Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
Powered by phpBB Social Network © phpBB SN Group
Deutsche Übersetzung durch phpBB.de
Time : 0.011s | 44 Queries | GZIP : On
I know how you feel. In my Myrmecia pavida colony has happened about the same. She died just baseless .. But just because something can happen to animals. Sad but true. regards
Thanks for your understanding sympathies Camaross, I am sorry about your queen as well. Its the way they go sometimes...
Regards,
Vas
Since the queen passed a few months ago the colony has been extremely busy. All of the queen's final workers have laid eggs, which have grown and pupated into males. So far, 5/8 of the dead queen's "grandsons" have hatched. These males are spectacular! I recently received 6 princesses from a different colony & I plan to document a captive reproduction. As soon as all 8 males have hatched I will give it a shot. The workers have been busy hunting and caring for the next 12 larvae, which should pupate at any moment.
After the original queen died in the summer, the workers began to lay their own haploid eggs. I knew that these would turn into males so I came up with an idea to keep my deceased queen's bloodline to continue. The haploid eggs hatched after a time of 2-3 weeks and the tiny larvae were fed worker eggs and small soft-bodied insects like crickets, freshly-molted mealworms and the occasional silverfish.
After a time of 1-2 months (kept at room temp), the larvae began to spin their cocoons which were assisted by the workers. The workers buried the larvae in order for the larvae to properly cocoon. After a time period of about a month to a month and a half, the workers began to cut the cocoons open. The colony had males! My timing was perfect as I just received 6 virgin princess alates from a generous friend's colony. These princesses' arrival was timed perfectly with the males' hatching, which tells me that my research and observations were accurate. :D
After 5 males hatched, I placed 3 males along with the 6 princesses into a specialized breeding enclosure. There has been positive results in the aspect of peace and no killing, but there hasn't been any reproducing yet. The males have been busy flying around but so far nothing except more haploid eggs. It has been rumoured that Myrmecia can produce multi-queen colonies along with mating within a nest. Let's hope that these rumours are true! So far the 6 queens and the 3 males are being observed in their 'safe house' together, with females cleaning eachother and the males. :)
The males have been patient thus far, but as their parent colony produces more males, the better the chances for a captive mating. I will be keeping my eyes out for the results. I'm hoping that it's only a matter of time.
Myrmecia pavida male mating with a winged queen. At this point they were not copulating but before the picture was taken they were attached.
This wingless male had slightly deformed wings when he eclosed in the parent colony. Upon his introduction into the breeding enclosure, a female has gently chewed off his wings. The reason is unknown, but it doesn't stop him from finding himself a girlfriend.
Here is a video link of the colony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CES-U4T-HRw
I've separated the queens now into groups of 2 and 3. One queen still retains her wings so I would presume that she isn't mated. New males will appear sometime soon again so I can give her another shot. The rest of the queens are doing well and are exhibiting nesting/colony founding behavior (the winged queen continues to pace around in the foraging area). Time will tell if this project succeeded & if the captive breeding of my Myrmecia was a success.
The young queens have displayed some very interesting behavior changes. Now that there's eggs present, they're more frequently foraging out in the basin. The old queen's colony has been sadly reduced now to only two workers who are caring for two growing male larvae. I think that after this, it's over for the old queen's colony. Hopefully out of these young new queens (there's 5 of them) some have mated successfully. This project will be a success even if only one queen provides viable workers.
Here is the reference:
"Stigmatomma oregonensis queen in mate-calling posture, in a laboratory nest. She extrudes her sting to release pheromones."
http://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Natural-History/Queen-Ants/9403452_rFTpLK#!i=624293407&k=2CSzS8c&lb=1&s=A
Photo by Alexander Wild.