12 replies to this topic

[Connectimyrmex]

Hi!
A few days ago I gave my single S. pallipes queen a few Tetramorium sp. e larvae. After some time alone, the queen decided to take the brood and place it on the wet cotton. To my surprise, she actually "adopted" the larvae! Whenever I disturb her, she picks up a larva and runs around for a bit. Today, I managed to see her actually feeding on the larva in the classic Stigmatomma fashion. The larva ended up getting sucked dry, probably due to the larva's inability to cope with skin puncture like a normal S. pallipes larva. I believe that the queen might be feeding the larvae trophic eggs, because one of them looks a bit larger than before. Perhaps the queen adopted the brood just to provide herself with an easy food source.

Has anyone else observed this before?

Edited by Connectimyrmex, November 17 2017 - 1:02 PM.

[Hunter]

sounds interesting

[Connectimyrmex]

Thanks

[MegaMyrmex]

Cool really jealous I want stigmatomma so bad...I had a queen but I put it in a small wood formicaria and tried to crawl into a little hole on the floor and got stuck and died...

[Connectimyrmex]

I gave her a termite today and I saw her put the corpse next to the larvae (in the wild, Stigmatomma colonies place larva on their food to let them eat)! Sadly, another larva died overnight (from the normally unobtrusive Stigmatomma blood-sucking cut). Should I continuously supply her with ant larvae to keep her well fed? My Tetramorium colony only had like ten larvae now (I've been feeding the larvae to my Ponera colony as well), so I should probably stop stealing their brood.

 

I could probably add C. chromaiodes larvae, and I could even add Aphaenogaster larvae (they eat off corpses like Stigmatomma larvae).

Edited by Connectimyrmex, November 17 2017 - 6:01 AM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Theory:

Stigmatomma pallipes foundresses are in fact "thief ants". The young queens build their claustral chambers next to established ant colonies. They then sneak into the nests of other species, such as Camponotus, Lasius, Ponera, etc, using their stinger to subdue attacking workers. They steal a few larvae/eggs from the brood chambers, which they use to feed themselves. They keep those larvae alive for as long as it takes for their own larvae to hatch. They then eat the foreign larvae and rear their own brood normally. 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Stigmatomma queens and nests always seem to be located near an existing or extinct colony (My first Stigmatomma queen was a dead individual found in an Aphaenogaster picea nest, possibly a failed thief. The next colony was located very close to a Lasius nearcticus nest. My current queen was found a few feet away from an unidentified Formica slave-raider nest). Perhaps they are nesting next to the other ant colonies for protection, but I guess that there is a possibility that my theory is correct.

 

I guess that my theory could explain why no one has ever had success with founding the species.

Edited by Connectimyrmex, November 17 2017 - 9:34 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

Let's not get "theory" and "hypothesis" mixed up here. Theories are tested, proven explanations backed up with experimental evidence; hypotheses are still awaiting the scientific method.

This idea is exciting, but it doesn't comply much with what scientists have documented for Stigmatomma.

Edited by Batspiderfish, November 17 2017 - 11:15 AM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Let's not get "theory" and "hypothesis" mixed up here. Theories are tested, proven explanations backed up with experimental evidence; hypotheses are still awaiting the scientific method.

This idea is exciting, but it doesn't comply much with what scientists have documented for Stigmatomma.

True. I changed the title. 

[ctantkeeper]

Theory:

Stigmatomma pallipes foundresses are in fact "thief ants". The young queens build their claustral chambers next to established ant colonies. They then sneak into the nests of other species, such as Camponotus, Lasius, Ponera, etc, using their stinger to subdue attacking workers. They steal a few larvae/eggs from the brood chambers, which they use to feed themselves. They keep those larvae alive for as long as it takes for their own larvae to hatch. They then eat the foreign larvae and rear their own brood normally. 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Stigmatomma queens and nests always seem to be located near an existing or extinct colony (My first Stigmatomma queen was a dead individual found in an Aphaenogaster picea nest, possibly a failed thief. The next colony was located very close to a Lasius nearcticus nest. My current queen was found a few feet away from an unidentified Formica slave-raider nest). Perhaps they are nesting next to the other ant colonies for protection, but I guess that there is a possibility that my theory is correct.

 

I guess that my theory could explain why no one has ever had success with founding the species.

Sounds like an excellent hypothesis! this would explain their unusual nesting habits (which I have also noticed) and how I have never been able to rear a colony (I had a queen once, but it died very early during the founding stage). The term you are looking for btw is "lestobiotic parasitism". Although I want to believe this, this would need a lot of testing before we could be sure of anything.

Edited by ctantkeeper, November 17 2017 - 7:48 PM.

[MegaMyrmex]

I think that we should try this. I myself am currently hunting for hibernating stigmatomma queens. Once i find some, I have easy access to a lasius sp. nest that's nesting in some rotten wood. However, how do you find stigmatomma queens? I only found one queen and a worker underneath a log and that was pretty much it...

[Connectimyrmex]

I just flip a ton of rocks in late fall (this year). That's how I found my queen.

Don't hesitate if you find many winged individuals, this species mates inside of its nest.

 

I'm thinking about testing this out if I find another Stigmatomma queen. I'll probably connect her tube to my Tetramorium sp.e colony.

Edited by Connectimyrmex, November 18 2017 - 6:41 AM.

[MegaMyrmex]

Although this is old, I would like to further "prove" this point. I introduced 2 small camponotus chromaiodes larvae to my queen and it seems like she accepted them. she crawls over them and grooms them. I have yet to see her feed off of their hemolymph. I will try catching a centipede or spider and see if she will feed those to her brood, but my main concern is if she focuses on caring fir these larvae and forgets to lay eggs later on.

[ponerinecat]

Sooo... What happened?