95 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

This is the only footage of Pheidole antipodum super majors on the net, an Aussie only Pheidologeton type species, and it's grabbed from a Chinese only stream site at 240p

be sure to switch to 240p as YouTube defaults to 144p for some reason....

 

 

At least until I get my colony off the ground [ ]

ID thread http://www.formicult...70&hl=antipodum

 

Edited by CoolColJ, August 2 2018 - 2:18 PM.

[CoolColJ]

I put my dead Pheidole antipodum queen beside one of my dead Camponotus suffusus queen bodies, and her thorax and gaster are just about dead even in length and almost in size.

Only the suffusus has a larger head.

15mm vs 18mm of one of the largest Camponotus species we have here

Has to be the largest Pheidole in the world...

Click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

My queen has a clump of 32 eggs/first instar larvae

What great timing heading into spring a few weeks from now, things are going to explode.
Her nest is averaging around 20 degrees celsius, so once it gets into the 25-27 range things will pick up

Based on another person's experience, there is probably a smaller nanitic major in this first batch.
Normally a queen wouldn't have the resources for a major in the first batch, but she is so big compared to her 2mm (most likely) nanitic minor workers that she can afford to.
Plus her extra thicc booty helps

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, August 20 2018 - 8:23 PM.

[CoolColJ]

here is an all black variant - from a different state, Western Australia.

Mine are from South Australia.

Could be just a regional colour morph difference

 

Edited by CoolColJ, August 28 2018 - 4:22 AM.

[MegaMyrmex]

Arrrggghhh, just the thought of a camponotus- size pheidole queen's making me drool with envy...

[PogoQueen]

Very beautiful pictures!

[CoolColJ]

I have since moved my queen back into a test tube so I can heat her and get her brood developing, as it's been over 2 months now, and they are still eggs!

 

But here she has condensation in a gypsum nest from the heat cable...

 

And I actually counted 80+ eggs after the move

All time record for a single queen for me!

 

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, October 5 2018 - 6:12 PM.

[Leo]

 substrate might help her

[CoolColJ]

Another person I spoke to in Western Australia captured 3 of these queens inland from Geraldton, quite an arid region.
He said they were were hovering 1m off the ground performing a nuptial flight.
Did not see their nests
Captured mid July.

Same colours as my queen, and not black like I thought the queens from Western Australia were, like in the pics above
 
He has heated all his queens since capture so their brood is more advanced than my queens
 

Edited by CoolColJ, October 5 2018 - 6:21 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole cf antipodum queen with her first batch of brood.
there are 4 tiny nanitic pupa, and some much larger larvae, possibly nanitic majors

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, October 23 2018 - 9:27 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Brood is starting to go brown, so getting close to eclosing!
More pupa have developed, and you can see at least one small nanitic major/soldier pupa - the large headed one at the top in the pic below
Pretty amazing, I don't think there is another species that has majors in the first batch!

You can see how small the workers are, even the major, compared to the queen

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

Different size pupa of the P.antipodum

Minor and different sized majors

And this is just the first nanitic batch []

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

My recently dead Pheidole cf antipodum queen from Western Australia (top) vs Pheidole antipodum queen from South Australia

12.5mm vs 15mm in length
Different details, note the gaster tip on the top one, and shape
I do not believe these are the same species.

Considering that Western Australia is isolated from South Australia both physically and by fauna export laws, that is a good bet.

click to enlarge

[Nare]

Different size pupa of the P.antipodum

Minor and different sized majors

And this is just the first nanitic batch [ ]

click to enlarge

Let's hope she doesn't monch on these ones - I suspect thing's'll move faster once she's got some workers.

[CoolColJ]

That one is the dead one in the comparo

And yes she munched on them all!

Edited by CoolColJ, November 20 2018 - 3:26 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Good news re Pheidole antipodum queens!

I found someone who caught a lot of queens!
I'm going to try get 12 of them - 2x3, 2x2 and 2 single setups - hopefully to finally get a colony or two out of this

Did not expect them to fly in November 22nd!
Girl works at Alice Springs Desert Park, in the Northern territory, so nice and arid there
They had 38mm rain two days ago, so a lot is out, she also found two trap jaw queens
Probably more rain dependant than season, in the desert

From the experience of another person, they do at least snuggle up to one another when in the same test tube
AT least from the same area and flight.
So They could be polygynous

She caught some drones as well.
But they are not mating.
They were captured mid flight off the ground, so hopefully all are fertile, before sunset

Edited by CoolColJ, November 23 2018 - 3:09 PM.

[DaveJay]

I just got back from a short walk around the hospital car park, I can still barely walk and am in pain now but the sun was out after the storms and I couldn't resist. Still too cold for most but I found a huge Pheidole major, red head and body with a small black gaster , I just watched the video in this thread again, it's gotta be the same species. It was moving very slowly, walking like it's head was too heavy. At least I know there must be a nest there somewhere, I wasn't sure that they were in my area. Of course I didn't have my camera with me, when I bring it I find nothing!

[CoolColJ]

I just got back from a short walk around the hospital car park, I can still barely walk and am in pain now but the sun was out after the storms and I couldn't resist. Still too cold for most but I found a huge Pheidole major, red head and body with a small black gaster , I just watched the video in this thread again, it's gotta be the same species. It was moving very slowly, walking like it's head was too heavy. At least I know there must be a nest there somewhere, I wasn't sure that they were in my area. Of course I didn't have my camera with me, when I bring it I find nothing!

Antipodum majors have yellow gasters, so it's not one of these.

It's a normal Pheidole major. The colony you have should have majors like that one eventually, as the colony gets larger I think.

The one on the left, these are 6mm or so.



second species in this video

Edited by CoolColJ, November 22 2018 - 11:47 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Possibly some antipodum workers and a smaller major

Edited by CoolColJ, November 23 2018 - 3:11 PM.

[DaveJay]

I just got back from a short walk around the hospital car park, I can still barely walk and am in pain now but the sun was out after the storms and I couldn't resist. Still too cold for most but I found a huge Pheidole major, red head and body with a small black gaster , I just watched the video in this thread again, it's gotta be the same species. It was moving very slowly, walking like it's head was too heavy. At least I know there must be a nest there somewhere, I wasn't sure that they were in my area. Of course I didn't have my camera with me, when I bring it I find nothing!

Antipodum majors have yellow gasters, so it's not one of these.

It's a normal Pheidole major. The colony you have should have majors like that one eventually, as the colony gets larger I think.

The one on the left, these are 6mm or so.



second species in this video

Yeah, that's what it looked like but there was a bigger size difference between this major and the minors around it than there is in the video. So either it was larger than the ones in the video or the minors were smaller, I'm inclined to think that's the case.