7 replies to this topic

[Anhzor]

Originally I caught 17 queen late june, I then left to Idaho at the end of july and came back with only 10 left alive.  Which isn't too bad considering about 30 percent of all Pogonomyrmex I kept die for no apparent reason.  Since I have so many I am just going to focus on the two most unique colonies, the one I found in the Mojave desert and the one that has multiple queen.  They were caught on 6-11-2013, except for the mojave pogonomyrmex, she as caught a week earlier.

Mojave Pogonomyrmex
This pogonomyrmex I caught from the Mojave desert in June, unlike the Pogonomyrmex found here in Anaheim she has a black gaster.  She ate her first batch of eggs so I boosted her with broods I stole from the Pogonomyrmex outside my house.  Oddly enough she never had any nanitics, probably cause she ate her first batch of eggs?
original image: http://farm8.staticf...c894257ac_o.jpg


Its hard to tell, but the workers with red gaster are the one that were previously broods used for boosting.

Polygamous Pogonomyrmex
I ran out of space to put the extra queens I found in late june so I decided to put 3 of the in a test tube, I then boosted them with the broods I found outside.  From my previous experience Pogonomyrmex queens raise this way will eventually kill each other off, however none of the 3 queen has yet to show any aggression.

original photo: http://farm6.staticf...698c9825a_o.jpg



The big gaster in the middle belong to one of the queen, its hard to tell workers and queen from this species.  I'll try to get a picture of 3 of them together when its possible.

[Anhzor]

Mojave Pogonomyrmex:  Good amount of broods now. They have been place in a tank with a heating bulb that keeps it at 85-90 degrees.  Lately its only keeping it at 85's due to the heat waves cooling the past few days.  In my opinion keeping Pogonomyrmex at high temperature really helps brood development.

 

Edited by Anhzor, September 28 2013 - 7:41 PM.

[AntCzar]

Really interesting that none of the queens have been slaughtered yet! I wonder how long this will last. hehehe

[dspdrew]

Really interesting that none of the queens have been slaughtered yet! I wonder how long this will last. hehehe

I think he needs to update that part.

[Anhzor]

Polygamous Pogonomyrmex (now red gaster)

Two of the queen was drag out and slowly exicuted, I manage to pick them out and gave them a pupae and a larvae so that they're not gone to waste.  I move the colony which now has one queen to a different but smaller test tube (since water was running low) as well as a bigger foraging space.  SInce this colony is no longer polygamous I will call them red gaster due to their red gaster coloration.

 

Edited by Anhzor, September 23 2013 - 12:20 AM.

[Crystals]

Were the workers trying to kill them, or did the other queen start it?

[Anhzor]

Crystal: I'm not sure i think the workers instinctively know who is the dominant queen so they themselves did the killing.

 

 

here is a video of them being drag out

 

 

one of the queen that was dragged out has die.

 

the other queen ate its pupae and is not doing well, she too will probably die.

 

The dominant queen is doing fine but 8 of the workers has pass away, i suspect it was food poisoning.

Edited by Anhzor, September 27 2013 - 6:28 PM.

[Anhzor]

Mojave Pogonomyrmex:

 

for unknown reasion this colony has a female alate pupae... let see if she will ever enclose.  Must be something i fed to them that's making them produce alates after 3 months...

 

Edited by Anhzor, September 29 2013 - 10:26 PM.