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Post by plecostrum on Aug 30, 2008 19:10:16 GMT
I have a large nest of Lasius flavus near my home around 3 but they go under the concrete and I do not think the council will take kindly to me digging up that or the grass verge.
I have collected a lot of workers 20ish and a few eggs scattered.
WOULD a l.flavus queen be accepted they seem to be aggressive ants?
if I can get hold of one your right about the matings there were loads of flying ants around and out of 40 I do not think I even got 1 still not hatched yet but I just know it they all look the same dark.
(I am looking to buy one now as I have had no joy with the others any UK sellers or swappers for l.niger)
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Post by Jenny on Aug 30, 2008 19:15:56 GMT
Don't mix a new queen with those flavus workers. The queen will be killed, as the workers will attack. (Different colony scent).
It is best to start with a new complete colony, if you can run to it.
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Post by plecostrum on Aug 30, 2008 21:31:52 GMT
You will not believe this, I must be the luckiest person ever. my son has found a winged queen on the trampoline. I had it this morning, but just tubed it up thinking it wasn't a good one as they haven't swarmed here for a few weeks. he is 7 so I play along and let them out later.
Well she has shed her wings and I just thought should I shouldnt I!!(oh she shed wing please tell me that means she did the business lol)
SO I did and they have accepted her, no fighting. I can't believe it, 20mins now. my hubby thinks I am sad standing here with my tweezers for a quick grab to safety.
The top is in a viewer. I have added a few pegs to limit the ants to her. now there is 8 and she is fine, now they are taking her down to the rest of the ants so I will keep you informed.
IF this works I just will not believe it!!
I never have any luck.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 31, 2008 8:20:34 GMT
If she has removed her wings, then she is most probably mated and fertilized. The workers may have adopted her because she is from the same colony, and therefore has the same scent as they do. Hence they are her sisters. In the wild, Lasius flavus only accept 1 queen per colony. So only if the old queen died would they take a new one, or the colony dies out. To place a newly mated queen with workers from a nest is a risky thing to do, as if they are not related then they would kill her; but if she is their sister, and the workers have no other queen around, then they hopefully may adopt her. I think you are treading on thin ice here, but wish you well with your little experiment  |
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Post by plecostrum on Aug 31, 2008 11:07:44 GMT
Yes you are all right!
I have a antworks milton farm type with the viewer then a take away tub as well where most of the ants are.
The ants that were checking out the viewer accepted her and started to take her down the tubing to the main lot of ants I thought that might be it!!
After 1 hour everything was fine then looked again in the main tub and 3 ants all had 1 leg each they weren't attacking as such, so I tweezed them.
she is now happily in a test tube of her own I might choose 3 ants and keep them separate in a tube for a week and see if they accept her then like my l.niger have. They might realise they need a queen in a week lol
The ants are just digging happily in the milton farm with no queen. Its nice to just collect and add them as they are far more active and more to see than the queen take such a long time to see anything. How long will the colony live without a queen? what is the age of worker ant?
No ants were hurt in this little experiment neither did anyone loose any legs!
Oh I did notice that one ant in the main collection has completely lost his bum and he is running around with a head and 4 legs even today lol How does that work!!
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Post by Jenny on Aug 31, 2008 14:13:17 GMT
she is now happily in a test tube of her own I might choose 3 ants and keep them separate in a tube for a week and see if they accept her then like my l.niger have. They might realise they need a queen in a week lol The ants are just digging happily in the milton farm with no queen. Its nice to just collect and add them as they are far more active and more to see than the queen take such a long time to see anything. How long will the colony live without a queen? what is the age of worker ant? Ant scents change even more so the longer they are seperated and therefore are not accepted by each other. The best way to help a queen is to add brood only (Larvae, Pupae etc) even from a different species they very often bring them up as their own, this is the only way you can add to and increase a colony. Ant keeping requires patience and time, there is no quick way, unless you buy a colony from the start. Just to see tunnels being dug and activity, can be achieved by just half a dozen workers, but this will only last up to about 6 months, they will eventually die out one by one. L.niger queens will live together to start with, until their own workers come along, so many antkeepers who are dedicated to ants don't go there, and keep them seperate from the start. In early summer there are loads of brood to be found which can be used to boost your existing colony. |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 31, 2008 15:26:03 GMT
Oh I did notice that one ant in the main collection has completely lost his bum and he is running around with a head and 4 legs even today lol How does that work!! It doesn't, as I will explain below. Ants will live for several days with their gaster missing, but eventually they will die. The rest of her body has some reserves of fat, so she is living off that; but without a stomach to store and digest food, she will be dead in a couple of days. Normally worker ants live on average between 6 to 12 months, though it depends on food supply, how much work they do and how healthy they are. A colony with no queen dies out fairly quickly as there is no brood produced to replace them. |
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Post by antblogger on Sept 11, 2008 9:44:59 GMT
C. Best Gardner observed a Myrmica ruginodis worker which he had in is possession which lived without a head for twenty one days - a testament to the tenacity of ruginodis! When in conflict, Myrmica workers will often group together to pull on hostile ants legs, often with a leg-a-piece. They will work in unison to pull the hostile worker apart as this is the only way to be sure the threat is eliminated (à la Grigori Rasputin). Sometimes simply removing the gaster, a number of legs or even a head just doesn't cut it! Following slave raids, Formica sanguinea queens can be found with hostile workers heads still clamped onto its legs and antennae - despite the rest of the ant being decapitated! One of the Lasius niger queens I collected following this years nuptial flights still had a persistent worker clamped onto one of its legs. Luckily, she managed to prize its mandibles free and is no longer encumbered by this exuberant fashion statement! www.AntBlog.co.uk |
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