2 replies to this topic

[Darcy]

Hey guys so my 4 queens have layed alot of eggs and have larvae, do they turn into pupae by themselves or spin cocoons?

[Mettcollsuss]

It depends on the species. Some ants have pupae encased in cocoons, while others have exarate ("naked") pupae. In species with exarate pupae, the larvae will pupate without any assistance. In species with cocooned pupae, the larvae will spin a silk casing around itself and then pupate. The larvae of cocoon-spinning species usually need help from the other workers (or queen, in a founding colony) to cover them in substrate which they use as a scaffolding to spin the cocoon. There are some species (such as Formica) that default to cocooned pupae but will go with exarate pupae if no substrate is available. I'm not very familiar with Austrailian ants, but I believe Notoncus have exarate pupae.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, July 3 2021 - 1:06 PM.

[Darcy]

I'm hoping they also don't have to bring substrate in to the test tube setup to because I haven't had much luck with cocoon spinning ants. I'll keep an eye on them over the next two weeks and hope they grow by themselves. It's been two months since they later their first eggs but nothing's appeared worker wise