3 replies to this topic

[Wamdar]

 

I was working when I started to notice these ants all over a wall where I work. I started to see them swarm out of a rock area where argentine ants were also swarming in much greater numbers. Not having my jars I simply used a dixie cup and a plastic bag to keep them in. I was able to just blow them off the top of this rock and collect 40 or so queens and some workers. I went back later and collected another 40 queens. I have them in 2 different containers. They were Id'd as m.ergatogyna by Dr. trager on facebook but only by a crude picture, not this one. 

 

Edited by Wamdar, July 20 2015 - 9:31 PM.

[dspdrew]

Nice pictures.

[Myrmicinae]

With that many queens, you are going to need a huge number of workers.  Queens from established colonies, especially those accustomed to budding as the primary reproductive mode, have difficulty adapting after a dramatic reduction in attendant workers.

 

It is also important to collect some brood with large colonies.  Ant larvae function somewhat as a "communal gut," processing solid/protein-rich foods that the adults are unable to digest.

Edited by Myrmicinae, July 23 2015 - 3:27 PM.

[Wamdar]

O wow! Thanks for that information. It seemed like a queen migration at the time and i tried to collect the tiny workers, only a few made it. There was also no brood to be found. Hopefully something will come of it, and if they start to wane, i'll put them out in their home space where I got them.