asiletto: Meranoplus biology (19. Jun 2013 10:30)

Cross-posting from an english forum, looking for help.

I am looking for some informations on mating and founding behaviour of Meranoplus sp (maybe Meranoplus bicolor), I can't find much online.

In the wild I saw these queens very near the nest entrance of the same specie, without wings, in some cases workers were holding the queen by her legs, I don't know if they want to eat her or something else. I've seen all those queens in late morning or afternoon.

I caught a couple of queens, and only one is laying eggs, the others wanders in the test tube. Some died. I give to all queens a tiny droplet of honey which have been accepted. I keep them in standard test tubes, at 28-29°C, lower than the temperature in the wild, which some day can go up to 35-37°C. The nest were in full sun in a dry area near a rice field.

Any info is appreciated! :)

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