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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 20:21:30 GMT 1
Hey guys! I was out in my yard cleaning up debris and I saw a little Formica queen scuttling along. I was pretty confused because the Formica I'm familiar with fly in July. After further examination I am glad to say that I have a social parasite queen, like BSF's.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 20:30:58 GMT 1
Nice! Are you going to give her some pupae from one of you colonys or from a wild one? And I would love to see some pics of her.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 20:59:35 GMT 1
Probably a wild one's. Pictures will be up tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 21:02:29 GMT 1
Oh what the heck, picture in 5 minutes. Camera isn't working.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 21:18:58 GMT 1
Ohh ...well have you identified the species?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 21:41:39 GMT 1
No but I believe it to be Formica aserva. I will need to do more research later tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 22:06:39 GMT 1
With social parisite ants, could You have a Lasius Niger colony for 10-15 years and then when the queen dies naturally put in a Lasius umbratus Queen , then after she does put in another parisite ant? Also do the social parisite ants fly earlier then other ants?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 22:10:50 GMT 1
Those are good questions Poortea.
You could introduce a Lasius umbratus queen to a dying Lasius niger colony, and she may takeover. To my knowledge, however, the colony can't be parasitized again.
It really depends on the species. Often times the social parasite queens burrow down or hide until the spring, where they emerge and attempt to find host colonies.
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Post by Myrm on Apr 21, 2012 22:19:29 GMT 1
Just be aware that just because Lu parasitise Ln, they are not alway successful; in fact in the wild they are usually unsuccessful as they normally get killed by the workers as she tries to enter the nest.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 22:22:38 GMT 1
Myrm is definitely right in saying that.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 22:28:41 GMT 1
Don't they kill a worker who is foraging and take the scent?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 22:30:16 GMT 1
Sometimes. This is all species-dependant though.
(Batspiderfish - Where are you?)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 22:45:57 GMT 1
Haha hey! I think it's really unusual for a Formica queen to be out and about this early in the year, but I'm eager to see what you have. Thankfully, Formica parasites are way easier to get started with than Lasius umbratus and the likes. They just need worker pupae. Lasius often parasitise each other, so if you replace a Lasius niger queen with L. umbratus, then that dies, you can put in a parasite of a different species. I don't think you need to worry about the queens dying from old age/
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2012 17:07:40 GMT 1
what is a parisit ant all i get from google is zombie fungus ants
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Post by Myrm on May 9, 2012 17:24:30 GMT 1
what is a parisit ant all i get from google is zombie fungus ants Hi Cole, A parasite ant uis one that uses another colony of ants to live from. It can range from simply using other ants as slaves to a parasite queen invading another another species' nest, killing their queen, causing the host queen to be killed by her own workers or sometimes just living in a part of the nest. Lasius umbratus have queens that invade the nests of Lasius niger. The Ln workers then kill their own queen and accept the Lu queen as theirs. Formica sanguinea workers invade the nests of other ants, such as Formica fusca, steal their brood and raise them as slaves.
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