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!
- Meranoplus queen in test tube
- nest
- nest detail
