Tetramorium Nuptial Flight [HD]
Summary
TLDRIn this early morning video, the narrator encounters a tetramorium swarm, possibly a nuptial flight, where ants are seen flying and mating. The script discusses the identification of male and queen elates, the invasive nature of the tetramorium species, and the narrator's attempt to capture mated queens. It also highlights the opportunistic behavior of predatory insects like wasps taking advantage of the swarm. The video ends with the narrator's plan to continue searching for suitable queen ants in the coming days.
Takeaways
- 🌞 The video was recorded early in the morning, around 5:45 a.m., showcasing a Tetramorium (ant) swarm.
- 🐜 The swarm is described as a nuptial flight, indicating a mating event rather than a war between colonies.
- 🔍 The narrator observes several dead ants, identifying them as queens based on their appearance.
- 🎉 The narrator expresses surprise at the early morning flight time of the ants, highlighting the unexpected nature of their activity.
- 🐝 The ants are seen grasping onto other ants, initially thought to be dead ones, but later clarified as a misunderstanding.
- 🏆 A Tetramorium contest is mentioned, encouraging viewers to participate in growing a Tetramorium colony for a chance to win a free PMus nest.
- 👦 The narrator identifies a male ant by its wasp-like appearance and small head, providing a visual guide for viewers.
- 🏡 The ants are discovered to be living in the narrator's surroundings, emerging from openings in the brick.
- 👀 The narrator plans to search for mated queen ants, indicating that the search is part of a larger project or hobby.
- 📍 The narrator finds two queens and notes that they are chewing off their wings, suggesting they have mated and are preparing to start new colonies.
- 🌳 The narrator discusses the invasive nature of the Tetramorium species, originally from Asia but now widespread in North America.
Q & A
What is happening at the beginning of the video?
-A tetramorium swarm is taking place, which is an event where ants from a colony engage in activities such as nuptial flights and sometimes fights.
What is a nuptial flight in the context of ants?
-A nuptial flight is a reproductive event where winged ants, typically males and queens, fly to mate. It is a critical part of their life cycle.
What are the ants doing in the video that suggests a nuptial flight rather than a war?
-The ants are seen flying and surrounding what appears to be a queen ant, which is typical behavior during a nuptial flight rather than a war.
Why does the narrator believe some ants are dead?
-The narrator observes ants that appear to be unmoving and not participating in the swarming activity, leading to the conclusion that they might be dead.
What is the significance of the tetramorium contest mentioned in the video?
-The tetramorium contest is an event where participants aim to grow a tetramorium colony. The winner receives a free pumus nest.
What are the physical characteristics that help identify a male ant in the video?
-Males are described as looking more wasp-like, particularly with a very small head, which is a key distinguishing feature.
What is the narrator's strategy for finding mated queen ants?
-The narrator plans to walk around slowly, keeping an eye on the ground, looking for mated queen ants that might be wandering in search of a suitable nesting site.
Why are the ants described as an invasive species in North America?
-The tetramorium ants are native to Asia and were introduced to North America, making them an invasive species in this region.
What is the role of predatory insects like wasps during ant nuptial flights?
-Predatory insects, such as wasps, often take advantage of the nuptial flights as a feeding opportunity, as many ants are vulnerable during this time.
What action does the narrator take after finding potential queen ants?
-The narrator bottles up the queen ants he finds, presumably to keep them for observation or to participate in the tetramorium contest.
Outlines
🐜 Tetramorium Nuptial Flight
The speaker begins by noting the early morning time and the occurrence of a Tetramorium nuptial flight, which is a swarm of ants typically associated with mating. They describe the presence of elates (winged ants) and the possibility of a queen being present. The speaker also mentions the Tetramorium contest on the ANS Canada website, where participants can win a free PMus nest. The focus is on identifying male ants by their wasp-like appearance and small heads, and the speaker expresses surprise at the ants' early morning activity. The narrative includes an attempt to locate mated queen elates and a discussion about the ants' emergence from the brick openings.
🌳 Searching for Mated Queen Elates
The speaker continues their search for mated queen elates, discussing the timing of their flight which can occur from May through July. They mention that queens can fly far from their origin and describe their methodical search, keeping an eye on the ground. The speaker also observes dead male elates and notes their small, wasp-like heads. They discuss the Tetramorium species being invasive in North America, originally from Asia, and their common name 'pavement ants.' The narrative includes interactions with other insects like wasps, which are also attracted to the flying ants. The speaker concludes by mentioning the discovery of two queens and their efforts to collect them, as well as their intention to continue searching for queen elates in the coming days.
🔍 Continuous Monitoring for Tetramorium Queens
The speaker wraps up their search for the day, noting that they have not found any queens yet. They discuss the behavior of Tetramorium ants, particularly the queens, who wander in search of a suitable nesting site after their nuptial flight. The speaker plans to keep an eye out for queens in the coming days and mentions the importance of having snap cap vials or test tubes with cotton on hand for capturing them. They emphasize the unpredictability of encountering queens and the usefulness of being prepared with collection tools throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Tetramorium Swarm
💡Nuptial Flight
💡Elates
💡Queen
💡Males
💡Invasive Species
💡Pavement Ants
💡Predatory Insects
💡Mating
💡Snap Cap Vials
💡Colony Growth
Highlights
Observation of a Tetramorium swarm at 5:45 a.m. on a Wednesday morning.
