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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 15:17:40 GMT
Over the last two weeks there have been several different species flying in Northern Thailand - but tonight was the night I have been waiting for! Conditions were just right: A heavy thunderstorm around mid day and by seven pm the humidity was 89% and temperature 25C. A windless, humid night and P. diversus started to fly. The males collected first coming out about 18.30 hours and becoming more and more numerous until by 20.00 there were about two hundred around my collecting light. Then the females started to arrive in small numbers until about 22.00hrs. As soon as the males detected a female they immediately mobbed them and mated with them on the ground. Predators were also out in force with lizards, bats, frogs and even land crabs all stuffing themselves. Interestingly the dates when this species has had its main swarm over the past three years has been very close. In 2012 they flew on June 3rd. In 2013 on June 11th and this year on June 8th! Fighting off all the predators I have come away with 23 fertilized females which will allow me to raise a good number of new colonies all headed by strong young queens. |
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Post by Asiletto on Jun 8, 2014 15:45:08 GMT
Last year in Kanchanaburi I've seen Pheidologeton swarming (May 29), really impressive! I've seen a lot of males but just a few queens, I think each time the nest only produce males or females, and I my bungalow was on top of a "male nest".   I do envy you, this year I had to cancel my summer Thailand trip because of work, and I will go only in October, last year in Bangkok Oecophylla swarmed at October 10 so I hope to find some queens. By the way, how is the situation outside the big cities? There is a curfew in Chiang Mai? People respect it or just do the thai way?  |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2014 14:32:11 GMT
 The picture shows a mass of males attempting to mate with a single female diversus. Oecophylla swarmed in Northern Thailand last week. I collected nine winged females but only two have dropped their wings so I suspect that the others have not mated. I did hear about a scam with a Chinese seller who was selling queens of this species none of which turned out to be fertile - and it was suggested he had simply collected winged females from the nests and removed their wings himself! |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 11, 2014 9:02:02 GMT
It is amazing the lengths some people will go to to con others out of their hard earned money, as normally if we buy queen ants with their wings removed it shows they have mated.  I would never dream of cutting the wings off alate queens just to sell them as mated, as it is so much easier to pick up dozens of newly mated queens from the hundreds of nests around which send out so many flights every year; and often the very big nests have up to 3 separate nuptial flights over the space of 6 or 7 weeks. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2014 11:46:06 GMT
The picture shows a mass of males attempting to mate with a single female diversus. Oecophylla swarmed in Northern Thailand last week. I collected nine winged females but only two have dropped their wings so I suspect that the others have not mated. I did hear about a scam with a Chinese seller who was selling queens of this species none of which turned out to be fertile - and it was suggested he had simply collected winged females from the nests and removed their wings himself! I would really like to have a weaver ant colony. I think they will be my next project after the leafcutters |
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