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Post by keroumnome on Jun 23, 2012 21:10:06 GMT
Hello! Today I was walking around my house when I noticed winged ants emerging from a crack in the concrete. So I went indoors to grab some jars and try to capture some fertilized queens. Then I waited and waited for nearly 3 hours for them to start flying. But they didn't, as far I could see, there was only one wingless queen nearby (she ran away when I tried to catch her -.-). Most of them just walked around the entrance of the nest and started to go back inside. So there was not a lot of mating nor flying . Why did they behaved like that? Will they emerge the next day and try again?
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Post by Zarbi on Jun 23, 2012 21:53:35 GMT
Sometimes winged ants have a few practise runs before they fly properly, so they will fly later when the weather is just right.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 24, 2012 6:15:36 GMT
Some times they emerge when the conditions are good but not good enough for them to have their flight, there are also other factors like there isnt enough alates ect.
But don't worry you can keep an eye on that crack and in theses next few days you may be lucky, just a quick tip after they tend to fly after it has rained and the air is humid this is ideal conditions for most species.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 24, 2012 8:40:44 GMT
When I was staying in the countryside for a week last year, I noticed Myrmica rubra/ruginodis alates emerging from a nest. I waited for over four hours for them to takeoff (And, indeed, some of the drones did). But then the weather changed to become a lot windier, and they decided to go back inside.
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Post by keroumnome on Jun 24, 2012 18:23:59 GMT
So today I went to same spot where I had found the mating flight taking place. And there they were near the nest entrance still not very eager to fly away. But this time there was one single wingless queen among the other winged ones, which I quicky grabed. She apears to be healthy and strong. I really hope she will be the founder of my 2nd L.niger colony ;D maybe I'll start writing a journal about her, what do you think?
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Post by antique on Jun 24, 2012 19:10:23 GMT
If she has removed her wings then she might be mated. Wait and see if she lays eggs, and if she does then start a journal on her progress
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Post by bobdol on Jun 24, 2012 21:34:29 GMT
Only thing is I am not sure you have Lasius niger - I do not think this species is native to Portugal. Probably a similar Lasius species, not sure what is common in Portugal.
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Post by keroumnome on Jun 24, 2012 23:18:26 GMT
I'm not really sure. Though the queen I've captured is very similar to the ones I've seen in photos on the internet. If you want I can try to post a photo of the queen I've captured.
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Post by Zarbi on Jun 24, 2012 23:57:08 GMT
A photo might help if it is clear and close up.
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Post by keroumnome on Jun 25, 2012 12:56:25 GMT
I've managed to take a photo of another queen I've captured from the same nest. Sorry about the quality, this is the best I could do, considering that my camera is not very good for this kind of close-up photos. If it helps I could try to take photos from other angles. Attachments:
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 25, 2012 13:39:16 GMT
This lady certainly looks like a Lasius queen which might be L. niger, though I am not sure what other ants inhabit Portugal which may be related; but the photo appears to be a Lasius niger queen.
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Post by keroumnome on Jun 25, 2012 14:19:41 GMT
The problem is that I don't know what kind of ant species exist in Portugal. There's not a lot of information about that on the internet in portuguese websites I could try to take a few more photos if that helps.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 25, 2012 14:33:25 GMT
I wouldn't worry about it too much, as even the best of photos don't always show the slight difference between species within the same genera.
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Post by keroumnome on Jun 25, 2012 14:58:40 GMT
Ok, thank you for your help. Maybe I'll start writing a journal about the misterious Lasius ? ? ? colony
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Post by bobdol on Jun 25, 2012 15:46:49 GMT
Lasius Sp. ;D
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