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Offline nepenthes

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Parasitic ant's!
« on: December 09, 2006, 10:26:54 pm »
Some of you don't really care probably and are like What the heck ants?

WELL I have found something quite amazing, and it makes me REALLY happy as a myrmophile! (ant enthusiast)

My small first year colony of A. fulva has been destroyed by a parasitic queen. Called A. tenneseensis! This is not the only social parasite you will see pertaining to ants but its a lesser known one. That aside It doesn't happen often in a "lab" (if you could really call my basement in a plastic tray on a flimsy table a lab). This colony has done OVERLY poor as I didn't expect much to happen especially in the last month or so, so the colony lost a few workers, and then I haven't fed them for the past week week and a half... so hopefully theirs some brood to keep the colony numbers up. EITHER way, their is some brood, their is a new queen who destroyed the other.





Some poor quality pictures but its some evidence none the less!

Hope you enjoy this!  :woot: Ask ANY Questions.
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2006, 12:12:23 pm »
nepenthes.  I am kniave to ants, but love to watch them out in my yard.  I have three species I think.  Tiny, tiny little ones, very small, ones that have a black and red body and then the plain black ones, oh ya, there is a fourth, a very large black ant, sometimes I see with wings flying.  They are neat to watch.  I do not now what a parasitic queen is.  Define.  In the picture I see the insect that is big and bulby looking.  Is that the parasitic queen?  Or, what is it?  What does it do, how does it get in the colony.  Don't need a huge definition, just some basics.  How do you keep your ants, are they in a aquarium type apparatus or what.  You have a great day. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline mick

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2006, 02:41:43 am »
ANTS! how many you want!!

Interesting pics, Is the blob an ant?

Our Bullants are one of the things in the bush that really hurt when they bite you, like a red hot poker as the saying goes. Interestingly the sap from the bracken fern relieves the pain instantly. A bit of Aboriginal medicine for ya.

This is the reason they hurt so much. Have you seen jaws like that before on anything but a crocodile?

Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2006, 09:42:23 am »
Mick, what the hell on earth is that thing?  I don't think that I have ever seen anything so ugly.  Do you have another picture of it?  Guess I could google it.  I probably will.  But tell you experience of this ugly, ugly thing.  If those are the mandibles of this great insect (I presume it's an insect of some sort), I would surely think that it would give a whollop of a bite.  Tell the story around it Mick.  Great day. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2006, 10:42:52 pm »
OK I will protest. How does  "Parasitic ant's!"  have anything to do with
"GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM"  :?  :?
:rainbowflower:  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.   :rainbowflower:

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Offline beemaster

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2006, 11:13:14 pm »
Well Jerry:

You find a better place, I'll move them. Until then, The ADMIN GUY says this will have to do. Hope that satisfies your quirey. Sincerely and happy freakin' Holidays - love always Beemaztah  :evil:
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Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2006, 11:18:17 pm »
 :-D
:rainbowflower:  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.   :rainbowflower:

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Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2006, 11:38:35 pm »
OK I will protest. How does  "Parasitic ant's!"  have anything to do with
"GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM"  :?  :?

Jerry, I honestly think that we just get lost in our thoughts and the posts.  Will try to help to keep the post forums cleaner of irrelevant posts in each of the forums.  It just happens.  Sorry, this was not an intentional thing by anyone I'm sure.  Don't worry, it will be OK.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #8 on: December 18, 2006, 11:45:14 pm »
No Cindi I was bugging the Beemaster about moving this from the coffee house to this forum about bees when it has nothing to do with bees.

Just messing with him.
:rainbowflower:  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.   :rainbowflower:

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Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2006, 11:51:15 pm »
Ha Jerry, no wonder he told you to have a nice freakin' Christmas.  You must be good comrades, awesome, he sounds like a fantastical man.  Great day. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline beemaster

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2006, 12:32:19 am »
Cindi:

Jerry and I are at the opposite ends of a "see-saw", somehow we balance out best with each other when we both push and pull in opposite directions. We live in a "agree to disagree" world where man can always be civil, even at the price of an occational jab with a stick :)

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Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2006, 12:34:47 am »
Good relationship, gotta love it.  Chao for tonight.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline mick

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2006, 04:01:34 am »
That my dear, was a close up of a Bullant. You usually smell em 1 second before they bite you.

Offline Geoff

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2006, 05:14:57 am »
         Cindi :
                Well I am the bloke who sits on the pivot of the SEE-Saw. Of all the posts on the forum about Noesema, Foul Brood and all those things ants are my greatest annoyance and all I need to know is how to keep them away from my hives.
                By the way Mick a Jack-Jump bite is worse than a bullants. They are a lot smaller but the after effects are far worse.
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2006, 10:32:51 am »
 Well I am the bloke who sits on the pivot of the SEE-Saw. Of all the posts on the forum about Noesema, Foul Brood and all those things ants are my greatest annoyance and all I need to know is how to keep them away from my hives.
By the way Mick a Jack-Jump bite is worse than a bullants. They are a lot smaller but the after effects are far worse.

