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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 10, 2019 18:45:54 GMT
This colony has done well during the Winter even with just one queen remaining. There's piles of larvae and the workers forage eagerly. You would think from this photo that I've been neglecting them since they were so excited by the sugar water, but that's their second serving in 24 hours. Here's the brood. The queen has in fact just started laying eggs this year and if you look closely enough in the next few photos you might spot them. Queen: I'm thinking about ordering another queen to see if this colony would accept her, since in the wild they can have many queens in one nest. Thoughts on this are more than welcome.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 10, 2019 19:12:57 GMT
If you are looking to recruit a new queen, I would try introducing her to just 1 or 2 workers to see if they accept her, as the risk is lower. This way any aggression towards her can be dealt with, and if after an hour she is fine then the chances are that she has been accepted and adopted the colony scent. It should then be safe to induct her into the nest of her new family.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 19, 2019 17:21:24 GMT
The nicobarensis continue to surprise me with how fast they're growing. There's always at least twenty workers waiting in the foraging area for food, which can make feeding a bit difficult without them escaping. When word reached the queen that there was food, she started running from worker to worker to get fed, but this wasn't enough for her. In her haste to dine on sugar water she ran straight out of the nest to get it herself! After drinking her fill and walking around a bit, she returned to the nest. I've noticed that in polygynous species the workers don't seem to mind their queens wandering as much, since the nicobarensis workers didn't attempt to stop her.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 19, 2019 19:40:38 GMT
You'll probably find that this colony grows just as well with only one queen as it may have done with two. Look how big my single queen colony has grown compared to my other 2 queens colony for example. Wonderful pics by the way TenebrousNova
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 19, 2019 21:42:05 GMT
You'll probably find that this colony grows just as well with only one queen as it may have done with two. Look how big my single queen colony has grown compared to my other 2 queens colony for example. Wonderful pics by the way TenebrousNova Thank you! I still intend to try introducing a second queen, but I haven't yet seen any for sale that don't already have workers. This is important because I feel there would be more chance of conflict if the second queen had workers of her own.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 24, 2019 18:38:39 GMT
I've finally found lone queens with brood for sale on Clavata's site and ordered one, who should be with me within a matter of days. When she does, I'll follow the advice given by Wood further up this page and introduce her to one or two workers to see how they get on. If there's any signs of aggression they'll be removed from the queen and we'll see if she can start a colony of her own. Otherwise if all goes well, she'll be introduced to the colony as their second queen.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 26, 2019 17:27:53 GMT
The new nicobarensis queen arrived today with a pile of eggs. She looks healthy! I introduced a single worker to her test tube. The worker was a bit skittish but the queen was perfectly calm around the stranger. After a few minutes the two engaged in trophallaxis, a positive sign! The second worker was introduced with similar results. And the third. More trophallaxis: By this point the colony knew something was going on. I had to distract them with sugar water to get them away from the lid. I put the queen's test tube in the foraging area. This was it. If anything goes wrong there's nothing I can do. The workers quickly came running in and greeted the new queen. Some fed her and others groomed her. They quickly took her eggs into the nest. Then she left the test tube in pursuit and entered the nest, where she was greeted by security: Everything was going well until a worker ran up to her and bit her leg, causing her to flee back into the test tube where she's been ever since. Most of the workers are still friendly towards her but a few still approach with open jaws before leaving. Maybe when they've adjusted to her and the strange scent, they'll let her in safely?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 26, 2019 17:56:35 GMT
I think I'd have left her with 2 or 3 workers for about 6 hours and allow her to get the new colony scent, and then introduced her to the rest of the colony. I hope she gets adopted by the others, as they have taken her eggs from her into the nest and it would be a shame if the more aggressive workers killed her.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 26, 2019 19:07:15 GMT
I think I'd have left her with 2 or 3 workers for about 6 hours and allow her to get the new colony scent, and then introduced her to the rest of the colony. I hope she gets adopted by the others, as they have taken her eggs from her into the nest and it would be a shame if the more aggressive workers killed her. You're right, I got a bit cocky and that might've caused the difficulties she had in getting the workers to accept her. I'm happy to say though that she has entered the nest once more and this time got away with it. Eventually she discovered the incumbent queen and approached. She turned around and greeted the newcomer. They seemed calm during the encounter. Now the new queen is closely following her wherever she goes, antennae always in contact. I believe that she wants to be close to her so that she can adopt her scent, or perhaps she wants to prove to the workers that she's not a threat since their queen is allowing her in her presence? The new queen is actually slightly bigger and also has an additional thin black stripe on her gaster. I won't declare victory until she's been in there for at least a day without incident, but I feel encouraged now.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 27, 2019 7:07:26 GMT
I would say that she (new queen) has been accepted okay, especially as the resident queen has befriended her. To be honest I can't foresee any problems and the nipping she got from the odd worker was just to let her know she's a newcomer to the colony. I don't think it will happen again that she receives aggressive nips on her legs.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 27, 2019 11:30:01 GMT
I would say that she (new queen) has been accepted okay, especially as the resident queen has befriended her. To be honest I can't foresee any problems and the nipping she got from the odd worker was just to let her know she's a newcomer to the colony. I don't think it will happen again that she receives aggressive nips on her legs. Unfortunately I just checked the colony to find that the new queen has been killed. I've seen it said by numerous people that some nicobarensis colonies readily accept new queens but others will kill the extra queens off until one remains. I assumed that the last queen's death was by natural causes but now I'm not so sure. I think it's more like how queens found colonies together (Pleometrosis) but eventually the workers single out and kill the queens they don't like. I feel guilty that that queen died in vain, but I've learned my lesson now.
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