8 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

I have been meaning to turn this post into its own topic for a few years now.
 
Taken from my Pogonomyrmex tenuispinus journal:
 

In mid-July to late August, I go out to their area after a summer storm to collect males. If I'm lucky enough to get out there the day after a decent shower, both males and females leave the nest between 6:30AM-7:30AM. The males leave first and the females follow 10-15 minutes later. I've not found a lek, because the terrain is very challenging. If I find dealate females, I also bring a few back. I collect only what I need for that year's project and nothing more.

The day after I return with the males, I water the parent colony and the female alates arise the next morning. I collect them and put them with the males in a separate tank with soil heated from above by a incandescent lamp. They all gather under the lamp to get their body temperature up to optimum. Then they all begin to run around in a frenzy. The males latch-onto the females who struggle, ensuring only the strongest males will be successful. The first mating takes place and is completed within a couple of minutes. The females try to depart, but can only go so far before another male grabs onto them and mates as well. I may leave them in the tank for the entire day, ensuring they are fertilized many times which should sustain fertility for a lifetime. I suspect the females depart the lek after the first or second mating in the wild, as their hillside gets extremely hot very quickly in the morning and they need to find shelter to survive.

So, the only triggers are water for the parent colony the day before and an overhead lamp. If I turn-off the lamp, the mating frenzy ceases after 10-15 minutes as their body temperature drops sufficiently. The whole affair is a matter of timing and replicating the conditions they experience in the wild.

[dspdrew]

I have had queens that he bread get up to a few workers, but haven't gotten a large successful colony from them yet. To be fair, I didn't end up with a single successful colony out of 30 or so queens I found in the wild either.

[Works4TheGood]

Drew, thanks so much for finding and posting this!

 

The post says, "... I water the parent colony".  I'm trying to make correct inferences here.  I presume that this person had a soil-based captive ant colony that already had princesses.

 

In your own experience, do princesses tend to develop for you as a side effect of feeding your large colonies very well?  If my understanding is correct, triggering the development of princesses is all about food intake.

[dspdrew]

I haven't seen my colonies of any species produce alates after one year, but he had a large colony of P. tenuispinus that did if I remember right. He kept them in a gigantic dirt ant farm. When he goes to breed them, he puts the females along with the males he collects from the wild in a tank full of dirt.

[Works4TheGood]

I haven't seen my colonies of any species produce alates after one year, but he had a large colony of P. tenuispinus that did if I remember right. He kept them in a gigantic dirt ant farm. When he goes to breed them, he puts the females along with the males he collects from the wild in a tank full of dirt.

Is this farm in his house, and is the home climate controlled? I'm trying to judge just how shielded or exposed this colony is to natural, outdoor cues like barometric pressure, humidity, temperature, day/night, etc..

[Works4TheGood]

Also, this technique seems to be pretty generic. I'm guessing that it could actually work with most ant species, although I'm not sure why he waited a day to water the colony after gathering the males. I would have thought it would be just fine to do it all the same day.

Is there anything unique about Pogonomyrmex tenuispinus in particular that makes it a good candidate for captive breeding?

[dspdrew]

 

I haven't seen my colonies of any species produce alates after one year, but he had a large colony of P. tenuispinus that did if I remember right. He kept them in a gigantic dirt ant farm. When he goes to breed them, he puts the females along with the males he collects from the wild in a tank full of dirt.

Is this farm in his house, and is the home climate controlled? I'm trying to judge just how shielded or exposed this colony is to natural, outdoor cues like barometric pressure, humidity, temperature, day/night, etc..

 

 

Yes, he keeps it in his house with regular climate control.

 

 

Also, this technique seems to be pretty generic. I'm guessing that it could actually work with most ant species, although I'm not sure why he waited a day to water the colony after gathering the males. I would have thought it would be just fine to do it all the same day.

Is there anything unique about Pogonomyrmex tenuispinus in particular that makes it a good candidate for captive breeding?

 

Yes, like many Pogonomyrmex species, they mate on the ground.

[Martialis]

Now I'm wondering if I could do this with Tapinoma sessile...

[StopSpazzing]

Wait wait, so I can go randomly water Pogonomyrmex. colonies and have them make alates? How much water we talking? flooding the colony? Next day in morning you say? Need to test this. I'm looking for all Pogonomyrmex. spp for study if possible.