|
Post by occultus on Apr 29, 2016 23:39:01 GMT
Taxonomy:- Family: Formicidae - Subfamily: Dolichoderinae - Genus: Linepithema - Species: humile - Binomial Nomenclature: Linepithema humile Origin: Argentina, South America Hibernation: No Appearance of the queen: 4.2–6.4 millimeters Appearance of the workers: 1.6–2.8 millimeters, light brown Nest building: Moist soil, cracks , under rocks and leaves Food: Honeywater, Insects, sweet foods Temperature: Arena: 21 - 35°C Nestpart: 24 - 28°C Humidity: 60 - 80% (tropical climate) Description:Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) workers are monomorphic, displaying no physical differentiation (Holway et al. 2002a). The workers of this species are small, medium to dark brown ants, reaching 2 to 3mm in length. Body surface is smooth and shiny and lacks hairs on the dorsum of the head and thorax. The petiole is composed of a single, scale-like segment, and sting is absent. Workers are extremely fast moving and industrious, often recruiting in high numbers. Linepithema humile (the Argentine ant) invades sub-tropical and temperate regions and is established on six continents. 30/04/16I have decided to start a journal on my Linepithema humile Queen. I want to observe how fast this species develops. I also want to see if multiple colonies can be created from starting with just one single queen. I caught a Linepithema humile Queen on 28/03/16. I had her identified 11 days ago and she had a small pile of brood. Today I was surprised to see that she now has 10 workers. They are incredibly tiny but I have managed to record them with my camera zoomed to the max. 2016-04-29_11-13-56 by che hawkins, on Flickr The DIY nest. 2016-04-29_11-14-48 by che hawkins, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by occultus on May 6, 2016 23:05:33 GMT
Shockingly my Argentine ant colony has over 20 workers and a large pile of eggs I cannot take decent photos because of how small this species is but you might just be able make out a brood pile below: 20160506_193851 by che hawkins, on Flickr They eat everything that they are given.
|
|
|
Post by occultus on May 11, 2016 19:43:59 GMT
This lovely little colony has been given to Nardimai. They were posted out to Finland on Monday. I hope they arrive with him soon and produce a lovely colony for him.
|
|