8 replies to this topic

[Salmon]

Can someone point me in the right direction with this queen? She's around 8 millimeters long and bright, somewhat pale orange in color. I found her running along the ground in a sandy patch of an open field in central Massachusetts. Possibly a small Formica?


I should add that she was collected in the late afternoon, and it hasn't rained or anything recently. She's very active and restless, and seems to have trouble clinging to glass.

Edited by Salmon, June 16 2016 - 5:05 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

This is Lasius interjectus, a social parasite of other Lasius. I've been on the lookout for this species in Maine! I hope I didn't miss it.

She will need host workers if you want to keep her. If you can find a Lasius colony with pupae, wait for the workers to open them up and put the very young worker in with the queen. The colony can then be boosted with small amounts of brood.

Another option is to introduce relatively mature workers, although this can be riskier. Choose host workers from inside of a nest, preferable those tending to brood.

To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any Lasius parasites which are exclusive to certain species of host worker within the genus, but there isn't a lot we know about colony founding for these particular social parasites. Claviger group social parasites seem to favor Lasius neoniger and perhaps Lasius umbratus. I have introduced the relative Lasius latipes to Lasius umbratus workers, and the introduction went without violence. Unfortunately, the queens died in the following weeks.

The trouble with Acanthomyops (the subgenus including L. interjectus, L. claviger, L. latipes, L. murphyi, etc.) is that they often seem to die for no reason after a short while. There's a lot to be learned about keeping these ants.

Edited by Batspiderfish, June 16 2016 - 5:40 PM.

[Salmon]

I actually just ID'd her on my own by googling "orange ant queen" before I checked back, lol. When I first saw her I thought yellow lasius, but then I thought she wasn't lasius because queens of other pale species like L. flavus are dark.
She has a pretty small abdomen- I suppose that's because social parasites don't need huge energy reserves like normal queens do.

Edited by Salmon, June 16 2016 - 5:34 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

True. I'll bet it allows the colony to produce significantly more reproductive females as well.

[Salmon]

If I put the workers I collect for her in the fridge for a while, could that make the introduction process safer?

[Batspiderfish]

I personally haven't noticed chilling to change much, although I haven't given the process as much time as others. It definitely helps both the queen and the workers be less apt at killing each other. When AntsCanada did that Lasius claviger introduction episode, I believe he said he left them in the fridge for three weeks. I've done quite a few successful introductions with Chthonolasius (L. umbratus and L. subumbratus), with only one taking place in the fridge. The umbratus group seems to be way easier to handle. Frankly, I'm still learning about it. Acanthomyops, on the other hand, has been difficult, as I've only been able to make one attempt so far and they often die suddenly and hitherto inexplicably. I'm excited that Lasius interjectus is flying in New England, but I don't actually know if their range extends to Maine. Lasius latipes is the only Acanthomyops that I've ever seen, which I'll have to wait until August to try again.

Anyways, the finer points of introducing a parasitic queen to host workers involve keeping the host as sedate as possible, and chilling them in a fridge can help this. Just watch out for condensation, as a lot of the humidity in that tube is going to stick to the glass when it cools. A little bit of dry soil can offer some protection to the ants.

I just found this article, which might be worth reading through: https://www.research...us_Acanthomyops

Edited by Batspiderfish, June 16 2016 - 8:17 PM.

[Jeoff82]

Wow I'd love to have this species in my collection. How about it you collect some Lasius Niger cocoons and give them to this queen. They would hatch in a few days.

[Batspiderfish]

Lasius social parasites won't open the silken cocoons around pupae under most circumstances, and so the workers usually die inside. I've tried removing the cocoons manually before, which is a difficult and extremely delicate task, but this didn't seem to work either. Brood care is not the forte of Lasius parasites. Formica parasites are a different matter, and are quite easy to found.

I've seen Lasius umbratus queens perform trophallaxys with larvae after they have host workers, but I am inclined to believe that they were taking food rather than giving it.

Edited by Batspiderfish, June 17 2016 - 12:58 PM.

[Jeoff82]

How about giving the queen one worker. From what I have heard they kill one worker to gain it's scent and then enter the workers nest. Once she has gained the workers scent you could try adding more workers from the same colony.

Slightly off topic but recently introduced a Lasius Emarginatus queen to 6 workers whose queen had recently died, 2 months later they are fine and have brood. No casualties and no cooling down.