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Nuptial Flights

males queens nuptial flights

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#1 Offline Dotdispenser - Posted May 2 2018 - 7:24 PM

Dotdispenser

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  • LocationMorristown, Tennessee
I live in East Tennessee. I was ant hunting around 8:00 - 9:30 P.M. and noticed a few things:

1) It was warm and windy
2) Moderately humid
3) THERE WERE MALE DRONES EVERYWHERE
4) Absolutely no queens

I have absolutely no idea what species the drones were from; however, I know that I saw no queens whatsoever in the hour-and-a-half that I was searching. Does anyone know why this is? Why I saw so many males flying and hovering around lights—yet no queens?

Nurturer of:

• 1 Camponotus castaneus

• 1 Camponotus subbarbatus

• 1 Formica incerta

• 1 Formica subsericea

• 1 Crematogaster cf. ashmeadi

• 1 Crematogaster missouriensis


#2 Offline dspdrew - Posted May 2 2018 - 8:36 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Usually the males fly before the females join them.



#3 Offline Scrixx - Posted May 2 2018 - 9:03 PM

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  • LocationSan Bernardino County, CA.

Just like Drew said, I've read that males fly first to find a suitable location then the females follow after. If there were that many males then chances are the females would've flown sometime after also. You may have missed them or some of those males may have been actually females. Some species have pretty large males.


ScrixxAnts Queen Adoption

YouTube: View my ants

Keeping: Camponotus sansabeanus - C. vicinus - Formica francoeuri - Liometopum occidentale -  Pogonomyrmex californicus - P. rugosus - P. subnitidus - Solenopsis molesta - S. xyloni - Tapinoma sessile - Temnothorax sp.

Journals: Camponotus sansabeanus & C. vicinus | Pogonomyrmex californicus & P. rugosus | Solenopsis molesta & S. xyloni

Discontinued: Pogonomyrmex subnitidus


#4 Offline Dotdispenser - Posted May 3 2018 - 3:57 AM

Dotdispenser

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So, what span of time do they fly before the queens? For example—minutes, hours, a day, etc.

Nurturer of:

• 1 Camponotus castaneus

• 1 Camponotus subbarbatus

• 1 Formica incerta

• 1 Formica subsericea

• 1 Crematogaster cf. ashmeadi

• 1 Crematogaster missouriensis






Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: males, queens, nuptial flights

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