Mick and Geoff, OK you both are driving me nuts with these hideous insects.  When I have a chance later on I am heading off on the net to look up both these insects.  I have an pretty strong interest in this area too.  What I can't get over is what you said Mick about the bullants.  That you can SMELL them just before they bite you.  Yick!!!  Do you have a chance to move away really fast before they inflict their pain?

So Geoff, what are the after effects of the Jump-jack?  Curiosity never got this cat yet.

About the ants and your hives.  I think that there would be some good advice coming your way from the forum.  Can you get hold of some ant traps?  They are little flat circular containers that the ants go into, but don't come out of?  I use them, just in case.  Don't have any problems.
Another thing I saw in a book was:  if the hives were on "leg" stands, the legs were placed in a little container with some kind of oil, I would imagine cooking oil would be the environmentally safe.  The ants would have to be able to figure out how to crawl over the oil to get up, and that's not likely.  I am sure that there are many ways.

In all my years of gardening around our farm and other places that I have lived, I have not had the wonderful experience of being bitten by anything.  In our area there is probably lots of "bad" bugs that can do harm, like tics, for sure, but I haven't encountered them.

The worst that has happened to me is when I am working outside, those darn stink beetles will sometimes crawl up inside my jeans around my ankles and tickle my legs as they are crawling up.  They are black and really do stink if you touch them, they are large, about 1 inch long.  This does freak me out every time, it is eery.  I am sure quite often someone around here sees me jump up and jump up and down trying to dislodge this little pest from my leg.  I guess they see the darkness the open bottom of the pant leg and think it would be a dark place to hide it and crawl in.  They have rough little feet, like so many insects and you can feel them pricking your skin as they crawl.   I don't think that they bite though.  Yikes!!!  It freaks me out just thinking about it.  Talk about ants in your pants!!!!  We have another bug that is annoying, it is the stink bug itself.  It likes to be in the raspberries, I don't think it harms anything, just stinks.  You can smell it when you go near it.  Stinky stink bug.

Rambling, yup, I can do that.  Good luck with your Australian buggers.  Great day.  Cindi.
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Robo

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #15 on: December 19, 2006, 10:52:59 am »
Well Jerry:

You find a better place, I'll move them. Until then, The ADMIN GUY says this will have to do. Hope that satisfies your quirey. Sincerely and happy freakin' Holidays - love always Beemaztah  :evil:

How about Farming and Country Life?  :?   It is an ant farm  :-D
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Offline nepenthes

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #16 on: December 19, 2006, 09:17:28 pm »
 :-D

OK, that ant is Myrmecia sp's
http://myrmecos.net/ants/myrmecia.html

My favorite of them all! I would really love a couple specimen to be soaked in alcohol, but I know how aggressive they are and that wouldn't be fun! I would love to one day have a colony, hopefully going to collage for entomology or something might grant that possible!

Jack jumpers and bull ants, all the same thing, they just are different species in the same genera!

all I really know about them is small colony numbers, very primitive ant, beautiful coloration, beautiful mandibles... just an awesome ant all around... I guess I'm weirder than you guys!

and mick, trust me thats not the worst of it, theirs a species of ant called the trap jaw ants. Think of this ant with more defined muscular head, and when they slam their jaws shut it can throw them! they can slam their jaws shut in milliseconds as well, but they aren't as mean as those buggers!

And in Africa theirs a species of ant commonly  called driver ants, that people have been attacked by cause they fell into the huge foraging lines, and these ants... are blind and colony's in the Millions! much like Army ants of South America only bigger and badder!

But Ants in Australia are my favorite.. you guys are so lucky!
Like this species!
http://www.myrmecos.net/ants/rhytidoponera.html
which are so primitive they even have the dominate female worker become the main reproductive in some species in this genera!

and this one!
http://myrmecos.net/ants/leptomyrmex.html

ooo and this one!
http://myrmecos.net/formicinae/oecophylla.html
well theirs a species of this ant in Australia... I wanna go down their and collect specimens! *drool*

so cool I love you're country!
"I have never wished to cater to the crowd, for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know." - Epicurus.

Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #17 on: December 19, 2006, 11:12:56 pm »
That my dear, was a close up of a Bullant. You usually smell em 1 second before they bite you.

this may sound like a stupid question Mick.  But are those two ants back to back or one ant with an extremely long thorax?  It is not overly clear coming through on my screen and I cannot see what the heck it really looks like.  Great day. Cindi

OK Mick, forget the question. I just looked at several sites the nepenthes put in a post, and I see wonderful ants, and that the ant picture you posted was a single ant, with an extremely LONG body.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Cindi

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #18 on: December 19, 2006, 11:18:41 pm »
nepenthes, I am beyond amazed at your knowledge of the ant kingdom.  Gonna look at all the sites that you put in your post, but first I wanted to praise you on your wonderful interest/knowledge of ants.  Great day. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline nepenthes

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Re: Parasitic ant's!
« Reply #19 on: December 20, 2006, 12:33:21 am »
I think thats almost an inch and a half? and about 4 Cm's metric!  :-D

Ive been taking interested in entemology, even if that means having to look into extermination, but I could allways edify people while im doing it and share the importance, of Say Ants and Spiders are to the Wrold, other wise biomass would take over!  :shock:
"I have never wished to cater to the crowd, for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know." - Epicurus.

 

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