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Pogonomyrmex Californicus workers laying eggs

Started By Chromerust , Dec 4 2014 5:22 PM

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13 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Chromerust - Posted December 4 2014 - 5:22 PM

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I have a queenless colony of Pogonomyrmex laying eggs and raising larvae. The queen died a couple of months ago and Drew took the excess brood to boost one of his own colonies. At first I thought they hid some eggs somewhere, but now those are big larvae and there is a large pile of new eggs. How is this even happening? Has anyone ever experienced anything like this?

#2 Offline dean_k - Posted December 4 2014 - 5:29 PM

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There are species of ants that, once they lose queen, one of workers start to lay eggs.

#3 Offline LAnt - Posted December 4 2014 - 5:35 PM

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Make sure to keep us updated

#4 Offline Gregory2455 - Posted December 4 2014 - 8:41 PM

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Pogonomyrmex do not have gamergates! Is this concolorous, or bicolor?

#5 Offline LAnt - Posted December 4 2014 - 9:15 PM

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DUN Dun dun

#6 Offline Gregory2455 - Posted December 4 2014 - 9:25 PM

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Well this sure makes Pogonomyrmex a lot cooler! I imagine you would actually need a mature colony like this to have its queen die, in order to start making brood. I doubt you can just dig workers from the ground and one would assume egg laying...

#7 Offline Chromerust - Posted December 4 2014 - 9:42 PM

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This is a young colony of Bicolor. I picked the queen up in the desert with Drew this summer. She had over a hundred large workers already then stopped laying eggs and died a few weeks later. Actually that last two weeks before it died she came out of the test tube and refused to go back. The workers tried to drag her back in with no luck

#8 Offline Gregory2455 - Posted December 4 2014 - 9:46 PM

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Very interesting behavior! :thinking: Well, I hope Dr Ant can log on soon and read this, I would love an answer!

#9 Offline Chromerust - Posted December 4 2014 - 9:50 PM

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Very interesting behavior! Well, I hope Dr Ant can log on soon and read this, I would love an answer!

Yes I'm anxious to hear if doctor ant may have any insight

#10 Offline dspdrew - Posted December 5 2014 - 5:31 AM

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Are the eggs smaller than what the queen was laying? Are these eggs developing at all?

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#11 Offline Chromerust - Posted December 5 2014 - 11:54 AM

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Are the eggs smaller than what the queen was laying? Are these eggs developing at all?

The eggs appear normal size. They have 15 larvae that look about normal size too. This next clutch of eggs will tell us for sure if they start developing.