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The Experimental Process of Creating Multispecies Ant Colonies

multispecies colony multispecies

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#21 Offline ponerinecat - Posted January 11 2021 - 2:08 PM

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Camponotus hyatti, vicinus, and qeuricola. Initial introduction seems alright, minimal aggression from the quericola queen. All 3 of these were taken from founding colonies with workers, I'll add the workers one by one if the peace lasts. It seems that dunking in vinegar and the subsequent lack or reduction of identification odors curbs the aggression of the stripped ant. Other ants will still react to a stripped ant with aggression, but all or most stripped ants are oblivious or docile towards any other ant. Experiments with C. vicinus and quericola workers shows that stripped ants will not retaliate if attacked. One quericola worker lost a mandible and the use of a leg but never tried to fight back or even run away from the aggressor. At most they picked up the pace of movement but never changed direction because of the attack.

 

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#22 Offline Amatty76 - Posted January 11 2021 - 7:46 PM

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I introduced a Camponotus Nearcticus queen to my Camponotus Novaeboracensis queen as well as 2 Camponotus Pennsylvanicus minors, Hopefully the Nearcticus queen isn’t chomped in half next time i see them.


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#23 Offline Robert_123 - Posted January 12 2021 - 1:32 AM

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Multispecies colony ( 7 species of Camponotus)


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#24 Offline Chickalo - Posted January 12 2021 - 6:33 AM

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This is really awesome thread! Have you tried or planning on doing this experiment with 2 but both polygynous queens of different species?



As of right now, we are attempting to work with the species we have access to which is limited due to winter. Many of these species are not polygynous. If I understand what you are saying correctly you mean two queens of each species, correct? Such as two tetramorium bicarinatum queens combined with two crematogaster lineolata queens?

No I mean 2 queens(in total) of different species but they both are poly. I'm happy to see more experiments and more success in this thread! Nuice job peeps!

Ooh I see, id love to check that out eventually. I may even attempt it with my monomorium minimum and solenopsis molesta depending if I can pull queens out. 

 

I would definitely give a lasius brevi queen for this (or take someone elses poly queen, tho I'm probably gonna mess up lol), i also heard someone has seen some tapinoma sessile workers on the other side of town so this summer i could try and find some queens to use???


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#25 Offline dspdrew - Posted January 12 2021 - 7:35 AM

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#26 Offline antsandmore - Posted January 12 2021 - 8:32 AM

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After reading this, I am thinking, what is the point of multispecies colonies in captivity? why do the different species work together and create colonies? how does this benefit them, and how does this benefit the people creating multispecies polygynous queens? 


Edited by antsandmore, January 12 2021 - 8:32 AM.

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#27 Offline ponerinecat - Posted January 12 2021 - 2:49 PM

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After reading this, I am thinking, what is the point of multispecies colonies in captivity? why do the different species work together and create colonies? how does this benefit them, and how does this benefit the people creating multispecies polygynous queens? 

The two species work together because artificial processes make them think they're the same colony. It's not voluntary like natural polygyny or symbiosis. It doesn't benefit them except for increasing the workforce, and it benefits us by both further increasing our knowledge of how colony recognition works and just being an interesting project to spend time on.


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#28 Offline antsandmore - Posted January 12 2021 - 3:09 PM

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thank you! that's what I wanted to know. 


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#29 Offline AnthonyP163 - Posted January 13 2021 - 2:51 PM

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I want to note that the two Lasius which I combined (brevicornis and cf. crypticus) are doing well. I gave them a brevicornis pupa and then they began laying their own eggs, meaning they're beyond tolerance and are founding together. 


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#30 Offline antsandmore - Posted January 13 2021 - 2:55 PM

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I want to note that the two Lasius which I combined (brevicornis and cf. crypticus) are doing well. I gave them a brevicornis pupa and then they began laying their own eggs, meaning they're beyond tolerance and are founding together. 

that is awesome. I want to do this with different myrmecocystus spp. once I can catch massive amounts lol. (unless this is stupid and can't happen)


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#31 Offline Antkeeper01 - Posted January 13 2021 - 3:14 PM

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I want to note that the two Lasius which I combined (brevicornis and cf. crypticus) are doing well. I gave them a brevicornis pupa and then they began laying their own eggs, meaning they're beyond tolerance and are founding together. 

that is awesome. I want to do this with different myrmecocystus spp. once I can catch massive amounts lol. (unless this is stupid and can't happen)

 

that is very very risky


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#32 Offline Antkeeper01 - Posted January 13 2021 - 3:43 PM

