85 replies to this topic

[AsdinAnts]

Yay!!!

Edited by AsdinAnts, December 21 2023 - 5:26 PM.

[JesseTheAntKid]

Update 2: I decided the single alate didn't need that much space, so I put her in her original test tube. The two queens and now one worker (the other died ) are nicely settled in. One queen goes out and forages, but for some reason, she never finds my dead invicta queen I offered. Hopefully she'll find it.

Edited by JesseTheAntKid, December 22 2023 - 3:13 PM.

[JesseTheAntKid]

I will feed the single alate today when time is given. I will feed her a single grain of sugar (Tetra bicar is smallish so a single grain of sugar is not an overwhelming meal but it won't be a minute amount either.)

[JesseTheAntKid]

P.S. My first verified species. The rest are very close matches but I have not researched them extensively. My Tetra bicar are my first verified species, meaning I know for sure they are Tetra bicar.

[AsdinAnts]

How mature was the colony that you took two queens from?

[JesseTheAntKid]

Oh they were CRAWLING all over. I was stung several times. I took any and all queens I could get, which was two out of four. I am actually hoping to go back to that rock and gather more queens and workers to aid in founding, plus it'll aid the native ant effort as in less Tetra bicar.

[AsdinAnts]

if you did take them from that big of a colony then the duo queen and workers have a very little chance to grow. You took them out of a mature nest which could be detrimental to the colony, you should go and get more workers so that they have a better and less stressed about where they are.

[JesseTheAntKid]

Mk.

[JesseTheAntKid]

UPDATE 3: HOW?!?!?!?!?!? I found ANOTHER Tetra bicar queen. She was just out in the open. I will feed her, as she looked like she was foraging. I am debating putting her with my alate to better the chances of growth. Should I do this?

[JesseTheAntKid]

UPDATE 4: Something very interesting happened. I introduced the new queen into the alate's chamber, and as soon as they made contact, they stood tall on their legs, folded their antennae back, and opened their mandibles and put them to each other's face. At first, I thought it was fighting, but then I noticed that neither were opening their mandibles often. They were just kinda standing like that for a while, and then they stopped and they're all buddy-buddy now. Could this be some sort of like acceptance ritual for Tetra bicar? I don't know, but I do not think this has been documented before. Anyway, the queen and the alate are just chillin in their tube. I am wondering if I should introduce the other two queens into their chamber, so they have an even better chance. If there's any fighting, I will separate them immediately, but I think an extra two queens makes up for their losses while I yoinked them. I do know that Tetra bicar is almost strictly polygynous, so I'll see how my experiment goes.

[JesseTheAntKid]

UPDATE 4.5: They just waltzed in like it was their birthday and the alate and queen welcomed them like it was their birthday. I now have a 4-gyne colony. This is all going so smoothly.

[JesseTheAntKid]

UPDATE 4.99: The Tetra bicar queens fought for a little bit. The new queen attacked one of the queens from the previous colony. However, the alate and the other queen were showing no aggression. I know that in tetra bicar, the more queens the better, so I simply left them and hoped that the alate and the other queen would sort it out. Thank god when I came back the newbie had stopped attacking the queen she had picked before. All four queens are together, and I am seeing eggs, which means they got comfortable. I have seen the queens lay several times as I checked on them, so that's a good sign. They have picked their own little spot. On Christmas, I will feed them. Hopefully (and probably because of the newbie queen being very active) when I give them their Christmas present (jelly cups) they will actually eat it instead of simply ignoring it. I will continue to monitor the situation. So far, it is looking very good.

[AsdinAnts]

Jesse try and find which ones are the new ones, and which ones are from the mature colony. I really don’t think that you should mix two queens from a mature colony with two queens that flew recently. Since the mature colony will already have dominant pheromones over the alates. Also, the reaction you saw between both alates was most likely them feeding eachother, was ones head like tilted to the side to let the other queen feed it?

[AsdinAnts]

btw, you should try leaving them alone for like a week and maybe have a red film over them so that they are still visible, but they think that they are in the dark.

Edited by AsdinAnts, December 22 2023 - 10:00 PM.

[AsdinAnts]

can you also post a picture of your new setup for them?

[JesseTheAntKid]

Jesse try and find which ones are the new ones, and which ones are from the mature colony. I really don’t think that you should mix two queens from a mature colony with two queens that flew recently. Since the mature colony will already have dominant pheromones over the alates. Also, the reaction you saw between both alates was most likely them feeding eachother, was ones head like tilted to the side to let the other queen feed it?

No, the queen was grabbing onto the other one's mandibles. Also, they were standing tall and almost looked like the "kickboxing" of Iridomyrmex purpureus, just using the antennae as the kickboxing parts. And it is very easy to tell apart the mature queens and new ones, as one of the new ones has wings still and the mature queens are slightly but still visibly darker. Also, I've heard Tetra bicar does not care about light. I decided on putting them together because just like Linepithema humile, these ants are 1. very welcoming to others of their species and 2. almost strictly polygynous and the more queens the better. I simply put them in the alate's tube, as they are no longer with workers. So far, it is looking good, and the queens have already laid some eggs, which most likely means they have settled in. If anything starts to even get slightly more aggressive, such as opening mandibles and rearing at the others, I will separate them and try again. But for now, I will keep them in the same test tube for better founding and colony conditions.

[AsdinAnts]

alr, I wanna see some tetra bicar workers of (your) their own. I hope this colony grows to be one of the strongest.
you better help them grow to be stronger then AntsCanadas marauder ants! 🐜

[JesseTheAntKid]

Oh and speaking of, here's a message from our alate.

"Dear AsdinAnts,

AntsCanada's marauder ant colony is NOTHING to me. Soon enough, he'll be dreaming about if his marauder ants could grow to be as strong as JesseTheAntKid's Tetramorium bicarinatum. As for Jesse himself, I see him as a benevolent caretaker, even if he screws up by introducing a rogue queen. I had to do a LOT of talking to get her to stop ripping off another queen's leg. She is savage, I tell you, and she will be a valuable asset to our Empire. Queen Solis can do all the talking she wants in the heavens, I'll be here ensuring my Empire grows and lives forever. Long live the Tetra warriors.

From, Her Majesty Queen Tetrana."

[AsdinAnts]

oh? the tetras have some beef with the marauder ants 👀

[JesseTheAntKid]

UPDATE 5: This is not so much about the ants themselves but about their new home. Guess who just built a formicarium.