South African Ant Queen(s) - Need help identifying

Help with identifying the species your ants

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Salkio

Re: South African Ant Queen(s) - Need help identifying

Post: # 22784Post Salkio
Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:01 am

Batspiderfish wrote:
Sat Jun 10, 2017 4:34 pm
If you catch queens from an established colony (which should be avoided), you need the workers too! Also, it's likely that a number of the queens you captured were un-mated and will only produce lazy males.
Some of the queens i took had wings and i also captured some of the queens which looked really fat and had no wings.

123LordOfAnts123
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat May 20, 2017 8:12 pm
Location: Orlando, Florida

Re: South African Ant Queen(s) - Need help identifying

Post: # 22785Post 123LordOfAnts123
Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:35 am

Pheidole megacephala, most likely.

Salkio

Re: South African Ant Queen(s) - Need help identifying

Post: # 22788Post Salkio
Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:13 am

123LordOfAnts123 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:35 am
Pheidole megacephala, most likely.
Do you know anything about them? Someone said they have to have workers if i took them from a colony which i did....
They have laid eggs but only small ones

123LordOfAnts123
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat May 20, 2017 8:12 pm
Location: Orlando, Florida

Re: South African Ant Queen(s) - Need help identifying

Post: # 22843Post 123LordOfAnts123
Sun Jun 11, 2017 10:34 pm

Salkio wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:13 am
123LordOfAnts123 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:35 am
Pheidole megacephala, most likely.
Do you know anything about them? Someone said they have to have workers if i took them from a colony which i did....
They have laid eggs but only small ones

They're a well studied highly notorious tramp species. South Africa is just one of their strongholds.

The rule that you must collect workers when capturing queen(s) from colonies past the founding stage is universal. Queens of few species will revert back to caring for brood once they're had workers, and this is already a species that in many populations never flies. Meaning queens may never care for brood at any point in their life.

Luckily for you, Pheidole megacephala isn't an extinction causing pest for no reason, and workers from different populations show zero animosity towards one another. Just collect a few hundred and toss them in with the queens.

Salkio

Re: South African Ant Queen(s) - Need help identifying

Post: # 22862Post Salkio
Mon Jun 12, 2017 4:26 am

123LordOfAnts123 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2017 10:34 pm
Salkio wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:13 am
123LordOfAnts123 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:35 am
Pheidole megacephala, most likely.
Do you know anything about them? Someone said they have to have workers if i took them from a colony which i did....
They have laid eggs but only small ones

They're a well studied highly notorious tramp species. South Africa is just one of their strongholds.

The rule that you must collect workers when capturing queen(s) from colonies past the founding stage is universal. Queens of few species will revert back to caring for brood once they're had workers, and this is already a species that in many populations never flies. Meaning queens may never care for brood at any point in their life.

Luckily for you, Pheidole megacephala isn't an extinction causing pest for no reason, and workers from different populations show zero animosity towards one another. Just collect a few hundred and toss them in with the queens.
Thats great! Thanks so much for this information i will gather up some workers for them!

Darkotylor

Re: South African Ant Queen(s) - Need help identifying

Post: # 32024Post Darkotylor
Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:23 am

Hi Salkio,

Check out the facebook group "Ant Keepers of Southern Africa". We trying to grow the Southern African community so can share info and trade queens and so on.

Would be cool to have you on the group. :D

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2039165259644794/

Nice youtube channel by the way :)

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