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Caught 22 Pheidole queens, not a single egg after over 3 weeks

pheidole

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#1 Offline CatsnAnts - Posted July 22 2021 - 8:01 PM

CatsnAnts

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I found a bunch of strange looking Pheidole queens near the beginning of July, and have kept them in several conditions to see if they would lay eggs. I just got back from a week of vacation, and still, not a single queen has laid an egg. I’m starting to wonder if they have some sort of parasite or special condition that I’m just not realizing? I’ve been keeping them with my other Pheidole species, who are doing great, but these queens just refuse to lay eggs. The odds of 22 queens all being unfertilized are low, but never 0, so that may be a possibility. Here’s a link to the ID thread with photos: https://www.formicul...-better-photos/

Any input to what’s going on?
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#2 Offline Max_Connor - Posted July 22 2021 - 8:53 PM

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Considering you caught so many queens, you probably found them in one location and they all had left the same nest which was flying those days.

 

If they all have wings like the ones you pictured, then they might have never mated?


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#3 Offline Manitobant - Posted July 23 2021 - 7:22 PM

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They might be infertile then, considering the queen you photographed had wings.
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