Discussion of Tetramorium nuptial flight where queens and males mate in the air.
Males appear to be dead, likely having fulfilled their life purpose after mating.
Males have a wasp-like appearance with a very small head.
Tetramorium ants emerging from brick openings, indicating their presence in the area.
Mention of the Tetramorium contest on the ANS Canada website with a prize of a free formicarium.
The Tetramorium species is invasive, native to Asia but now widespread in North America.
Predatory insects like wasps take advantage of the nuptial flight as a feast.
The speaker found two queen ants, possibly mated, and bottled them for observation.
Unmated queens can be identified by their wing-chewing behavior.
Queens wander in search of a suitable nesting site after mating.
Use of snap cap vials or test tubes with cotton as tools for capturing queen ants.
The importance of always having collection tools on hand during spring, summer, and fall for unexpected ant encounters.
The speaker plans to continue searching for Tetramorium queens in the coming days.
Tetramorium species are also known as pavement ants.
Observation of Tetramorium ants eating apple, indicating their preference for certain food sources.
Transcripts
hello everybody it's about 5:45
a.m.
and what we have
here on this crisp Wednesday
morning
is a tet
morium swarm
now sometimes when tetramorium swarm
it's a uh it's a tetr morium war where
two unrelated colonies meet and they
fight but it doesn't look
like it's a
war but I do
believe that it's a nuptial
flight now I see elates
here see right
there they seem to be Sur rounding
elates but see look this elate looks
dead and I do believe that's a
queen there's another one right
there ah there's another one up
there just everywhere here
[Music]
I had no
idea that they fly this early in the
morning but to me it seems
[Applause]
like they're grasping
on to some of the
elates I'm not sure
why
see like right there
that this here
is oh this one's
stuck okay so that's a dead
one never mind they're not grasping on
to dead ones they're not grasping on to
the Els they're just
that's just a dead
one there's another Dead one
there see they're
everywhere
unbelievable the torium are
flying
now if you guys haven't heard of the
awesome tetramorium
contest that's going
on you need
to
visit the ANS Canada website and go to
the museum
section where we talk about uh a contest
on winning a free pmus
Nest premise of simple you have a
year to grow a tetramorium colony as big
as you
can see that that's a
male you can tell this one here is a
male
because it looks more wasp likee the
thing that gives it away the most is the
head look at the head of this one really
really tiny head see if we can get any
close really small head they seem to be
coming from openings here in the
brick had no idea they were living
around here unbelievable so now that I
know that they're flying this
morning what I'm going to do
is I'm going to try to scope the area
for females for Queen
elates now I'm here trying to look
for mated Queen
elates just kind of walking
around trying to
find some Queen I know what they look
like because uh caught one last
year not this early in the year though
which is pretty
cool um I caught uh my queen in July or
August but uh I know they begin flying
in
May throughout June and
July now
uh a lot of the times the Queens can fly
pretty far
from the uh point of
origin so I'm just going to walk
around
slowly keeping my eyes to the
ground
hey penol
lepus in
Paris where's your
queen I missed their flight this year
have a look at these dead male
elates chances
are these guys made
it and after fulfilling their life
purpose they've now
coked
now see
how their head is Tiny they look more
wasp likee
they got a really really tiny
head here's some more
tetramorium
but
they're swarming for a different reason
here they're
eating come out from under
here
sorry seems like they love
Apple so a few facts about tetramorium
kpum species
e they're actually an invasive
species
introduced
um to North America they're native to
Asia
and they're pretty much everywhere in
North America little scarce in some
parts but uh they can be found pretty
much
anywhere also known as pavement
ants looks like we've got
a wasp
here oops scoping me
out
and a wasp
is trying its best to locate some
elates a lot of times when ants fly when
the elates fly it's a A
Feast for predatory insects and
animals it looks like this wasp
knows that the ants were flying
today
now I managed to find two
queens and it seemed like they were
chewing off their
wings
um found them
wandering just around
here don't know if they've been
mated but I bottled them up just in case
now if I find them walking around here
if I find Queen elates walking around
here like there's a queen right there
um chances are she's not
mated
so there would be no point
in trying to
uh bottle her up all right well I've
been looking around for the past half an
hour and I can't seem to find any
Queens so
um going to kind of end my search
now campus
pensylvanicus
um and another camp on
us uh but over the next little while
over the next few days I'm going to keep
my eye open because you know the Queens
wander around in search of a suitable
nesting
site and
uh at which point I'll bottle her
up you know if they were flying here
chances are the tetramorium were flying
somewhere else so I'll just keep my eye
open everywhere I go no matter where I
go and of course I always will have some
snap cap vials with me or test tubes
with cotton the snapc cap vials are
probably the
safer item to have in a
pocket um of course our store sells both
very very handy to have with
you
um throughout spring summer and fall cuz
you just never know when you'll run into
a
queen you'll never
know
Ver Más Videos Relacionados
How to Collect and Store Queen Ants During Nuptial Flight Season - AntsCanada Tutorial #5
How To Identify a Queen Ant
Catching So Many Queen Ants
When to Catch Queen Ants: Nuptial Flight Schedules | AntsCanada Tutorial #36
How to catch Queen Ants INDOOR | plus 4 weeks Update
Outworld Antventure | D colony
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)