|
Post by krautman on Aug 25, 2013 18:49:02 GMT
Anyone had success starting a new colony with multiple queens together, I can't remember if this happens naturally or queens are added in later years as the colony grows.
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 25, 2013 19:00:06 GMT
Anyone had success starting a new colony with multiple queens together, I can't remember if this happens naturally or queens are added in later years as the colony grows. After mating flights some Myrmica queens may form a co-operative and stay together, especially if they are sisters from the same nest. Most newly mated queens either found a colony alone, or are taken back into the mother nest as they have the same colony scent. Queens which are unrelated might form a coalition, but whether they would remain together is doubtful as their scent is not the same.
|
|
|
Post by krautman on Aug 25, 2013 19:15:50 GMT
So it may be worth a try, I'll let you know in the spring as to how successful or not it as been.
|
|
Deleted
Hibernating
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2013 19:20:45 GMT
You have queens?
|
|
|
Post by krautman on Aug 25, 2013 20:07:46 GMT
Yes 6 myrmica rubra queens.
|
|
Deleted
Hibernating
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2013 20:24:11 GMT
Lucky!! I have been hunting for these queens for 1 and a half years to be precise and no luck
|
|
|
Post by anyzis on Sept 2, 2013 13:59:18 GMT
One of my colonies has two queens, the other one has at least 5. However, I've experimented extensively with introducing new queens, including still winged ones (some sources state that Myrmicas tend to "adopt" freshly mated queens), but they always ended up the same way - dragged outside by the workers and immobilized if they attempt to return (which they do for some reason). They don't kill them though. Doing this just after the hibernation supposedly makes them more accepting and less aggressive, but I will only be able to try that in spring.
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 2, 2013 17:15:30 GMT
Often with ants that have more than 1 queen will adopt new queens from mating flights, but if these newly mated queens are from unrelated nests or the mother nest where they were born, then new queens are only accepted if they have the same colony scent, or they came convinced workers in the nest that they are related or none hostile.
It is more usual for workers to actually take new queens into an existing colony than allow any queen into their nest.
|
|