6 replies to this topic

[futurebird]

This is the only time I've seen ants do this. I only have one colony so that is their real sister. They just stood their pulling on her for about 4 min. until I disturbed them by making a noise. They also do this with dead insects. The ant isn't dead, she ran away and the matter was forgotten. They aren't hungry or thirsty. 

Two year old colony. About 350 ants. Generally very healthy, lots of plump full gasters and lots of brood and eggs in the nest. 



Normally they are a cute and snuggly bunch as shown here:



Maybe she was sick or old and smelled "dead" ? But, I've never seen them eat even dead ants, they put the bodies in their trash pile and cover them with sand until I can get a chance to remove them. 

Maybe they just got confused somehow? Why would this happen?

Are these hooligan ants beating up a little old lady????

The ant is unharmed and I have not seen this since I noticed them shortly after feeding them earlier today. Maybe her scent glands are not working correctly and she smells like an outsider. She didn't fight back and they just kinda held here like at by one antennae and one leg for a long time then stopped when all three were distracted. 

Edited by futurebird, July 15 2022 - 8:01 PM.

[FloridaAnts]

This is the only time I've seen ants do this. I only have one colony so that is their real sister. They just stood their pulling on her for about 4 min. until I disturbed them by making a noise. They also do this with dead insects. The ant isn't dead, she ran away and the matter was forgotten. They aren't hungry or thirsty. 
Two year old colony. About 350 ants. Generally very healthy, lots of plump full gasters and lots of brood and eggs in the nest. 
Normally they are a cute and snuggly bunch as shown here:
Maybe she was sick or old and smelled "dead" ? But, I've never seen them eat even dead ants, they put the bodies in their trash pile and cover them with sand until I can get a chance to remove them. 
Maybe they just got confused somehow? Why would this happen?
Are these hooligan ants beating up a little old lady????
The ant is unharmed and I have not seen this since I noticed them shortly after feeding them earlier today. Maybe her scent glands are not working correctly and she smells like an outsider. She didn't fight back and they just kinda held here like at by one antennae and one leg for a long time then stopped when all three were distracted.

Some parasitic wasps have pheromones to make an ant colony temporarily turn on each other. Usually wears off though… she could have had spent too much time around the cricket… maybe she smelled like a cricket? Idk, but I have only seen this when my Camponotus eat dead ants.

[Manitobant]

Also is that nicobarensis? I won’t judge you I’m just curious

[NicholasP]

This is the only time I've seen ants do this. I only have one colony so that is their real sister. They just stood their pulling on her for about 4 min. until I disturbed them by making a noise. They also do this with dead insects. The ant isn't dead, she ran away and the matter was forgotten. They aren't hungry or thirsty. 

Two year old colony. About 350 ants. Generally very healthy, lots of plump full gasters and lots of brood and eggs in the nest. 



Normally they are a cute and snuggly bunch as shown here:



Maybe she was sick or old and smelled "dead" ? But, I've never seen them eat even dead ants, they put the bodies in their trash pile and cover them with sand until I can get a chance to remove them. 

Maybe they just got confused somehow? Why would this happen?

Are these hooligan ants beating up a little old lady????

The ant is unharmed and I have not seen this since I noticed them shortly after feeding them earlier today. Maybe her scent glands are not working correctly and she smells like an outsider. She didn't fight back and they just kinda held here like at by one antennae and one leg for a long time then stopped when all three were distracted. 

What species is this Camponotus? Knowing may help narrow down what's going on.

Also is that nicobarensis? I won’t judge you I’m just curious

Yeah, that is certainly C. nicobarensis in my opinion.

[Manitobant]

Could it be some kind of infection or sickness? Some camponotus species are known to turn against their sisters if they are infected with a fungus or pathogen, in order to keep it from spreading to the rest of the colony.

[ANTdrew]

Could it be some kind of infection or sickness? Some camponotus species are known to turn against their sisters if they are infected with a fungus or pathogen, in order to keep it from spreading to the rest of the colony.

This is my guess. I’ve seen C. chromaiodes do this. The attacked workers start acting erratic afterward and then die.

[FloridaAnts]

Also is that nicobarensis? I won’t judge you I’m just curious

I think he accidentally bought off eBay when he started Antkeeping. I think all new Antkeepers have seen it.