80 replies to this topic

[Canadian anter]

March 15th 2017

Well, it seems like the host Lasius alienus's anti-parasitic instincts are kicking in because there's only a single claviger worker left.

However the queen has been laying many eggs recently and I have seen it take place several times. Those white clumps are the eggs. any estimates on the number?

Edited by Canadian anter, March 15 2017 - 6:21 PM.

[Canadian anter]

Update March 23rd 2017

Disaster!

This morning I checked on them and saw 3 claviger heads in the outworld. I got very concerned so I opened the nest and saw over 60 claviger workers...dead.....most without limbs. Which left them with 14 alienus workers which, keep in mind some are over 5 months old. I decided to dump them into a smaller Formicarium and placed them into an outworld with 7 water feeders and at least a hundred fruit flies. I won't be looking at these again for a good month. I'm hoping for the best

[Nathant2131]

Update March 23rd 2017
Disaster!
This morning I checked on them and saw 3 claviger heads in the outworld. I got very concerned so I opened the nest and saw over 60 claviger workers...dead.....most without limbs. Which left them with 14 alienus workers which, keep in mind some are over 5 months old. I decided to dump them into a smaller Formicarium and placed them into an outworld with 7 water feeders and at least a hundred fruit flies. I won't be looking at these again for a good month. I'm hoping for the best

Woah. Since when were there 60 claviger workers?

[Canadian anter]

There were about 80 pupae in the update before that

[Nathant2131]

There were about 80 pupae in the update before that

Ah.

[Batspiderfish]

I wonder if it is temperature-related. Lasius claviger workers are almost never above ground, so perhaps they prefer cooler temperatures. Obviously, this is speculation.

[Nathant2131]

I wonder if it is temperature-related. Lasius claviger workers are almost never above ground, so perhaps they prefer cooler temperatures. Obviously, this is speculation.

I only had 2 Lasius claviger queens, so the sample size is not even close to enough to assume anything, but both died a week after I took them out from hibernation, onto a heat cable. I now keep the rest of my parasites in room temperature.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

I've found mixed nests of these in the wild with adult workers of both species active. How hilarious would it be to find out it actually takes 100 or so dead Lasius claviger workers before the L. alienus give up on massacring them so the L. claviger finally take hold. This would explain why mixed nests are so rare.

[Canadian anter]

This queen died

[Batspiderfish]

No! I'm really sorry to hear that. You made it incredibly far with this species. I'm sure you'll be able to do it again.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

If there's still L. claviger brood you could possibly still salvage the colony by using them to boost another queen.

[Batspiderfish]

If there's still L. claviger brood you could possibly still salvage the colony by using them to boost another queen.

 

I forget how abundant they are in the spring. I only find Lasius latipes where I am, and only see those during their mating season. Perhaps I am assuming they are as conspicuous as Lasius umbratus. Do you see Lasius claviger out and about in similar frequency as L. umbratus?

Edited by Batspiderfish, April 9 2017 - 9:43 AM.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

 

If there's still L. claviger brood you could possibly still salvage the colony by using them to boost another queen.

 

I forget how abundant they are in the spring. I only find Lasius latipes where I am, and only see those during their mating season. Perhaps I am assuming they are as conspicuous as Lasius umbratus. Do you see Lasius claviger out and about in similar frequency as L. umbratus?

 

 

I often find clusters of L. claviger queens under rocks and logs all huddled together in the winter time. As things warm up they disperse and I'll be finding these queens randomly walking about and as I dig through the soil in my garden. I can usually find them well into spring.

 

I find L. umbratus too but often more sporadically.

[Alabama Anter]

NOOOOOOOOOOO! Canadian so sorry for your loss! Like Bat said, you will be able to do it again.

[Batspiderfish]

 

 

I forget how abundant they are in the spring. I only find Lasius latipes where I am, and only see those during their mating season. Perhaps I am assuming they are as conspicuous as Lasius umbratus. Do you see Lasius claviger out and about in similar frequency as L. umbratus?

 

I often find clusters of L. claviger queens under rocks and logs all huddled together in the winter time. As things warm up they disperse and I'll be finding these queens randomly walking about and as I dig through the soil in my garden. I can usually find them well into spring.

 

I find L. umbratus too but often more sporadically.

 

 

Lasius umbratus is the dominant social parasite in my area. I find them up to July, which is an incredibly long bout of independence unless they are having spring flights or are making pit-stops at host colonies (I have seen no evidence of mating flights before August). I was curious if fall-fliers from Acanthomyops wandered around with the same bravado, or if they mostly kept to the cover of leaves/logs/etc. I haven't found any other species walking around in the spring, although, as of now, I tend to begin anting only after seeing the flights of Camponotus. When is the latest you see your social parasites, without evidence of a nuptial flight?

Edited by Batspiderfish, April 9 2017 - 4:23 PM.

[Canadian anter]

Update April 9th, 2017

Well, MILTA called it. I found another claviger queen later today. She's a lot darker and more timid than the first one. She's now has 12 pallitarsis worker hosts.My hopes aren't as high because there seems to be no friendly interaction between them. Watrching past introductions done by others, it seems like grooming is a good sign that can be observed before egg laying. Personally I usually only see Lasius claviger 2 weeks within the mating flight or dead at the entrance of a nest. I used to see "Lasius umbratus" bout once every week and a half around this time. I'm not sure if it's actually Lasius umbratus anymore because it's smaller, lighter coloured and behaves differently from a queen AntsMAN gave me.  MILTA, nothings left except for maybe 3 workers at most. 

[Canadian anter]

September 13th 2017

Ok so the parasitic Lasius recently started flying. I had 3 umbratus, 1 claviger and 2 murphyi but I only had the claviger and 1 murphyi by the next day. I introduced the Lasius murphyi to 20 Lasius alienus workers, (which she all killed). I then put 30 more alienus workers and lo and behold, she wasn't killing anything. I'm very proud of her. I currently have the Lasius claviger in the fridge acclimating with some workers. Meanwhile, here's a video of the Lasius murphyi and her hosts.

 

[Canadian anter]

September 14th 2017

Today I caught 6 more Lasius claviger. They're still waiting for hosts. The murphyi seems to be doing rather well.

 

 

BTW I've recently been informed that someone raised Lasius claviger a year before me and has pictures to back it up but no proof of dates. This is also someone who told me that Pheidologeton diversa is established in Canada and came via metal shipments.  Any thoughts?

[Canadian anter]

September 19th 2017

Ok, I have 4 claviger queens now. All of which have hosts. 2 of them engaged in trophallaxis with the workers and I'm pretty sure the other ones won't be succesful. I'm pretty sure that's a good thing because last time, they started doing this behaviour where the queen would "ask" the worker to feed her where the worker would go below the queen to feed her. I know that sometimes the queen feeds the workers when there's some aggressive just by opening her jaws, after which the worker drinks a little and just wanders off peacefully.

 

 

  

 

Don't mind the background, music's my brother.

 

Edit: murphyi's in the fridge now and I have a second one now.

[Connectimyrmex]

Hope the new queens survive!

Also, That guy who claimed to have raised L. claviger is probably lying if he has no date proof.