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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2011 19:47:29 GMT 1
This is a vAry exciting project <exalt+1>
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Post by animal123 on Apr 11, 2011 22:20:21 GMT 1
I have to agree with Thomas. Do keep us updated, please. Exalt!
Thanks,
Animal Bin Lid.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2011 22:39:41 GMT 1
Thanks and I plan to simply go out into my garden catch a load of workers and then keep them is a little setup. I'm going to treat them just like a normal colony, feeding them lots of protein (ect...) If you can think of a way to improve my method please let me know as I would like to make this test as reliable as possible. How do you know that is isn't a pheromone released by the dying/dead Queen that triggers the egg laying in workers? That would make more sense to me as the colony would then know it has no future and producing males is the last/only chance to send forth the colonies genes.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2011 23:44:44 GMT 1
Makes sense... if you have the heart to rear a colony to nantics, then kill off their mother
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2011 12:13:35 GMT 1
How do you know that is isn't a pheromone released by the dying/dead Queen that triggers the egg laying in workers? That would make more sense to me as the colony would then know it has no future and producing males is the last/only chance to send forth the colonies genes. You might be on to something there... I shall test it the way I first planned and if I get no results I shall test with a dead queen. (I have 2 dead queens that for some reason I have kept in the test tube)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2011 19:32:05 GMT 1
I think it might have to be there own Queen? At least it ought to be if you are trying to get the most accurate results!
Then you have the problem of dying Queens, I have read that the workers are aware of the health of the Queen from the strenth/compostion of pheromones she spread through the colony (at least in some species, not all) and if she has a drawn out death over the course of a few weeks this might be the catalyst for egg laying in workers!
I'm not trying to make it harder for you, but you have chosen to check something that has so many variables and maybe only one or two strange sets of events lead to egg laying in workers!
If I were doing this, which I will not be able to do! I would start with very few variables and gradually add more, the trouble is as you add more you end up with ever increasing combinations of variables which could get out of hand (ie impossible for one person)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2011 20:02:53 GMT 1
I think if you want to do this the acid used as a notifier is quite common.Watch the lord of the ants and he mentions it.The ants will remove the queen even if she is alive if she is spray with this
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2011 20:20:11 GMT 1
Oleic acid (sp?) I don't know where you'd get that, but perhaps this isn't the trigger anyway. Ants are very simple, they remove anything with the dead scent, they might not even realise it's the Queen I think it could possibly be a different pheromone, or not even a pheromone at all!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2011 20:24:13 GMT 1
I have a dead queen colony. I'm keeping them and observing their behaviour around a towards the dead queen. Their food is low so I think they are eating her But I think they pretect her when presented with threat from enemy ants. They are nantics so it is unlikely they can produce eggs.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2011 20:24:41 GMT 1
I think if you want to do this the acid used as a notifier is quite common.Watch the lord of the ants and he mentions it.The ants will remove the queen even if she is alive if she is spray with this The problem with this is that the queen pheromone would still be getting produced by the "dead" queen. Therefore the ants would still think she is alive somewhere. flavus
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2011 20:26:03 GMT 1
I think if you want to do this the acid used as a notifier is quite common.Watch the lord of the ants and he mentions it.The ants will remove the queen even if she is alive if she is spray with this The problem with this is that the queen pheromone would still be getting produced by the "dead" queen. Therefore the ants would still think she is alive somewhere. flavus ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2011 21:14:49 GMT 1
Aww, bless the little workers
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