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not only is it a risky process but honey pots are hard to keep


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1X Pogonomyrmex occidentalis 40-50 Workers

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#33 Offline Chickalo - Posted January 14 2021 - 5:04 AM

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i keep on putting it aside...

ill post a day after i mix myrmica and tetramorium immigrans, to see how they react to each other (in discord someone told me not to because tetramorium is a "little war demon")

the one thing I'm afraid of is accidentally hurting the myrmica queen after taking her out of the white vinegar since I only have one of them...

hopefully they lay in spring


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#34 Offline madbiologist - Posted January 14 2021 - 6:30 AM

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i keep on putting it aside...
ill post a day after i mix myrmica and tetramorium immigrans, to see how they react to each other (in discord someone told me not to because tetramorium is a "little war demon")
the one thing I'm afraid of is accidentally hurting the myrmica queen after taking her out of the white vinegar since I only have one of them...
hopefully they lay in spring

If you aren't okay with the Myrmica queen dying, I would not try mixing them.

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#35 Offline Chickalo - Posted January 14 2021 - 6:49 AM

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i keep on putting it aside...
ill post a day after i mix myrmica and tetramorium immigrans, to see how they react to each other (in discord someone told me not to because tetramorium is a "little war demon")
the one thing I'm afraid of is accidentally hurting the myrmica queen after taking her out of the white vinegar since I only have one of them...
hopefully they lay in spring

If you aren't okay with the Myrmica queen dying, I would not try mixing them.

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I'm fine with her dying, i just don't want to kill the myrmica queen before the test because then i won't have any other queen I'm willing to mix with


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#36 Offline madbiologist - Posted January 14 2021 - 6:52 AM

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i keep on putting it aside...
ill post a day after i mix myrmica and tetramorium immigrans, to see how they react to each other (in discord someone told me not to because tetramorium is a "little war demon")
the one thing I'm afraid of is accidentally hurting the myrmica queen after taking her out of the white vinegar since I only have one of them...
hopefully they lay in spring

If you aren't okay with the Myrmica queen dying, I would not try mixing them.

Sent from my moto g stylus using Tapatalk
I'm fine with her dying, i just don't want to kill the myrmica queen before the test because then i won't have any other queen I'm willing to mix with
Ah, I misread. You can use a q-tips to easily take them out.

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#37 Offline Chickalo - Posted January 14 2021 - 8:10 AM

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i keep on putting it aside...
ill post a day after i mix myrmica and tetramorium immigrans, to see how they react to each other (in discord someone told me not to because tetramorium is a "little war demon")
the one thing I'm afraid of is accidentally hurting the myrmica queen after taking her out of the white vinegar since I only have one of them...
hopefully they lay in spring

If you aren't okay with the Myrmica queen dying, I would not try mixing them.

Sent from my moto g stylus using Tapatalk
I'm fine with her dying, i just don't want to kill the myrmica queen before the test because then i won't have any other queen I'm willing to mix with
Ah, I misread. You can use a q-tips to easily take them out.

Sent from my moto g stylus using Tapatalk

 

okay thanks


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#38 Offline OhNoNotAgain - Posted January 14 2021 - 9:46 AM

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Question about the vinegar. Are you using plain white vinegar? If so, is it diluted at all?

Or are you literally dunking queens in a full strength 5% acidity solution from the grocery store bin for up to 20 seconds?

Are they submerged fully?

In other words how is it done?


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#39 Offline Amatty76 - Posted January 14 2021 - 9:52 AM

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Question about the vinegar. Are you using plain white vinegar? If so, is it diluted at all?

Or are you literally dunking queens in a full strength 5% acidity solution from the grocery store bin for up to 20 seconds?

Are they submerged fully?

In other words how is it done?

Diluted or non diluted works, I would dunk them for 10-20 seconds then handle them for a bit till they’re mostly dried off as well as using q-tips or cotton to dry them off. And i’ve only used white vinegar for this.


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#40 Offline Chickalo - Posted January 14 2021 - 10:21 AM

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Question about the vinegar. Are you using plain white vinegar? If so, is it diluted at all?

Or are you literally dunking queens in a full strength 5% acidity solution from the grocery store bin for up to 20 seconds?

Are they submerged fully?

In other words how is it done?

Diluted or non diluted works, I would dunk them for 10-20 seconds then handle them for a bit till they’re mostly dried off as well as using q-tips or cotton to dry them off. And i’ve only used white vinegar for this.

 

someone should make an instructional video (or i will 0:) actually i might do it today and record so


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