Ant Journal | Solenopsis Molesta (Thief Ants)
Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:32 pm
Hi,
About a month ago, there was a huge nuptial flight with many species. I managed to catch 13 Solenopsis Molesta queens and turns out they're polygynous. I decided to leave a honey-soaked cotton ball during this entire process, and it seemed to speed things up. It took them about 3 days to lay their first batch of eggs, but it was worth it. They laid a huge batch of eggs. I'd estimate around 40 - 60. They all hatched after about a week and stayed in the larvae stage for an additional 2. Unfortunately, they killed the weakest queen and fed it to their larvae.
Since Friday (Oct 27th), workers have been enclosing at a steady rate, and I'd say they have around 10 workers. So far I've noticed:
- The nanitics are TINY.
- They like honey
- They aren't disturbed by light
- They're TINY.
The queens are only a couple mm's long, but the workers..! They're the size of the queen's antenna haha.
Anyway, any tips on this species would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.
About a month ago, there was a huge nuptial flight with many species. I managed to catch 13 Solenopsis Molesta queens and turns out they're polygynous. I decided to leave a honey-soaked cotton ball during this entire process, and it seemed to speed things up. It took them about 3 days to lay their first batch of eggs, but it was worth it. They laid a huge batch of eggs. I'd estimate around 40 - 60. They all hatched after about a week and stayed in the larvae stage for an additional 2. Unfortunately, they killed the weakest queen and fed it to their larvae.
Since Friday (Oct 27th), workers have been enclosing at a steady rate, and I'd say they have around 10 workers. So far I've noticed:
- The nanitics are TINY.
- They like honey
- They aren't disturbed by light
- They're TINY.
The queens are only a couple mm's long, but the workers..! They're the size of the queen's antenna haha.
Anyway, any tips on this species would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.