25 replies to this topic

[shuwen2.0]

Ants a friend of mine gave me
They seem to look like some kind of harvester ant

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[shuwen2.0]

First day 8.10
Gave all three colonies raw beef
they all didn’t seem to do very well, likely due to the long traveling, with little amounts of brood and eggs
They liked the raw beef

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[shuwen2.0]

Day 5 8.15
Colony no1 has gotten the first new worker, upon further inspection, colony no1 has many newly hatched eggs
Colony no2 has a huge brood, it is already bigger than the medium workers by a bit, is it going to turn into an alate or a soldier?
Colony no3 nothing much is happening

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[GOCAMPONOTUS]

These are seemingly some sort of Messor species.

[1tsm3jack]

These are seemingly some sort of Messor species.

I agree

[Yusteponant]

Day 5 8.15
Colony no1 has gotten the first new worker, upon further inspection, colony no1 has many newly hatched eggs
Colony no2 has a huge brood, it is already bigger than the medium workers by a bit, is it going to turn into an alate or a soldier?
Colony no3 nothing much is happening

HOLY THAT LARVA IS HUGE! 

[Yusteponant]

Day 5 8.15
Colony no1 has gotten the first new worker, upon further inspection, colony no1 has many newly hatched eggs
Colony no2 has a huge brood, it is already bigger than the medium workers by a bit, is it going to turn into an alate or a soldier?
Colony no3 nothing much is happening

It could be either considering that colonies only produce alates at least in my experience around 2 thousand workers but maybe it was infertile and turn into a male. On the other hand, it could turn into a major but is pretty unlikely.

[Yusteponant]

First day 8.10
Gave all three colonies raw beef
they all didn’t seem to do very well, likely due to the long traveling, with little amounts of brood and eggs
They liked the raw beef

Tbh they look like Messor angularis or Messor aegyptiacus. Is it just me?

[shuwen2.0]

First day 8.10
Gave all three colonies raw beef
they all didn’t seem to do very well, likely due to the long traveling, with little amounts of brood and eggs
They liked the raw beef

Tbh they look like Messor angularis or Messor aegyptiacus. Is it just me?

The workers are Messor barbarus or Messor angularis but the queen is another species

[shuwen2.0]

The queen is around the size of some camponotus
Measuring around 22mm

[shuwen2.0]

Day 5 8.15
Colony no1 has gotten the first new worker, upon further inspection, colony no1 has many newly hatched eggs
Colony no2 has a huge brood, it is already bigger than the medium workers by a bit, is it going to turn into an alate or a soldier?
Colony no3 nothing much is happening

It could be either considering that colonies only produce alates at least in my experience around 2 thousand workers but maybe it was infertile and turn into a male. On the other hand, it could turn into a major but is pretty unlikely.

This is one and a half months ago, I thought it is going to be a male too, but I can tell you the unlikely had happened

[RushmoreAnts]

 

Tbh they look like Messor angularis or Messor aegyptiacus. Is it just me?

The workers are Messor barbarus or Messor angularis but the queen is another species

 

Were they brood boosted, or is it a parasitic species?

[shuwen2.0]

Day 13 8.23
Colony no1 has a double egg cluster now, not much pupae, but ton of medium sized larvae
Colony no2 the huge larvae has gotten even bigger, double egg cluster, not much brood
Colony no3 moved into the plaster nest, only one egg cluster, nearly no brood

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[shuwen2.0]

Tbh they look like Messor angularis or Messor aegyptiacus. Is it just me?

The workers are Messor barbarus or Messor angularis but the queen is another species

Were they brood boosted, or is it a parasitic species?

Brood boosted by Messor barbarus

[AntsGodzilla]

These are seemingly some sort of Messor species.

I thought messor didn't live in california?

[shuwen2.0]

 

These are seemingly some sort of Messor species.

I thought messor didn't live in california?

 

ur right, I got them from a friend

[AntsGodzilla]

Did they have permits to bring them to california?

[shuwen2.0]

Did they have permits to bring them to california?

idk, but does it matter?

[Ants_Dakota]

 

Did they have permits to bring them to california?

idk, but does it matter?

 

It is pretty important, yes. The USDA is pretty strict about importing ants, you can view some guidelines found here. You will need to find out if the person who gave them to you has a permit for the importation of Messor sp. ants. If not, you may want to exterminate the colonies, as keeping them would be illegal. It is sad that this liability falls on you even though it often is the fault of people who knowingly sell ants illegally and you are just an naive ant keeper. Although Messor sp. may not be the worst ant to have in the US, as they are mainly granivorous and don't tend aphids, it is still important to follow the law.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

 

 

Did they have permits to bring them to california?

idk, but does it matter?

 

It is pretty important, yes. The USDA is pretty strict about importing ants, you can view some guidelines found here. You will need to find out if the person who gave them to you has a permit for the importation of Messor sp. ants. If not, you may want to exterminate the colonies, as keeping them would be illegal. It is sad that this liability falls on you even though it often is the fault of people who knowingly sell ants illegally and you are just an naive ant keeper. Although Messor sp. may not be the worst ant to have in the US, as they are mainly granivorous and don't tend aphids, it is still important to follow the law.

 

i concur they would need permits for that

the larva could also be a major