THIS is the ant content we've all been waiting for [ants; Arizona]

[rebeccmeister]

I was so happy I managed to get this footage yesterday. Getting this kind of footage is rare and valuable. A short playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3loTEVdiSN-qMm1G1EnyiZMvu8f98YD6

In previous years I've been way too busy to make this kind of recording, plus I didn't really have the technology together for it. So I should say, begrudgingly: thanks, smart-o-phone.

Comments

[altamira16]

I thought queens were special. This leads me to believe there are a lot of them.

[rebeccmeister]

Ah! But 99% of them die before getting a colony started. So they become special over time.

[twoeleven]

So, could you explain to the net.audience the significance of what we're seeing in the videos? What in particular makes it valuable?

[rebeccmeister]

Good questions! I should really make a slightly longer video to answer them, but I'm a bit tapped out at this very moment so I'll have to see what I can do when I'm better rested.

But for now - these swarms only form in specific locations at very specific times of the year. Some ant species reproduce on a relatively predictable schedule (true for many animal species). These ones, in contrast, only reproduce after it has rained more than an inch at their nesting site. The summer monsoon rains in Arizona are very patchy and unpredictable, so it's challenging to catch the ants in the act. Other leafcutter researchers and I have had to explain again and again what it takes to catch these queens, but the majority of people who ask us (seriously) for directions fail to follow through. So I am thinking that with these videos I can make a more extensive explainer about the biology of ant mating swarms so more people can appreciate what it's like to encounter them.

(of course, people who actually live in the Catalina Foothills would have a very easy time getting queens...if they wanted to!)

[twoeleven]

Aha! I'm used to whatever ant species we have Back East, and they swarm reliably every spring. So the more detailed data on where/when those ants do their thing is the valuable part. Got it.

[mallorys_camera]

Huh! So ant queens play a different role from bee queens.

That is interesting. The use of the word "queen" led me to believe the social organization would be similar—although, of course, they are such very, very different creatures, why whould they be?

[rebeccmeister]

Oh yes - actually, the way I would put it is that this species reproduces very differently from honey bees. There ARE ant species that reproduce in a similar fashion to honey bees (army ants, for instance), just as there are other bee species that use other reproductive tactics. So collectively, there's a ton of diversity in social organization across different social insect species.

[annikusrex]

Thanks for the videos! Very cool.

[myka]

:-o