history of Pheidole, the queens have actually forage or perform heavy duty tasks like lifting during the founding stage? I know my T. Sessile queens do hunt and go to the outworld, and it looks like my Tetramorium SpE does so too. I read that Myrmica queens also forage.

[Gregory2455]

Very large mandibles. I see a lot of Pheidole queens with kare mandibles, but not as big as this one. I wonder if during the evolution history of Pheidole, the queens have actually forage or perform heavy duty tasks like lifting during the founding stage? I know my T. Sessile queens do hunt and go to the outworld, and it looks like my Tetramorium SpE does so too. I read that Myrmica queens also forage.

Possibly. She is always walkingaround acting more like a major... Maybe she will do this until the first major arrives.

[kellakk]

I always thought they had big heads as a carryover from having the genes to make majors with big heads. I wonder if anyone has studied this question?

[Jonathan21700]

Do Pheidole harvest seeds? Messor queens crack the seeds until the first majors arrive. Possibly the same here.

Edited by Jonathan21700, July 28 2015 - 10:02 AM.

[Wamdar]

Very nice! She looks tough

[dspdrew]

Do Pheidole harvest seeds? Messor queens crack the seeds until the first majors arrive. Possibly the same here.

 

Some do, but not all.

[Gregory2455]

I think these are Pheidole moerens...

[dspdrew]

If they're P. moerens, the queens would look completely black.

[Gregory2455]

She is basically all black.

[antmaniac]

How is this colony going?

[Gregory2455]

Discontinued

I accidentally left this colony in a dry text tube for too long and they died due to dehydration.

[antmaniac]

Oh well, constant and reliable water source is crucial.