11 replies to this topic

[Manitobant]

Here is a very interesting vid on slave makers for you all to enjoy:

Edited by Manitobant, January 17 2020 - 5:05 PM.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Here is a very interesting vid on slave makers for you all to enjoy:

I love Deep Look. They also made a video about Atta cephalotes, a bicolored tropical Pheidole species, ant they helped It's Okay to Be Smart make a video on Azteca and Pseudomyrmex.

[AntsDakota]

Here is a very interesting vid on slave makers for you all to enjoy

I found a queen last autumn, right before winter. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to any Formica workers, and it was getting cold and all colonies were in hibernation, so she died......  

Edited by AntsDakota, January 18 2020 - 4:33 PM.

[madbiologist]

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Here is a very interesting vid on slave makers for you all to enjoy

I found a queen last autumn, right before winter. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to any Formica workers, and it was getting cold and all colonies were in hibernation, so she died......

To my knowledge, US Polyergus have never been successfully kept in captivity, and you would need access to a massive amount of formica brood/workers to even try. Combined with the 1/12 acceptance rate between queens and workers, it's near impossible to do. Plus many species are on the endangered species list, so it's safer to steer clear of them

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Edited by madbiologist, January 30 2020 - 3:46 PM.

[AntsDakota]

It would be a nice experiment, though. People have tried it.

[Manitobant]

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Here is a very interesting vid on slave makers for you all to enjoy

I found a queen last autumn, right before winter. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to any Formica workers, and it was getting cold and all colonies were in hibernation, so she died......

To my knowledge, US Polyergus have never been successfully kept in captivity, and you would need access to a massive amount of formica brood/workers to even try. Combined with the 1/12 acceptance rate between queens and workers, it's near impossible to do. Plus many species are on the endangered species list, so it's safer to steer clear of them
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I know many people who have successfully kept them and polyergus arent endangered to my knowledge.

Edited by Manitobant, January 30 2020 - 5:02 PM.

[madbiologist]

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Here is a very interesting vid on slave makers for you all to enjoy

I found a queen last autumn, right before winter. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to any Formica workers, and it was getting cold and all colonies were in hibernation, so she died......

To my knowledge, US Polyergus have never been successfully kept in captivity, and you would need access to a massive amount of formica brood/workers to even try. Combined with the 1/12 acceptance rate between queens and workers, it's near impossible to do. Plus many species are on the endangered species list, so it's safer to steer clear of them
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I know many people who have successfully kept them and polyergus arent endangered to my knowledge.

In the US? And the only Polyergus species in my state is Polyergus lucidus, which is most certainly on the endangered species list.

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[Manitobant]

I'm talking about Mexicanus which isn't endangered, and most of the people who keep em are in Europe but there are a few Americans

Edited by Manitobant, January 31 2020 - 8:32 AM.

[madbiologist]

I'm talking about Mexicanus which isn't endangered, and most of the people who keep em are in Europe but there are a few Americans

Do you have a link to a journal/video?

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[AnthonyP163]

I'm talking about Mexicanus which isn't endangered, and most of the people who keep em are in Europe but there are a few Americans

Polyergus mexicanus is relatively new, and recently separated from Polyergus breviceps which is a threatened species. I would say it's more than likely that due to them being a new species, they have not yet been assessed. 

 

My furthest luck with Polyergus was my first and only try, which involved a Polyergus breviceps queen being introduced to some Formica montana workers. They got along and ate together, but one of the workers died and the queen died after a few days for seemingly no reason. She died biting the cotton, with her workers standing idly around her. 

[Manitobant]

I'm talking about Mexicanus which isn't endangered, and most of the people who keep em are in Europe but there are a few Americans

Do you have a link to a journal/video?
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[Technomyrmex]

Awesome video! Love this series. Really interesting how some species evolved to be entirely dependent on a host species!