Rhytidoponera SP.
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 6:53 pm
Hey guys, so as an Australian I've always wanted to catch myself a "green headed ant queen" which is the nickname for Rhytidoponera, the issue with catching a Rhytidoponera queen, is the fact that they almost always Gamergate!
The little research available seems to point towards the fact that Rhytidoponera are experiencing an evolutionary stage, where they are developing the ability for workers to be fertilised and create colonies, this ability has led to queens rarely being born, and thus most wild colonies have a gamergate queen!
This makes it difficult to catch a fertilised queen or worker, as queens are extremely rare, and workers don't have any distinict features separating a normal worker and a gamergating worker.
However with a bit of self-research and web-surfing... I've managed to find a (reasonably) accurate nuptial flight schedule! I'm pretty sure not many Australians know the specific flight times, so I think this is pretty handy.
Rhytidoponera fly between September and November, with peaks in september, be sure to be on the lookout as there are reports of flights as early as August, and as late as December.
Reported flights are as follow:
18/9/2012
19/9/16
2/9/2015
9/9/14
8/10/16
21/9/16
03/04/2009
25/10/15
23/10/09
Hope this is helpful and not too boring to read,
The little research available seems to point towards the fact that Rhytidoponera are experiencing an evolutionary stage, where they are developing the ability for workers to be fertilised and create colonies, this ability has led to queens rarely being born, and thus most wild colonies have a gamergate queen!
This makes it difficult to catch a fertilised queen or worker, as queens are extremely rare, and workers don't have any distinict features separating a normal worker and a gamergating worker.
However with a bit of self-research and web-surfing... I've managed to find a (reasonably) accurate nuptial flight schedule! I'm pretty sure not many Australians know the specific flight times, so I think this is pretty handy.
Rhytidoponera fly between September and November, with peaks in september, be sure to be on the lookout as there are reports of flights as early as August, and as late as December.
Reported flights are as follow:
18/9/2012
19/9/16
2/9/2015
9/9/14
8/10/16
21/9/16
03/04/2009
25/10/15
23/10/09
Hope this is helpful and not too boring to read,