5 replies to this topic

[BMM]

I'm starting to see some large Tetramorium flights here in MO and I've noticed a weird behavior that I haven't read about before. Every morning I go out right after the sun comes up to hunt for queens, and I can usually find a few, but I'm noticing that they're almost always being attacked by a mass of Tetramorium workers. Many are dead or injured by that point. The sheer number of workers out hunting queens is pretty crazy and the sidewalks are just covered. Is this normal? I've watched a few videos of people hunting for Tetramorium queens and I've never seen this sort of thing.

[Nathant2131]

I saw this in a recent Tetramorium flight here in Northern MA. There was this one flight-active colony (so hundreds upon hundreds of workers grouped up around the surface), but all of the alates around them (about 5 alates in all) were getting swarmed. Strange, becuase I think the alates were coming from that colony. (but can't be sure)

[sgheaton]

I took it as the workers were pulling the free loader out into the world where she better make the decision to fly or they're ready to rip off her wings and demote her down to their rank. 

[Aquaexploder]

I have seen this around my neighborhood too. Every Tetramorium queen I have found has been injured, dead, or in pieces getting eaten by workers.

[Kevin]

Tetramorium are extremely territorial, I wonder if this is the reason for them "killing their kind" to prevent new colonies from taking growth space from the mature colonies.

[BMM]

Most of the queens I've seen being attacked are wingless and at least two that I've saved have been fertile, so I'm pretty sure this isn't just them purging excess alates from their nests. I think the explanation that they're being territorial is probably right. I'm just surprised by their ferocity. My sidewalk was completely covered in workers this morning, with little clumps here and there where queens were being attacked. It makes their intercolonial wars seem fairly tame.