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Argentine ant Gaster threat ?

Started By Alza , Jan 25 2015 3:49 PM

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6 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Alza - Posted January 25 2015 - 3:49 PM

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So i was feeding my argentine ants a termite that was missing a leg, and they kept going near it and pointing their gasters to it. I havent seen them do this against any ant species or fruit fly. It is kinda like the gaster flagging solenopsis does except they don't have a stinger....

#2 Offline drtrmiller - Posted January 25 2015 - 3:58 PM

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They're acid squirters.

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#3 Offline Alza - Posted January 25 2015 - 4:05 PM

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I did not know that...

#4 Offline AntsAreUs - Posted January 26 2015 - 5:50 AM

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I did not know that...

They have to have one or the other...

#5 Offline dspdrew - Posted January 26 2015 - 8:04 AM

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They might squirt something, like a lot of dolichoderines, but I don't think it's acid, as they don't have acidopores like Formicinae do. Dolichoderinae give off offensive odors to deter their prey.

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#6 Offline drtrmiller - Posted January 26 2015 - 8:50 AM

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They might squirt something, like a lot of dolichoderines, but I don't think it's acid, as they don't have acidopores like Formicinae do. Dolichoderinae give off offensive odors to deter their prey.

Are you certain about that? I've seen them flex their gaster and expel some substance when taking down fruit flies and springtails. Whatever it is, it does seem to have the effect of stunning and then killing very small prey items.