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ducatiman: colonys with more than one queen (7. Mär 2008 19:51)

hi
what spieces of ant with more than one queen would you recommend ,i am very intrested to observe how a colony works with more than one queen,any info would be great

Phasmid: (7. Mär 2008 22:03)

Hi ductaiman.
I think that a Myrmica sp. would be a good species to start with.
The easiest way to get a colony with more than one queen would be to go out in spring and find a large colony that is nesting under a rock. On a warm sunny day, most of the queens will rest just under the rock where it is warm and then you can simply flip the rock and take a few queens (make sure there are some left) and some workers to acompany them. Or you can wait until they fly and find some maited queens and allow them to raise a colony together.

JimmyVe: (8. Mär 2008 19:36)

Yes, i also would recommend Myrmica species. They are pretty easy to keep and the are very nice ants. :)

tail__: (9. Mär 2008 10:11)

Formica fusca have also very shallow nest with many queens. However, I would not recommend capturing queens from natural nests. Unlike queens you catch just after mating flight, queens with some experience with living underground are photophobic and may be too stressed in artificial nests. They may be also a few years old and won't live long. If you want a colony with multiple queens, it's better to catch a few Myrmica or Formica fresh queens and put them together.