Tetramorium immigrans
Update 1
July 30, 2024
Hey guys, I'm back! I was super busy these past few months, and haven't had time for ants, unfortunately. But now my schedule has cleared, and I was thrown back into the hobby, in fact right in the middle of a Tetra nuptial flight. These little [censored] had the audacity to fly on the 4th of July, almost like a slap in the face to all of the American ants these invaders have displaced. While I am saddened by their single handedly tanking ant biodiversity all over the continent, I still respect the hardiness, impressive growth, and aggressiveness these ants offer to ant keepers.
Anyways, I caught 27 of these queens on my driveway. I simply couldn't allow these queens to found colonies in my yard and displace the last of the Lasius colonies holding the line against three maturing Tetra colonies that barely had a few dozens workers 4 years ago. However, I couldn't bring myself to kill the queens either, as they are still queens in the end. So why not have them kill each other? Naturally, chill. For those who didn't know, Tetramorium immigrans founds colonies via a method called pleometrosis. Multiple queens found the colony to increase resources and the number of nanitics (first workers). I noticed these queens' nanitics appear larger and healthier than single-queen nanitics. I have read other posts which claim that queens usually begin killing each other within two weeks of being placed together, though from my personal experience with South Dakota Tetras the queens are not aggressive towards each other, but once workers eclose (hatch) they choose the healthiest and fittest queen and slowly dismember the others by slowly chewing off their limbs and antennae, leaving them blind and immobilized and let them starve to death. Heartwarming, I know. It does, however, allow the most successful queens to be selected through natural processes.
I divided the 27 queens into 5 groups. Groups A, B, and C each originally had 5 queens, and groups D and E had 6 queens. All colonies just got workers yesterday, and I fed them for the first time today. They are in homemade test tube-pencil case formicaria. Over the next year or so I will choose the healthiest colony to keep and give the others away to other ant keepers in my area. If you're from South Dakota and are interested in one of these colonies, hit me up and DM me!
I got the photos from these videos, which you can watch here on Imgur.
Colony A
This colony had 5 original queens, and one queen died within one week of having them. Now they have roughly ~15 workers. When I checked up on them today one queen was sitting alone at the entrance of the nest, a possible sign she is being rejected by the colony. If she doesn't escape she may be on the chopping block soon.
4 days after capture
26 days after capture
Colony B
All 5 original queens are still alive as of yet. The workers are hardening and beginning to forage, so we'll see how long that lasts. Pleometrosis is like some Game of Thrones plot.
4 days after capture
26 days after capture
Colony C
Two queens died within a week of capture, the most of all the colonies. They have 3 queens currently, and around 10 workers. They also have the smallest amount of brood of the colonies, though it is still substantial. The fact this colony is the least successful is a testament to just how successful all five colonies are.
4 days after capture
26 days after capture
Colony D
The best of the five, this 6-queened colony still has all 6 queens and has shown no signs of disposing of any queens, though some queens are noticeably skinnier than others. It has around 20 workers now, and should be around 30 by the time all nanitics are finished eclosing. This is the colony I'm considering keeping as of now, though colonies B and E are also options if they possibly overtake D in the future. A and C are noticeably behind the other three, and likely won't be chosen.
4 days after capture
Tetramorium immigrans Colony D 7/30/2024 (youtube.com) (Sorry, it uploaded as a short, and Formiculture doesn't support shorts.)
26 days after capture
Colony E
My other six-queened colony is also very successful, with around 15 workers. While still behind Colony D, they are about tied with Colony B for 2nd place. Like colony D they are showing no signs of disposing of any of their queens as of yet. All queens have all their limbs in tact from what I can see. We'll see how the purge unfolds over the next couple weeks.
4 days after capture; the eggs appear scattered because I accidentally rolled the test tube.
26 days after capture; as you can see, everything turned out alright... for now.
Edited by RushmoreAnts, August 20 2024 - 1:38 PM.