8 replies to this topic

[Connectimyrmex]

Yesterday evening I found a group of fire ants preparing for a nuptial flight. I had to leave, so I just scooped as many as i could in an empty water bottle. When I got home, as expected, all queens and drones kept their wings except for one queen. One queen was showing signs of being mated, but obviously didn't fly. How did this happen?

[T.C.]

I have seen in myrmica species mate on the ground before like an inch away from the nest.  So it is possible she mated, but she also may not have? They will rip there wings off if they haven't mated  for whatever reason, confusion?

[Connectimyrmex]

Thanks for replying so fast!

I think you may be right, but I have never seen Solenopsis Geminata queens mate on the ground. They just popped out of the ground when I saw her, so that confused me. Maybe they were there for a while.

[Saftron]

If they were preparing, it is most likely they are unmated and are infertile alates.

[Connectimyrmex]

Yeah. Maybe that wingless queen just lost her wings when it eclosed. Either that or ZOMBIES ate her wings. its the walking dead

[Batspiderfish]

Unmated queens will still tear off their wings.

[Connectimyrmex]

I know, but I didn't know that they remove their wings that early. 20% of wingless Brachymyrmex Obscurior queens I catch are infertile, so I get plenty of wingless infertile queens, but I only find those quite a while after the flight.

[Mdrogun]

Often times near the end of the year unmated queens will shed their wings and act as workers. I would imagine this queen was helping the alates take off.

[Serafine]

Wings or not doesn't say anything about fertilisation. Winged fertilized queens is absolutely normal, some queens do not throw off their wings until their second batch of workers.