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delete-14751: Polyrhachis illaudata (21. Feb 2009 10:31)

Afew Questions about Polyrhachis illaudata, can you help:

1:Do they have one Queen only?
2:Do they sting? (i.e. What's there defence?)
3:Do they eat through wood?
4:How fast are they?
5:Can they climb glass?
6:How fast does the colony grow and to what size?
7:Any other infomation you would like to share with me about the ants?

Thank you :D

donbilbo: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (21. Feb 2009 11:15)

1: i called Martin (shop owner) once and he told me they can have more than one queen but he does not have colonies with more than one queen.
2. no, they have some acid they could spray in defence
3. no, not that i know of
4. not that fast
5. definately, very good climbers
6. not too fast, not easy to keep at all
7. http://antbase.org/ants/publications/14656/14656.pdf

delete-14751: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (22. Feb 2009 11:01)

Thanks Jan,

What do you mean by 'not easy to keep at all'?

And when you say 'they can have more than one queen but he does not have colonies with more than one queen' do you think that they are mainly a single Queen sp. but can live with more than one. Say like L.niger rather than M.ruba?
Im asking this because I think its easy to keep track of one Queen and if you have escapes then you can check if the Queen is still in the Tank, with more than one Queen you can't tell if a Queen has escaped and I don't want a colony starting up somewhere else in my house!

JimmyVe: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (22. Feb 2009 15:51)

Its good that you seek information first, i wish more people would do that.
But hold on, you want only one queen so you can check of she doesn't escape.... You should need a farm where NO ants can escape ! Lasius niger never has more than one queen.
What he meant with that is they are harder to keep than a beginners species.

donbilbo: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (22. Feb 2009 16:41)

It seems like you have do lots of testing before you find the best settings to keep them successfull. Academic resources state that this species is polygyn. But antstore said the only have small conlonies with one single queen to sell.

delete-14751: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (22. Feb 2009 18:57)

Thanks Jan thats much clearer, thanks for you help. Do you have a Polyrhachis illaudata colony??

Jimmy:

what I ment was of course I don't wont escapes but if i did then checking the Queen is still inside the tank is the best way to avoid panic as you can know a colony will not be starting of somwhere else (i.e. under the bed) also workers return to the nest so a trick i have learnt is if you wait and watch the escapee then she will soon head back to the nest through the escape point showing you where it is, so you can seal it up.

The point i was making about Lasius niger was that they are naturaly a one Queen colony (monogyn?) but you can get them to have a pair of queens in captive (this is very difficult but posible). I was wordering weather they were like this or just naturaly polygyn. Bilbo answered this.

Thanks for you help also through.


Do you know of a good colony that has large ants, a single Queen, no hibernation, doesn't eat wood?
If not I may try these guys!

donbilbo: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (22. Feb 2009 19:27)

Yes i have kept them. If you want really big majestic ants then go for those Polyrhachis illaudata. But if you want a species that has hundrets of ants, swarming day and night then i can not recommend this species. It seems to have a really slow development, the ants move slow and careful. They seem to have rather good eyesight so if you walk up fast they stop their movement and go into defense. ;)

delete-14751: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (23. Feb 2009 12:54)

I read thier numbers can get into the thousands! Is this true? Time Is not a problem, how long does a worker live for?

JimmyVe: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (23. Feb 2009 18:16)

Maybe a Camponotus species.

iribuya: Re: Polyrhachis illaudata (23. Feb 2009 19:43)

Yeah it's pretty sad what people say about these ants. I am thinking about getting them too, but all I hear is people complaining on how slow and nightactive they are. But what interests me is how big they are and this is the first time I heard someone say that about them. This makes me feel better. Today I kind of finished my formicarium and am testing it for the right conditions. But still i'm not sure if I want to get those ants, I mean they are very expensive and, so they say, very hard. For the same price I can get a dives colony of over 500 ants.

But i'm glad someone else has at least tried them. Donbilbo, you say you "had" them, does that mean they are "gone" now? What does their meal look like, because I heard they dont hunt for live prey, is this right? Also I have an ytong nest, is it necesary to keep this wet all the time?

And last, how long does the whole cycle take, from egg to ant?

Greetings Thanks


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