ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Sphecomyrmex]

Hi all
I should get an information on life-style of these ants who haven't the queens' caste in colony (the egg-laying is undertaken either by typical workers). How do these ants found new colonyes?

Thank

[Gaster]

I guess you mean species with gamergates, so with workers which are laying eggs.
This phenomenon is mostly seen in ponerines. For example Pachycondyla kruegeri. When the colony has grown up, one ore multible worker ants leave the nest for 'Sexual calling'. They look for a male to mate with. When they have mated, they go back to the nest and stay there for a while. At some point, the colony splits and the newly mated queen leaves with some of the workers.
I've read this was the only way, a new colony of queenless species can be founded. The gamergates are not able to found a colony on their own.


Regards

[Sphecomyrmex]

Thank you very much.
Are there other species with garmergate workers? Are there other colony (who haven't gamergates) who split to found new colonyes?
In Formicoxenus species, males wait physical similar to worker, and they can't fly. How this males mate with queens?

thanks still

[tail__]

They are also few species like Pristomyrmex pungens which don't have to mate at all. They reproduce by thelytoky, which is a special form of parthenogenesis. It's almost cloning, though not exactly. New colonies are created simply by dividing existing ones.

[Sphecomyrmex]

thank you, it's very interesting.
Workers of Oecophylla longinoda and Prionomyrmex macrops use thelytoky too; but they use thelytoky only in some cases. I think the evolution of ants will probably, bring to an absence of queens and males and to a parthenogenesis reproduction totally checked by the workers. Nevertheless the most modern species (Ecitoninae and Dorylinae) don't seem to confirm this. What do you think of it?

[Gaster]

For me the most interesting species are found in the ponerines. Of cause there are only old species, but this is a way to see, how ant colonies were structured in the past and how the things changed since then. Many ponerines have a queen, but its also common that there are worker ants undertaking the queens task. This shows, how little range is between this two castes. There are also species with a clear divide and there is no way for a worker, to go up in the social hierarchy. The species with a clear divide are mostly more advanced species. But there are also species, which seem to go back in evolutionary development. In the moment they have a queen, but it seems like they are going to become a queenless species. One very advaced user of this forum alleged as an example Pachycondyla apicalis.
I don't have the time to translate it, but maybe you find a good tranlater in the web. Here are some very interesting links:
http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?t ... a+kruegeri
http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?t ... a+kruegeri
http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?t ... a+kruegeri
http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?t ... a+kruegeri

[Sphecomyrmex]

I should get another information. Like species with gamergates, do the army ants found new colonyes by split?
Thank

[Gaster]

I'm not sure if its the same in all species of army ants, but I know, that there is a species of army ants, which founds new colonies by splitting. The young queens stay in the colony for some time. When a male ant is kept by the workers, she mates with him and some time later the colony splits and there is a new colony. In this case, only the males are able to fly. In america the males are called 'sausages' due to their size and form.
But like i said, I dunno if its the same in all army ant species.
By the way, most ponerines are exotic.(I don't know where you live, so I also don't know, if they aren't native in your country) If you are new to keeping ants, you should besser start with a easyer species.


Regards

[Sphecomyrmex]

Thank you very much
I live in Italy, where there aren't any more ponerines. I found a Ponera queen yesterday: it was the first ponerina that I saw.

Regards