2 replies to this topic

[ultraex2]

I caught 10 of these queens sometime last fall, I think around September/October.  At first I thought they were Lasius Neoniger, but now that the workers have eclosed they are a nice yellow color and definitely are not Neoniger.  I'm thinking maybe Flavus or Nearcticus.  Apparently they mainly farm aphids, so at some point I may need to try to figure out how to create a setup with them but for now they seem to love honey and this colony seems like it's accepted a fruit fly.

 

Another interesting thing is that when I caught them, they were in clusters of 2-3 queens so I'm guessing they are polygnous as well.

 

 

 

 

Edited by ultraex2, June 17 2018 - 8:50 PM.

[CatsnAnts]

Wow! Very cool! Can’t wait to hear the next update! I hope they do well, (also, some queens seem polygnous, but really they end up killing each other when the first worker arrives, so be careful and on the safe side by keeping at least one of her seperate and by herself). Best of luck!

[ultraex2]

Wow! Very cool! Can’t wait to hear the next update! I hope they do well, (also, some queens seem polygnous, but really they end up killing each other when the first worker arrives, so be careful and on the safe side by keeping at least one of her seperate and by herself). Best of luck!

Yeah, I definitely don't plan on combining any colonies right now after they've already founded.  The colonies I've seen out in the woods in my parents backyard get quite big and it seems like they even dig into old logs as well (half nest in the log, half nest in the ground).  I think next time I may try and collect some aphids as well.