6 replies to this topic

[Dr. Irwin Shiell]

           I have seen some ants rarely seen by any one. I have seen then only once. Bear with me for some background. I have been spending five months a year for fifteen years in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The last six years I have lived here continuously. I take a long walk every morning.

           June 3, as I walked I saw some very fat ants about two centimeters long, that I had never seen before.

They were all over the street. The next morning they were gone. I checked with several natives, They told me those ants appear for one day only, once a year.  It sounds impossible, but it is true.

        I wonder if anyone has ever heard of this.

Dr. Irwin C. Shiell

shielldds@aol.com

[Ants4fun]

Sounds like a nuptial flight, most likely termites.

[Ants4fun]

Did they have wings? If they didn't they could have been army ants.

[drtrmiller]

I'd say likely Myrmecocystus (honeypot) queens.

 

Did they look like these?

 

Edited by drtrmiller, June 6 2015 - 12:27 PM.

[dspdrew]

Yeah, M. mexicanus queens can be quite large. Among the other questions, I would like to know if it rained the day before this happened.

 

Edit: Never mind, I just looked at the weather and got my answer. Wow that's a lot of rain down there.

Edited by dspdrew, June 6 2015 - 12:34 PM.

[Ants4fun]

But once a year... why would he see them only once a year besides a nuptial flight...

[Jonathan21700]

I think this is what you saw.  http://notquiterough...y-missed-snack/

Edited by Jonathan21700, June 7 2015 - 10:12 AM.