8 replies to this topic

[gs5248]

I will soon be receiving a 100+ worker Pheidole Californica. .It only has one queen, but if I somehow managed to catch another queen of the species, would the mature colony accept another queen?

[Antkeeper014]

I will soon be receiving a 100+ worker Pheidole Californica. .It only has one queen, but if I somehow managed to catch another queen of the species, would the mature colony accept another queen?

Depends on if P. californica is polygynous, which I do not think they are. They will end up killing one or both of the queens if you were to introduce one.

[antsandmore]

well, 100 workers isn't exactly a mature colony, and if they are polygynous, yes! so basically what Antkeeer014 said

[gs5248]

I am pretty sure they are polygynous. I have seen colonies that had multiple queens. Though maybe it is possible I identified them wrong.

[Antkeeper014]

I am pretty sure they are polygynous. I have seen colonies that had multiple queens. Though maybe it is possible I identified them wrong.

If P. californica is poly, that would be news to me. I assumed they were mono/pleo as 99.9% of the US pheidole aren’t truly poly. I’m not entirely familiar with the individual behaviors of west coast pheidole (I’m east coast) so I’m not exactly the most qualified person to tell you .

Edited by Antkeeper014, February 6 2021 - 7:40 PM.

[Antkeeper014]

After looking at another journal it appears that P. californica is polygenous, or at the very least certain populations are. As long as you know the consequences, I’d say go ahead and try.

[CheetoLord02]

P. california are some of the most polygynous Pheidole in the US. They very well might accept new queens. Only way to know for sure is to try it. To be safe, introduce a queen to a single worker. If the worker is friendly, the queen will likely be accepted, if they fight then likely not.

[gs5248]

If I ever get another Pheidole Californica colony, I will be sure to try it.

[TechAnt]

I can confirm P. californica is most certainly polygonus in some areas, I kept a 4 queen (now 1 queen colony because most of the colony died out for some reason  ) colony where the queens had no aggression with each other and were friendly, even.

Edited by TechAnt, February 7 2021 - 10:58 AM.