A week ago I was at a Mtg tournament in my local card shop when I spotted this girl on the floor. The others wanted to squish her (thinking she was a fly or other annoying bug) but I instantly recognized an alate and cried out for them not to. They hesitated long enough for me to scoop her up (thank goodness I always carry some plastic test tubes around) and were actually intrigued when I explained that this was a queen ant and I intended to start a colony.
I couldn't know if she was fertile, but she's been in a test tube set up in the dark for a week, and here she is today, having shed her wings and laid some brood. Meet Amber.
She is a Dorymrymex Bicolor queen from Southern California, 8mm long. I have enjoyed tempting this species with candy before
(some D. bicolor ants I found out in the desert enjoying a crushed m&m I gave them)
So I am excited to see what this colony turns into. I will post updates every week to see how Amber and her colony are doing.
California D. Bicolor
Moderator: ooper01
- BleedingRaindrops
- Posts: 156
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:33 am
- Location: Pennsylvania
California D. Bicolor
Ants kept
Nylanderia sp.
Camponotus sp.
Paratrechina Longicornis
Pheidole sp.
Nylanderia sp.
Camponotus sp.
Paratrechina Longicornis
Pheidole sp.
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- Posts: 1283
- Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
- Location: South Dakota
Re: California D. Bicolor
I've observed a Dorymyrmex bicolor colony, and it had satellite nests that spanned a whole driveway, into the street, and part of a side yard. So they grow large.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25
- BleedingRaindrops
- Posts: 156
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:33 am
- Location: Pennsylvania
Re: California D. Bicolor
Cool. I guess that means they'll take well to extra formicarium space.
Ants kept
Nylanderia sp.
Camponotus sp.
Paratrechina Longicornis
Pheidole sp.
Nylanderia sp.
Camponotus sp.
Paratrechina Longicornis
Pheidole sp.
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