12 replies to this topic

[ZohMyGod]

So recently all the brood was moved to the middle of the test tube.
I'm able to see a few larvae with brown spots in the middle. Is that normal?

[T.C.]

Yes, I can observe what you are speaking of in most of my species.

[ultraex2]

Yep - I think it's just the food they're eating.  Since the larvae are translucent, you can see what the adult ants have been feeding them.  If you give them different colored food, it will change the color of that spot.

[Serafine]

The brown dot is mostly poo. Ant larvae only poop once in their life cycle just before they start to pupate (in larvae with cocoons it's visible as dot on one end of the cocoon) so the nest doesn't get filled with crap.

Edited by Serafine, October 26 2017 - 11:16 PM.

[drtrmiller]

You haven't given us enough information to come to a definitive conclusion. If you can find a high quality photo on the internet that looks like what you're seeing, that may be helpful.

[Diesel]

meconium...in other words poop and waste from the larvae. they only poop once to avoid the mess.

[Connectimyrmex]

Yep, it is poop. They shoot out the poop when they pupate.

[drtrmiller]

Yep, it is poop. They shoot out the poop when they pupate.

meconium...in other words poop and waste from the larvae. they only poop once to avoid the mess.

The brown dot is mostly poo. Ant larvae only poop once in their life cycle just before they start to pupate (in larvae with cocoons it's visible as dot on one end of the cocoon) so the nest doesn't get filled with crap.

The user hasn't provided any additional information, and we're still guessing like it's a game of charades.

Did anyone even read the question closely? Why would a meconium be in "the middle" of a larva? What species are we talking about? Has anyone seen a photo from the user showing precisely what is being described?

Edited by drtrmiller, October 27 2017 - 4:37 PM.

[dspdrew]

Why would a meconium be in "the middle" of a larva?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

[Serafine]

I guarantee you it looks like this (there's not much else it could be):

 

[nurbs]

"Larvae with brown spots in the middle" - the first thing that came to mind was the color of the food they were being fed (insects/proteins are usually brown).

 

I see it all the time in many different species. Do they look similar to the larvae in this youtube?

 

[drtrmiller]

I guarantee you it looks like this (there's not much else it could be):

The user didn't specify whether the brown spot was internal or external. A "meconium" is the waste expelled at the end of the larva stage. The internal pigmented matter in the above photo is simply considered undigested food in the larval midgut, the color of which is dependent on diet.  The dot is not considered "meconial" until it reaches the hindgut immediately prior to pupation, just as food we humans ingest is not considered stool until it reaches the colon, after first passing through the stomach and then small intestine.

 

The breakdown likely comes from the careless use of the term some have used in recent YouTube videos.  Here is some expert writing from Tschinkel's "The Fire Ants" that better explains how the term should be used in scientific writing:

Edited by drtrmiller, October 27 2017 - 6:31 PM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Oh.