Maximiliaan: Strange queen accepted (5. Dez 2007 11:06)

Hi,

Recently we did some research on ants for a school project. One of our experiments was the switching of a queen. What we did was we switched queens of two, young colonies purchased on antstore.de.

After two days the queens were fully accepted. As we were expecting the queens would be attacked, we were quite surprised. We need to write a big report before graduating grammar school this year, before Friday (!).

Can anyone enlighten us asap with this experience?

Thanks in advance.

Max

Sphecomyrmex: (5. Dez 2007 13:44)

This behavoir is very strange...

What's queen's specie?
How have you switched the queens?

Maximiliaan: (5. Dez 2007 14:27)

Both the queen and the workers are Lasius Niger.

We've switched them by removing the queen from both colonies and putting them outside their original nest before putinng them outside the enemy nest. They went into the enemy out of free will.

miszt: (5. Dez 2007 14:32)

Lasius Niger will accept a new Queen under some circumstances, its hard to reproduce, but if they are away from the nest long enough for the ants to become confused by the scent then its possible :)

Sphecomyrmex: (5. Dez 2007 14:45)

Miszt: Very interesting. Only Lasius n iger, or in all ant species there is this behavoir?

Maximiliaan: How much time, the queen has remained over the colonie?

Maximiliaan: (5. Dez 2007 15:43)

both queens were with their own colony for about 4 months, if thats what you mean.
what was also curious, was that after the switch, one of the queens was attacked by two or three ants outside of the nest (later they stopped), but the other one was only found by one ant, and she treated the queen like it was her own (no violence). later discovered that the queen had been sitting on one of the other colonies eggs (that must have rolled out of the testtube during the switch. do you think this played a part in the acceptance of the new queen?

and do you think that one day is long enough for the ants to become confused, and accept the different smell of the queen, or that the queen adjusted her own smell?

kashmir79: (5. Dez 2007 18:00)

poor things, no need to give them such stress, wont be surprised if they both die

i know Pheidologeton diversus can adopt queens into the nest

JimmyVe: (5. Dez 2007 19:17)

This is difficult, most ants will not accept a new queen but some do, depending on the species and colony. Nice that you tried it out (still a little cruel ;) ) but i'm thinking it more luck than a fact. (Not sure about that, i never tried it myself, just hear my friends talk about it, if you know what i mean) ;)

Mr.Q: (5. Dez 2007 23:45)

My queen-less Lasius niger colonies have accepted queens without any problem with 90% sucess rate. I was giving them food, and while eating i let new queen in. There was lots of running, but they didn't harm 9 of 10. One died, but i'm not really sure she died becouse of fighting, becouse she "left" after 30 hours... I was adopting queens to lonley workers in species like Messor structor, Lasius flavus, Lasius emarginatus (with L.niger workers), Myrmica sp, Manica sp and Camponotus lingiperdus/herculaneus without any problems and I also know some friends that are doing same thing without problems. In fact, in nature such adoptions are ocasionally, but not rare.

Best regards, Mr.Q

Maximiliaan: (6. Dez 2007 11:19)

Thankyou everyone for your replies, we're going to work it out in our report. the ants still look good, and are acting just like before the switch.

Mr. Q, can you say anything about how long the queenless colonies you used were without a queen for? (days, months, years?) It might help us with the report.

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