2 replies to this topic

[Mettcollsuss]

I currently have 4 F. subsericea queens, two without any workers and 2 with 5 workers each. I know that F. subsericea can be polygynous, but I'm not sure how. Do you have to mix queens during the founding stage, or will existing colonies accept new queens? If so, I'm going to try to mix the queens with my 5 worker colonies. And if this is possible, how do I mix them? Should I hibernate the together for a couple hours, of allow them to move in by themselves? Thanks in advance!

[Batspiderfish]

Polygyny is not straightforward, and generally should only be attempted in captivity for species which are characteristically "highly-polygynous". Formica are not really known for founding colonies together, although species often will accept mated daughters back into the nest.

Edited by Batspiderfish, October 28 2017 - 10:46 AM.

[MegaMyrmex]

BatSpiderFish is right. I dom't think I have ever heard of formica being polygynous beyond pleometrosis. The bigger ant species(camponotus, formica, myrmecocystus, etc.) don't really seem to conduct polygyne that much as other smaller smaller species(Solenopsis molesta, temnothorax, pheidole, etc.)

Edited by MegaMyrmex, October 29 2017 - 3:06 PM.