|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Sept 13, 2012 19:25:19 GMT
I may be getting ahead of myself right now, but I'm excited and optimistic about my recent acquisition of this species. Lasius latipes is part of the Acanthomyops sub-genus, which was considered its own separate genus of social parasites until only about a decade ago. L. latipes is incredibly difficult to get started, so I'm going to have to keep my fingers crossed. While I haven't been able to capture it well on photograph (the battery for my external flash was charging while I took these), these queens have some pretty sinister-looking mandibles.    The host workers are from my Lasius umbratus colony. The cryptic Lasius seem to make for the most docile host species. |
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 13, 2012 21:06:29 GMT
Such unusual and interesting looking queens. They look nothing like our native British Lasius species, but this will be a good journal to follow and I wish you every success with them.  |
|
|
|
Post by Smudge on Sept 13, 2012 21:54:07 GMT
Formidable indeed great looking species and very robust queens good luck with them wish you all the best in this colonies development
|
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Sept 14, 2012 0:51:24 GMT
The queens of this species are very heavily armored social parasites. They're good at burrowing too! I think they use this to scrape off any guard host workers who actually manage to latch on. Here is a great video by Weatherant, showing a wild L. latipes queen attempting to infiltrate a colony of Lasius neoniger:
|
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Sept 15, 2012 22:58:09 GMT
Two of the queens are dead this morning. It's hard to predict what this means for the remaining three, but this could be something as simple as who the workers decided to feed or how well each queen was integrated into the colony. I see no signs of fattening in the survivors, but I've watched at least one queen take food from the workers (without a more obviously full gaster, I really cannot tell how many or which of the queens have been doing this). It would be a shame if there is a condition which isn't being met for this species, but you can bet that I'll figure it out some day. For now, two queens seem full of life, while one appears restful or sluggish.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 3, 2012 8:13:09 GMT
Sorry to read you've lost 2 queens, so let's hope the others do well and you get at least one healthy colony of this species, as they really are a nice formidable looking ant. |
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Oct 3, 2012 13:45:35 GMT
I'm down to one queen, whose last sister died off about a week ago. I can't tell exactly how the survivor is faring, but she's been alive for almost a month in captivity, which is much longer than usual. There's not much I can do except wait and see. There is no apparent cause of the deaths of these captive queens; it's just something that happens to Acanthomyops.  If the worst should happen and this colony perishes, I'll choose from some of the other interesting, undocumented colonies I have started: Formica (rufa) integra, Brachymyrmex depilis, Tapinoma sessile, or Camponotus novaeboracensis. |
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Oct 10, 2012 16:26:35 GMT
A very interesting observation today! I recently placed the Lasius latipes colony into the same foraging arena as my L. alienus (this was done out of laziness and space limitation; I did not expect the two colonies to interact in any sort of harmful way, since they are both small, well-fed, and in hibernation.)
To my surprise, about half of the Lasius umbratus host workers from the latipes colony have defected to the L. alienus nest. Lasius alienus is the ideal host species for Lasius umbratus in my location, and it would appear that the chemical likeness of the workers goes in either direction. This speaks for the viability of the one surviving Lasius latipes who, apparently, is not yet recognized as a queen.
The Lasius latipes queen does not appear to be in excellent condition, as while she is still very much alive, she is inactive most of the time. She has not made an obvious effort to remove the one wing she had during capture.
|
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Mar 19, 2013 4:35:56 GMT
Hello! I hope everybody has had a tolerable winter! My Lasius latipes did not, unfortunately.
The last queen had died shortly after all of her L. umbratus host workers jumped ship to join the Lasius alienus colony sharing the outworld. I honestly don't believe she would have made it even with the workers. The rearing of this species remains a mystery.
I hope everybody likes wood ants! Formica integra was the runner up.
I'm loving the new layout!
|
|
|
|
Post by Jenny on Mar 19, 2013 6:52:51 GMT
Hey Bat, welcome back after your hibernation.  By layout, do you mean forum layout? It has been something I have had to work on, forced on me by Proboards, glad you like it. Sorry to read you have lost your queen, but wood ants are a favourite, if you have the space that is. Here in the UK they are observed mainly in the wild, which is really the best place for F. rufa native to Britain. |
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 19, 2013 7:48:57 GMT
Hello! I hope everybody has had a tolerable winter! I hope everybody likes wood ants! Formica integra was the runner up. Nice to see you back with us BSF. Does this mean you will be keeping wood ants and making a new journal for them?  |
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Mar 19, 2013 18:56:56 GMT
Nice to see you back with us BSF. Does this mean you will be keeping wood ants and making a new journal for them? Yes, I think so. This queen has not produced any eggs since I captured her, but Formica are generally much easier to raise than these silly Lasius parasites. |
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Mar 19, 2013 19:09:56 GMT
Hey Bat, welcome back after your hibernation. By layout, do you mean forum layout? It has been something I have had to work on, forced on me by Proboards, glad you like it. Sorry to read you have lost your queen, but wood ants are a favourite, if you have the space that is. Here in the UK they are observed mainly in the wild, which is really the best place for F. rufa native to Britain. Thankfully these Formica integra live on a much smaller scale than F. rufa. They don't really like to build huge mounds so much as stuff some sort of crevice with thatch, which makes them relatively inconspicuous. Don't tell them that, though -- they're rather proud and temperamental. I think the color pallet is very nice. |
|
