Why eat the queen???
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Why eat the queen???
I caught the queen and several workers in May and kept them in a dirt nest. It wasn't healthy, and I couldn't feed them without causing them a panic attack, so I moved them into a small formicarium. The queen was producing eggs and pupae, the size of the colony doubled. And then, about two days ago, they ate her. I don't think the workers fed her. They refused to eat anything I gave them, including honey, insects, meal worms, hummingbird nectar, bread crumbs. Finally they discovered a taste for apples and their queen. Go figure.
Re: Why eat the queen???
Sorry.Delphie wrote: ↑Mon Aug 28, 2017 3:25 pmI caught the queen and several workers in May and kept them in a dirt nest. It wasn't healthy, and I couldn't feed them without causing them a panic attack, so I moved them into a small formicarium. The queen was producing eggs and pupae, the size of the colony doubled. And then, about two days ago, they ate her. I don't think the workers fed her. They refused to eat anything I gave them, including honey, insects, meal worms, hummingbird nectar, bread crumbs. Finally they discovered a taste for apples and their queen. Go figure.
Re: Why eat the queen???
I have C. modoc and C. laevigatus colonies as well. I find them to be very mellow ants. The colony that ate their queen was Formica sp.
Re: Why eat the queen???
They are totally mellow! But that's great for first-time ant-carers like my son and I.
Do you have a journal going? We would love to see your C. laevigatus and C. modoc.
Re: Why eat the queen???
I haven't kept a journal, as I wasn't sure how successful this hobby was going to be. Last year I had access to more queens but they all died. Some were infertile and one was a parasitic queen. I can show photos of the most prolific modoc and laevigatus queens. The laevigatus kept her wings. Do you have any photos?
This is my poor queen which became dinner.
This is my poor queen which became dinner.
Re: Why eat the queen???
All of our photos are here: http://imgur.com/a/T9abm.
And we started a journal here: http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4304&start=10
Thankfully, Batspiderfish identified them for us. The only major difference that I can tell is that Queen #1 (our C. laevigatus) is shinier than the other two. Our C. modoc is the one that held on to her wings.
Have you noticed any other identifying traits between the two species? I was hoping to use yours in comparison, but at first glance, I still can't really tell between the two. Then again, at first glance, I can't tell between a Camponotus and a Formica, even after knowing to look at the shape of their thorax.
And we started a journal here: http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4304&start=10
Thankfully, Batspiderfish identified them for us. The only major difference that I can tell is that Queen #1 (our C. laevigatus) is shinier than the other two. Our C. modoc is the one that held on to her wings.
Have you noticed any other identifying traits between the two species? I was hoping to use yours in comparison, but at first glance, I still can't really tell between the two. Then again, at first glance, I can't tell between a Camponotus and a Formica, even after knowing to look at the shape of their thorax.
Re: Why eat the queen???
Mine were identified much the same way. Here and here:
http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=3253&p=21184#p21184
http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=4339&p=27997#p27997
Identifying ants isn't one of my skills either although I can tell the colonies apart while feeding them.
http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=3253&p=21184#p21184
http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=4339&p=27997#p27997
Identifying ants isn't one of my skills either although I can tell the colonies apart while feeding them.
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