8 replies to this topic

[AntRealm]

Today I found this colony, which is probably Temnothorax parvulus.
My question is: what exactly are those small white wingless queens? I don’t think they’re alates since they don’t have wings at all.

Attached Images

• 

Edited by AntRealm, November 28 2025 - 10:36 AM.

[bmb1bee]

Today I found this colony, which is probably Temnothorax parvulus.
My question is: what exactly are those small white wingless queens? I don’t think they’re alates since they don’t have wings at all.

Pale means they're just callows. I'm not well-versed with T. parvulus, but wingless callows could mean that those queens don't engage in nuptial flights. I'm likely wrong though.

[AntRealm]

Today I found this colony, which is probably Temnothorax parvulus.
My question is: what exactly are those small white wingless queens? I don’t think they’re alates since they don’t have wings at all.

Pale means they're just callows. I'm not well-versed with T. parvulus, but wingless callows could mean that those queens don't engage in nuptial flights. I'm likely wrong though.

Yes, I know they’re newly emerged.But I had heard from a few sources that this species cannot be polygynous,
so that made me doubt it.

[bmb1bee]

Yes, I know they’re newly emerged.But I had heard from a few sources that this species cannot be polygynous,

so that made me doubt it.

It could depend on population. First I've seen of wingless Temnothorax queen callows though.

[An-Ant]

I'm not to sure if Temnothorax have them, but they could be intercastes.

[AntRealm]

I managed to get some clearer photos of them.
They have wing attachment points on their thorax, but they don’t have any wings.
I also just noticed those three dots on their heads — does anyone know what they are?

Attached Images

• 
• 

[Ants_Dakota]

Those three dots are called ocelli; all ants (to my knowledge) have them. They are sometimes called "simple eyes" to differentiate them from the two "compound eyes" we are familiar with. 

Edited by Ants_Dakota, November 29 2025 - 9:25 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Those three dots are called ocelli; all ants (to my knowledge) have them. They are sometimes called "simple eyes" to differentiate them from the two "compound eyes" we are familiar with. 

The ocelli's purpose is to distinguish light from darkness. They are the reason ants panic when you check on them, as they are sensitive to light. Their larger eyes can distinguish between objects like our eyes, although they're much more primitive. 

[Stubyvast]

Those are very strange queens, especially with those vestigial wings like that. I assume they weren't just bitten off or anything? 

After doing a bit of research, I agree with An-Ant that those could be intercaste queens, or something similar to it. I found a specific taxa of queens called "brachypterous" queens, where they eclose with very short wings that are often bitten off after emerging, leaving stubs like what we can see in these images. These queens eventually form new colonies through fission, and mating inside the nest, (bmb1bee mentioned this briefly).

The only problem with this is that there are no records from what I've looked into of any temnothorax queens engaging in this behaviour. I know basically next to nothing about this, but this would be my closest guess!