3 replies to this topic

[RushmoreAnts]

AntsDakota's Crematogaster cf. pilosa Journal

 

Introduction

 

 

Welcome to Formiculture's first ever journal on the species Crematogaster pilosa! (or so I think). This journal will follow the journey of my Crematogaster cf. pilosa queen. If she turns out to be ashmeadi I will merge this with my Main Journal. 

 

Important Info & FAQ

 

Journal Type - Single Colony (Uncommon Species)

 

Update Frequency - Once per 2 Weeks

 

Standard Update Day - Saturday

 

Journal Location - Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States (Unless otherwise stated in an update)

 

Language - English (Puedo traducir esto al español. Envíame un mensaje privado.)

 

What happens during hibernation? - Updates will be postponed until the colony comes out of hibernation.

 

Is this colony for sale? - Unless specifically stated in an update, No.

 

What if an update is late? - I will get the next update out as soon as possible, and post an official apology. All updates following the late one will still be on Saturday.

 

What time of day do you usually update on Saturday? I usually update in the early morning to late afternoon (Central Daylight Time).

 

How do I get notifications for this journal? Like any topic on this forum, you can get email notifications via clicking the "Follow" button at the top right hand corner of the topic.
 

 

Colony featured on this journal:

 

Crematogaster cf. pilosa - Alive & Active - (Update #1 - Present)

 

 

This will be the only colony featured in this journal.

 

 

 

 

Journal Directory

 

 

Update #1 - Monday, July 18, 2022 - Introduction to the colony, their status, and the purpose of this journal

Edited by AntsDakota, July 18 2022 - 11:08 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update #1

 

Monday, July 18, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

Crematogaster cf. pilosa

 

     A friend found a few of these queens in the Cincinnati area (northern Kentucky), and gave one to me. I did some research, and concluded that based on the petiole, thorax, and time of flight, she was either pilosa or ashmeadi, with evidence more strongly supporting pilosa. We will know for sure once she gets workers. If she is in fact pilosa, this will have been the first journal on Formiculture (and I believe ever) of this species. 

 

So fun fact: this species is considered Vulnerable (at least according to AntWiki) (for those who don't know, it's the 'Threatened' category just above Endangered). They are very habitat specific, according to AntWiki:

 

"Crematogaster pilosa is truly a habitat specialist. In Ozarks of Missouri, it is rarely found anywhere other than in the vegetationally unique, spring fed, wet meadows. And yet, they occur in and are often abundant in nearly every one of these widely distributed, but sporadic habitat remnants [J. Trager, October 2016]"

 

Besides that certain excerpt, AntWiki only has keys, maps, and images. My point: we have very little information about this species, and no journals recording behavior in captivity, which I intend to change. The purpose of this journal is to document the captive behavior of an uncommon, possibly threatened, and under-researched species. 

 

Alright, now to the queen herself. She still has all four wings, and was attempting to fly when captured. However, she began laying eggs, and is caring for them. She has 4 or so eggs in the pictures, yet has since laid 4 more, bringing the total up to 8. Her eggs are quite large compared to my Crematogaster cerasi colony's eggs, and the workers she was found near were roughly 4-5 mm long, and the queen is 8mm, which also supports pilosa according to Aaron567, who attested that the species is quite possibly one of the largest Crema species in North America.

 

 

 

VIDEO

 

⬅ Previous update                                                                                         Next update➡

This is the first update of this journal! No previous updates exist.                                            Proceed to update #2                                                                                                                                                                 

Edited by AntsDakota, August 3 2022 - 2:08 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update #2

 

Wednesday, August 4, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

Crematogaster pilosa

 

     This queen has around 15 eggs, but seeing as both the eggs, queen, and workers are all so large, they are taking substantially longer to develop than my cerasi colony's brood. If ashmeadi (a similar yet a lot smaller species) take 6 weeks to develop, these must take 7-8 weeks. We'll see. Anyways, after improving my video taking techniques, I was able to get a better shot of the pilosa, and I can confirm there are many erect hairs all over her body, not just on her gaster. That and her large size pretty much confirms she is pilosa. But other than that, nothing much has changed. She gets more freaked out than the cerasi when she's checked on, but other than that she's just chilling with her eggs.

 

 

 

⬅ Previous update                                                                                                 Next Update ➡

          Return to Update #1                                                                                                    Proceed to Update #3

Edited by AntsDakota, August 17 2022 - 4:21 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update #3

 

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

Crematogaster pilosa

 

     This queen officially has a pupa! And from the looks of it it's definitely a worker pupa, so she is mated. She has about 3 small larvae, and ~25 eggs atm. The rest of the brood is quite a ways behind the pupa, as you probably have noticed, which is due to the queen's laying pattern. Firstly she only laid a single egg, which is probably the pupa we see now. It took her a week or so to lay all of her initial eggs, which is why much of the other brood is so far behind. However, the fact that she now has 25 eggs (she has since offed the trophic eggs a long while ago, leaving about 8 mated brood) is quite encouraging, and the second gen should be of considerable size.

 

 

 

⬅ Previous update                                                                                                 Next Update ➡

          Return to Update #2                                                                                                    This is the most recent update!                                                                                                   Update #4 is coming on Saturday, August 28, 2022!

Edited by AntsDakota, August 17 2022 - 4:20 PM.