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Aaron's Pheidole dentigula Journal (Updated 11/1/20)

pheidole dentigula journal

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#1 Offline Aaron567 - Posted July 10 2020 - 7:23 PM

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Pheidole dentigula

 

Pheidole dentigula is one of the smallest Pheidole in North America, with queens measuring in at about 3-3.5 millimeters in length. They are most prominent in Florida and in the areas in other states that border Florida. Their invasive competitor, Pheidole navigans, has spread to occupy most of dentigula's territory in recent years and apparently tends to suppress their populations as well. It seems that an absolutely thriving dentigula population would rely on the local absence of navigans.

 

This photo shows approximately the size difference between one of the US' larger PheidoleP. obscurithorax (similar in size to a queen of Solenopsis invicta or Tetramorium immigrans) and the tiny Pheidole dentigula.

 

qbFHs94.jpg

 

 

 

June 3, 2020

 

On the morning of June 3, I found a single Pheidole dentigula queen in a pool. They have nuptial flights in early morning hours, and I am usually able to attract a couple of unmated dentigula queens to my lights in the morning. Up until this point I've yet to have a mated queen of them and have never raised a colony.

 

She shed three of her wings and left the last one dangling for about a week, before finally shedding it. She had a small batch of eggs by the third day.

 

TIiTmkL.jpg

 

 

June 21, 2020

 

After more than two weeks, the first larva arrived.

 

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3CWOD72.jpg

 

 

July 10, 2020

 

Now, she has a pupa which is getting ready to hatch into her first nanitic. Clearly it will be her only worker for a long time, as the founding process has not gone very smoothly for this queen. I think she only has one or two other small larvae. In the event that she has serious trouble getting her colony started, I will brood-boost her with Pheidole navigans brood, which would hopefully work fine. I've done that with an infertile dentigula queen I had in the past and there were no issues with acceptance. P. dentigula is so uncommon around me that I have never seen a colony of them in the wild (navigans dominates the woods around here), so it's not like I can just walk out into the woods and easily get dentigula brood for them. 

 

3ODySBJ.jpg

 

 

 

 

 


Edited by Aaron567, November 1 2020 - 11:15 AM.

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#2 Offline CatsnAnts - Posted July 11 2020 - 9:06 AM

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Jealous. The smaller the Pheidole, the cooler they are  B).


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#3 Offline ponerinecat - Posted July 11 2020 - 10:15 AM

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Nice!



#4 Offline Antkid12 - Posted July 11 2020 - 2:37 PM

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Cute!


Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 


#5 Offline Aaron567 - Posted July 12 2020 - 11:28 AM

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July 12, 2020

 

First nanitic just eclosed. This is my first time ever seeing a worker of this species in person. Hard to see in these pictures, but there is a medium sized larva that looks like it will be pupated in the next week or so.

 

fIYgVlU.jpg

aCi4C8j.jpg

vXzpcSm.jpg


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#6 Offline Antkid12 - Posted July 12 2020 - 11:56 AM

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Nice!


Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 


#7 Offline Roy3 - Posted July 12 2020 - 4:37 PM

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Wow, that's so cool. Glad this species is going great for you. I hope they prosper into a big colony. Keep us posted.

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#8 Offline Aaron567 - Posted July 26 2020 - 12:47 PM

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July 26, 2020

 

Looks like there are two large larvae but only one egg left. It's been hard to get food into them because the single worker doesn't leave the queen's side much. Maybe getting the 2nd and 3rd workers will provide the queen with enough of a workforce to get out of this difficult situation. I think it's safe to say that this would be one of the queens that wouldn't make it in the wild.

 

VI7Ed0G.jpg


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#9 Offline AntsDakota - Posted July 26 2020 - 3:27 PM

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It's been hard to get food into them because the single worker doesn't leave the queen's side much.

Typical nanitic. Only ants I've seen that doesn't do this to some extent are Tetramorium.


"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


#10 Offline Aaron567 - Posted November 1 2020 - 11:14 AM

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November 1, 2020

 

I think it's possible that this colony could've survived had I continued to boost them with Pheidole navigans brood and took care of them, but I kind of slacked off and also forgot to move them into a new test tube when theirs dried out. So this colony is no more.







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