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Funny you mention Termites, I went for a walk on the beach a few nights ago and they were flying everywhere! Nuptial time I guess.

I am guessing no, just from the this top-down view; a side-view would have been better. Look for scars on the side of her thorax where the wings used to be. I was in the same situation and found the scars that confirmed it was a queen! It is quite easy to see it, when you look closely. I am going to...

Jonathan21700 wrote:Yes, it's normal. It's called pleometrosis when several queens dig a nest and raise brood together. Some species live with many queens while some kill all but one (strongest one) when the workers are born.

Thanks for the info. Hmmm, I thought Lasius was monogynous. Are these not Lasius??

So I recorded some video of a Nuptial Flight (I believe Lasius) , and have a couple of questions:

Do queens normally cooperate in digging (as seen in the beginning of the video)?

Do only the queens break off their wings? Do the males just drop dead, wings and all after mating?

My vid:

I think it actually might be Formica. But I'm new, don't take my word for it!

Fascinating read, thanks for posting

So this happened this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxHjix4G3ro I think it is Lasius Neoniger. The queens seem to be digging together. Is that common? That can't end well. Here's a queen removing her wings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_6RhoSn--c And more queens digging: https://www.yout...

Thanks for the responses. I definitely agree, a Formica species. I am tending towards fusca but could very well be cinerea.

The second queen has already taken off her wings (after a few hours)!!

Hopefully Images will show now:

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:

Hi! Brand new to this whole ant keeping business!! I've always been fascinated with insects and am excited to try this out. I've been doing a lot of research, reading and watching videos, to understand the process. I've spent the last few days out looking for queens and I think I have found two but ...