I would agree with you more if I'd seen any males. I know for certain that:
1. The nest contained no eggs only larvae a few weeks after the queen died.
2. Massive piles of eggs were laid well after the queen died.
3. None of the brood have become males.
4. There aren't just a few new female workers there are a lot, a massive batch and more on the way.
But, to really rule out all possibilities more time is needed so, I'll just keep feeding them and trying to keep them happy. There is a bacteria that can cause some species of ants to produce only females, and in this study of a first discovery of something similar they had to rule that out... and I don't know if I have a way to do that.
https://www.research...essor_capitatus
When I'm more confident about what I'm seeing I'm going to email the authors of this paper to ask if they are interested in yet another genus with this unexpected ability and maybe they can help me confirm that it's what I suspect.
Edited by futurebird, April 7 2024 - 4:27 AM.
Starting this July I'm posting videos of my ants every week on youTube.
I like to make relaxing videos that capture the joy of watching ants.
If that sounds like your kind of thing... follow me >here<.