31 replies to this topic

[ultraex2]

This is a journal to track my Lasius cf. Claviger/Umbratus (for sure some type of parasitic Lasius, at least) from some queens that were caught back in August of last year.  I managed to get several small containers of Lasius Neoniger brood + workers and introduced them to these parasitic queens back toward the end of April.
 
It's been a couple months since I had originally introduced them (put queen into small container with them for a few days in the fridge and took them back out).  I noticed that some of the ants were carrying around small larvae when I disturbed them so apparently it worked!
 
I couldn't get a good picture of the queen, but here are some pictures of the colony:
 
[Images lost when Photobucket stopped hosting]

Edited by ultraex2, May 9 2018 - 9:36 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

People used to think that raising these queens were impossible.

[ultraex2]

Yeah - it just takes patience and a bit of luck.  I'm thinking that it took about 4-6 weeks after being successfully introduced before it started laying eggs and it's been 2-3 weeks for the first small larvae too hatch.  

[sgheaton]

....I read this wrong and saw "ULTRA PARASITIC LASIUS" and I was all, "Woah now, hold up. Claustral, semi-claustral, and parasitic. Now an ultra parasitic?!?! What the heck are these going to be all about?!?" Then I realized I just read your name as part of the ant species and was bummed... 

[Serafine]

There's actually hyperparastic Lasius, like Lasius fuliginosus. It parasites on Lasius umbratus which is a parasite of Lasius niger.

[Canadian anter]

I would have lost the race if I didn't take them out in November :sigh:

[ultraex2]

Update 7/5/17:

 

Tons and tons of larvae, I estimate around 70 at this point.  They have been eating mealworms and crickets for protein and honey for sugar.

 

 

 

Edited by ultraex2, July 5 2017 - 6:46 AM.

[ultraex2]

7/18/17:

Small update, nothing really happening... The brood is slowly developing, but no pupae yet. I did manage to get a decent picture of the queen, though!

Edited by ultraex2, July 18 2017 - 10:14 AM.

[VoidElecent]

I think this is Lasius umbratus, which is known to be considerably more cooperative in captivity. Their workers, like these, are also generally darker in coloration.

[ultraex2]

I could definitely see it being that - do Umbratus fly in August?

Edited by ultraex2, July 18 2017 - 1:07 PM.

[VoidElecent]

I could definitely see it being that - do Umbratus fly in August?

 

I believe so!

[Nathant2131]

It does look like L. umbratus.

[Batspiderfish]

The clubbing on the antennae looks like Lasius claviger to me. Also, Lasius umbratus workers are yellow, easily distinguishable from the brown queen.

[VoidElecent]

The clubbing on the antennae looks like Lasius claviger to me. Also, Lasius umbratus workers are yellow, easily distinguishable from the brown queen.

 

L. claviger queens always seemed red to me; I also thought they had noticeable yellow workers similar to L. flavus. 

Edited by VoidElecent, July 18 2017 - 5:16 PM.

[ultraex2]

Update 8/15/2017:

 

Still not too much going on... I added on another test tube as their old test tube was starting to run low, and there are now 2 separate brood piles.  Still larvae, no pupae yet... I'm starting to wonder if they need it a lot cooler than most ants, as my condo stays between 78 - 80 degrees most of the time.  Great for Camponotus and Tetramorium, but not so great for other species.

 

At this point I'm starting to just hope that the larvae will eclose before hibernation...

 

Edited by ultraex2, August 15 2017 - 1:23 PM.

[Jonathan21700]

It looks like they will hibernate at this size but who knows.

[ultraex2]

It looks like they will hibernate at this size but who knows.

Yeah that's kind of what I'm thinking - kinda sucks but at least they got started in the first place.  The queen did lay another batch of eggs a couple weeks ago and those have turned into larvae.

[MegaMyrmex]

Update?

[ultraex2]

Update?

 

I can post one tonight - nothing has really changed though, unfortunately.

 

I've been thinking about adding a foraging area to see if that may help them develop.

[ultraex2]

Update 9/12/17:

 

Nothing too much, the brood has been nicely piled and the larvae may have grown a tad?  I also connected their test tube pup to an outworld so hopefully that may help.  I will post the outworld/test tube set-up tonight or tomorrow.

 

Edited by ultraex2, September 12 2017 - 7:27 AM.