10 replies to this topic

[escoscottyb]

N. Cockerelli colony doing great, then all of a sudden I see all these pupae in the outworld today.  Everything else is fine as far as i can tell in the rest of the formicarium (a large Nucleus 360).  What's going on? Could humidity be too high?

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[YsTheAnt]

Could be humidity, but are you heating them overhead? They might enjoy the extra warmth if so in the outworld.

[escoscottyb]

Yes, I've got overhead heating.  I haven't seen them do this before but it makes sense.  But they've always been slightly heated from below too, and hang out near the water/humidity in the body of the formicarium.  I'll keep an eye on it but it looks like they're starting to bring them back down now that the light is out.  Interesting behavior indeed. 

[anttics]

They follow the heat. They care very little about humidity. They thrive at 30% below that pupa will dry up. Above 60 or 70% humidity pupae have problems.

[CoolColJ]

damn posting a pic via PDF, that has to be a first

[Kevin]

It's quite common to find ants keeping their pupae and/or larvae in the sun. Outside, you can lift up rocks and likely find ants sun-bathing their brood. Heat helps brood develop quickly.

 

Also, please directly embed images into your thread. See: How to post photos

Edited by Kevin, May 26 2018 - 10:16 AM.

[Rattus]

Definitely heat, my Messor sp. did the same thing last summer to catch the morning sun. Are those live plants you have? If so, then the humidity is higher near them.

Edited by Rattus, May 26 2018 - 10:33 AM.

[Serafine]

It's either a humidity or a heat thing. Probably heat, ants from mediterranian or desert regions have a habit of doing this.

[gcsnelling]

This is a very common behavior for Novomessor is the wild. It is not at all uncommon to see the nest mound covered with larva and pupae in the wild.

Edited by gcsnelling, May 27 2018 - 3:34 AM.

[dspdrew]

damn posting a pic via PDF, that has to be a first

 

Unfortunately, it's not.

[Rattus]

Some phone quality fotos from last year.