34 replies to this topic

[CrazyLegs]

Thought I might as well post this rare find.

 

Amblyopone australis. The Dracula Ant

Named as such because instead of using trophallaxis to feed, it will puncture its own larvae to suck the sweet, sweet blood.

She was on her back, wings stuck in the water dish in our finch cage.

I was able to examine her under a 60x scope and found two parasites that looked like half tick, half spider like creatures.

They were pearl white in color, I removed them with a pin.

She hasn't laid any eggs, she may not even be fertile, but I'll keep her for a while and see what happens.

She's 10mm long

 

[Leo]

cool! i found this:

looks quite similar 

Pachycondyla amblyops

 

[CrazyLegs]

Nice.  

Yes in body shape. The amblyopone has a big head for it's body.

[Martialis]

Those were mites you removed. From what I heard, they like centipedes to eat. Also, judging  from the size of her gaster, I'd say she might be semi-claustral.

[Alabama Anter]

Those were mites you removed. From what I heard, they like centipedes to eat. Also, judging from the size of her gaster, I'd say she might be semi-claustral.

Yeah. I think Dracula Ants are Semi Claustral.

Edit: SO JEALOUS

Edited by Alabama Anter, January 22 2017 - 7:55 AM.

[CrazyLegs]

She may be feeling better, she ate a termite.

I will have to try to find a small centipede.

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 23 2017 - 3:18 PM.

[Connectimyrmex]

i nEeD OnE of ThOSe!

Seriously, great find. Best find.

Those are some wicked mandibles. I bet those are great for sucking the blood of their innocent, immobile babies.

[Batspiderfish]

i nEeD OnE of ThOSe!

Seriously, great find. Best find.

Those are some wicked mandibles. I bet those are great for sucking the blood of their innocent, immobile babies.

When you move to the Eastern US, you will have access to Stigmatomma pallipes, if you are skilled and lucky enough to find one and raise it. They are certainly a very advanced species to keep. They specialize in hunting beetle larvae and long, skinny centipedes, may require a helper worker/queen or pupa to start a new colony, and the brood takes a whole year to develop to adulthood. It's another species which no hobbyist in the world has raised -- the success in laboratory experiments is where much of this information comes from.

Edited by Batspiderfish, January 24 2017 - 6:28 AM.

[CrazyLegs]

I don't like my chances either.

She hates walking on the glass tube, spends all her time standing on the cotton.

She still has her wings attached too.

[T.C.]

I wonder with her wings on, if she is fertile or not?

[CrazyLegs]

My thoughts are the same T.C.

Hopefully she was able to mate before her dive into the water dish.

Time will tell.

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 24 2017 - 9:57 PM.

[Leo]

give her some dirt

[Serafine]

I wonder with her wings on, if she is fertile or not?

Having wings or not doesn't say anything. There's queens that throw off their wings when they are infertile and there's some queens that never shed their wings in their whole life yet give birth to massive colonies.

[Connectimyrmex]

I don't like my chances either.

She hates walking on the glass tube, spends all her time standing on the cotton.

She still has her wings attached too.

Only my fertilized Fire Ants do this. It means she found a good, damp spot to lay her eggs. I don't encourage laying on the glass for my queens because they won't get sufficient humidity/dryness. 

If you want her to rest in a vertical position, place a small piece of damp tissue on the bottom of the tube and make it flat. She will lay her eggs on that and you can see the eggs from a side view.

[Connectimyrmex]

Also, I'd bet that this queen is fertile. All the semi-claustral queens I've found had wings but shed them later.

[CrazyLegs]

Thanks for the feedback, I managed to find a micro centipede today.

It was still quite a bit larger than her so I popped it in the freezer for a bit before cutting it into snack sizes.

After adding it to the tube it wasn't long before she made her way up to see what the commotion was.

Maybe they have a nose for centipedes.

Her instincts kicked in and she grabbed it by the head to secure it's equally dangerous forcipules.

Obviously this is what is meant when they say they are " Specialized hunters ".

Grasping prey by the head will effectively hold it's defensive weapons at a safe distance.

Using her long jaws she worked her way up the head further, to be sure the centipede was incapacitated.

She didn't use her sting, she must have already confirmed the kill.

And now the reward. Sweet, sweet heamolymph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 25 2017 - 6:38 PM.

[Leo]

 

Thanks for the feedback, I managed to find a micro centipede today.

It was still quite a bit larger than her so I popped it in the freezer for a bit before cutting it into snack sizes.

 

After adding it to the tube it wasn't long before she made her way up to see what the commotion was.

Maybe they have a nose for centipedes.

Her instincts kicked in and she grabbed it by the head to secure it's equally dangerous mandibles.

 

Obviously this is what is meant when they say they are " Specialized hunters ".

Using her long jaws she worked her way up the head further to be sure the centipede was incapacitated.

 

She didn't use her sting, she must have already confirmed the kill.

 

And now the reward. Sweet, sweet hemolymph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

slurp! 

[Alabama Anter]

MMMMMM I LOVE CENTIPEDES!

Edited by Alabama Anter, January 25 2017 - 8:53 AM.

[Martialis]

Mmm, eat that heamolymph so you can support your brood!

 

...only to suck it back out of them. Probably why it takes so long for them to develop.

[SamKeepsAnts]

are they in california?

Edited by SamKeepsAnts, January 25 2017 - 9:30 AM.