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Solenopsis molesta Journal


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34 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Mdrogun - Posted June 24 2019 - 7:52 PM

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A few days ago, when out checking to see if T. immigrans would be flying, I decided to flip up a few stones and see what ants I'd find. I occasionally do this to check on colonies to see when they'll have alates so I can watch for flights.

 

I found a massive Solenopsis molesta colony that was stealing brood from multiple species of ants. I managed to collect maybe 1/4 of the colony at most, and 4 of their queens. I caught 70 queens of this species 2 years ago and they've been on my bucket list ever since, so needless to say, I was ecstatic.

 

The colony I collected has at least 500 workers, probably more in the ballpark of 1,000. They've got too much brood to count  :lol: .

 

Please excuse some of the poor camera work. These ants are absolutely tiny, with workers about 1mm in length.

 

 

As you can see, they also have some alate brood on the way. Probably 50-100 pieces. Like with my other current colonies, if they manage to get female and male alates, I will attempt to breed them. I don't know how succesful I will be, but I'll try nonetheless  :blush:

 


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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#2 Offline FSTP - Posted June 24 2019 - 9:59 PM

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Wow impressive colony! I really like S. molesta they're really fascinating ants especially when showcased in such a large impressive colony size.

 

 

Congrates on getting such a nice colony! I would love to see a video in which you show the colony eating a small cricket or perhaps some fruited flies.


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#3 Offline Mdrogun - Posted July 27 2019 - 9:46 AM

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These guys are absolutely exploding. I don't even know how to count the workers anymore, but I know that they would not all fit in the nest if they tried. I would estimate at least 3,000 workers. The colony is also getting alates now, so I will be on the lookout for queens to catch and see if I can add them to the colony.

 

Here's them eating food:


Video of the nest:


Edited by Mdrogun, July 27 2019 - 9:47 AM.

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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#4 Offline Mdrogun - Posted July 27 2019 - 9:48 AM

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Wow impressive colony! I really like S. molesta they're really fascinating ants especially when showcased in such a large impressive colony size.

 

 

Congrates on getting such a nice colony! I would love to see a video in which you show the colony eating a small cricket or perhaps some fruited flies.

I added a video of them eating just for you  :tongue2:

A small cricket would not be nearly enough to satiate these guys, let alone fruit flies, haha. Before I was feeding them a mealworm or two every day, and now I've stepped it up to two or three adult crickets a day.


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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#5 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted July 27 2019 - 12:39 PM

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Wow impressive colony! I really like S. molesta they're really fascinating ants especially when showcased in such a large impressive colony size.

 

 

Congrates on getting such a nice colony! I would love to see a video in which you show the colony eating a small cricket or perhaps some fruited flies.

I was actually surprised to find out that so many people like this species. Why? Because here, they're EVERYWHERE!!!!  :lol:


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis


#6 Offline Straywolf94 - Posted July 29 2019 - 4:43 PM

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What kind of nest do you have them in?

#7 Offline Mdrogun - Posted July 30 2019 - 8:36 PM

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Well, everybody, 5 queens has quickly turned into over 15 queens. I caught this species breeding in the nest multiple times, and I caught it on video, too  :yahoo: . This explains a lot about the species. The queens' notoriously short life spans, etc. Here is a video showing their brood and queen progress. They are really exploding. I wonder if the need for higher egg production has triggered the nest breeding that I experienced in my colony. Here is a video showing everything I captured:

 

What kind of nest do you have them in?

They used to be in a Aus ants size 02 acrylic nest. I recently moved them into a Tarheelants Antblock, as they required more space. couldn't of come at a better time, the new nest allows better viewing  :)

 

I believe this to be the first documented case of Solenopsis molesta mating in the nest. Please correct me if I am wrong  :yow:  . I notice that the workers will assist the male and guide him towards a queen. After that, they back off, and the male does what males do  :lol: . They do struggle a bit tho, breeding appears difficult. After he does his business, he dies fairly quickly. The queen then is assisted by the workers in removing her wings. 


Edited by Mdrogun, July 30 2019 - 9:08 PM.

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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#8 Offline T.C. - Posted July 30 2019 - 8:41 PM

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Wow, pretty impressive. Good growth
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#9 Offline drtrmiller - Posted July 30 2019 - 9:09 PM

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Solenopsis molesta?  Meh, not that cool.

 

Ant incest?  VERY COOL!

 

Just imagine if all ants reproduced by budding/fission, how easy it would be to just break off a piece of a large colony and sell it off, without damaging the colony.


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#10 Offline Mdrogun - Posted July 30 2019 - 9:29 PM

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Just imagine if all ants reproduced by budding/fission, how easy it would be to just break off a piece of a large colony and sell it off, without damaging the colony.

If only  :yes: . Supply would probably crush demand tho, which isn't so fun  :(


Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#11 Offline Mdrogun - Posted August 29 2019 - 11:22 AM

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As expected, the colony continues to explode. They now have over 40 wingless queens in the colony. I'm assuming that wingless = fertile and egg-laying but I don't actually know if this is the case. At the very least, they have more than 5 egg-laying queens now, as I can confirm for certain some queens mated in the nest. Along with more queens, they also have many more workers. I suspect the number to be in the 5,000-10,000 range, but with colonies this size, it's very difficult to estimate.

 

It's surprised me a lot how aggressive and voracious these ants are. Usually in the wild they're quite cryptic and you rarely see them on the surface. However, in my setup, they act entirely differently. There is a tiny little place for them to escape in the formicarium and subsequently they have trails all over my desk eating little scraps of food, finding small nesting sites, etc. The space is too small for a queen to escape, so I guess that makes them a free-range colony  :lol: ?

 

I'm excited to see how far I can push the colony size on these guys. Many of the papers published on them say colonies pretty much never exceed ~10,000 workers, but I feel I will have no trouble surpassing that, especially with over 40 queens.

 

Anyways, here's a video:


Edited by Mdrogun, August 29 2019 - 11:28 AM.

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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#12 Offline NickAnter - Posted August 29 2019 - 11:44 AM

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I wish the ones in Southern California were polygynous. Here they are only pleometroic. I am not sure about the ones in the Sierras.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#13 Offline Mdrogun - Posted August 29 2019 - 12:49 PM

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I wish the ones in Southern California were polygynous. Here they are only pleometroic. I am not sure about the ones in the Sierras.

It could be they need to get a sizable colony going before they're willing to accept more queens. Or it could not be that  :lol: . I notice with the ones around me, that you're lucky to found a colony with more than 5 or 6 queens together. The queens still "hate" each other, it's just the workers can mitigate that. Recently with my colony, I collected 10 queens outside and added them to the colony. They were, for the most part, happily accepted. You could possibly try getting a colony going, then adding queens you catch from nuptial flights.


Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#14 Offline Unfrozen - Posted August 29 2019 - 6:34 PM

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i wonder how this species survives in Canada with a short summer



#15 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted August 30 2019 - 4:01 AM

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i wonder how this species survives in Canada with a short summer

In the wild they don’t seem to come to the surface very much. I have only seen them underground. In captivity I believe they do come to the surface more.

#16 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted August 30 2019 - 4:03 AM

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Do these mate within the nest at all?

#17 Offline Mercutia - Posted August 30 2019 - 5:59 AM

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Do these mate within the nest at all?

I've seen a journal or two demonstrating actual mating within the colony. It was very cool!



#18 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted August 30 2019 - 6:14 AM

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Do these mate within the nest at all?

I've seen a journal or two demonstrating actual mating within the colony. It was very cool!
Ok, thank you!

Do you know how big of a nest these would need?

#19 Offline Mercutia - Posted August 30 2019 - 6:17 AM

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Do these mate within the nest at all?

I've seen a journal or two demonstrating actual mating within the colony. It was very cool!
Ok, thank you!

Do you know how big of a nest these would need?

 

They were fairly large mature colonies.



#20 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted August 30 2019 - 6:23 AM

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Gotcha, I caught a queen yesterday so I want to be prepared in case she does successfully raise a colony.




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