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Pheidole Pallidula Queen/Princess I wasn't quite sure what was going on here. It looked like this colony had moved due to nest disruption. I spotted this Queen wandering about with the colony. The reason behind me thinking that she may not be the queen is the fact she still has wings (or 1 and a half wings!). Usually the queen will shed her wings once she has been impregnated and landed in preparation to start digging her new nest. As you can see, this one does have her wings still. Further pictures show the workers chewing at the wings, presumably to get her into the new nest (a crack in the path). Ants,Geotagged,Greece,Pheidole pallidula,Summer,queen Click/tap to enlarge

Pheidole Pallidula Queen/Princess

I wasn't quite sure what was going on here. It looked like this colony had moved due to nest disruption. I spotted this Queen wandering about with the colony. The reason behind me thinking that she may not be the queen is the fact she still has wings (or 1 and a half wings!). Usually the queen will shed her wings once she has been impregnated and landed in preparation to start digging her new nest. As you can see, this one does have her wings still. Further pictures show the workers chewing at the wings, presumably to get her into the new nest (a crack in the path).

    comments (2)

  1. Interesting to see workers chewing the wing, kind of saying, stay here queen! Posted 10 years ago
    1. Yeah - she wouldn't fly off anyway but the wings would just be a hindrance in the nest. If this is a princess who isn't going to be founding her own colony, despite her "Royal" status, she will just be another worker and get no preferential treatment from her sisters. She will do all the normal chores associated with been an ant :) Posted 10 years ago

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''Pheidole pallidula'' is a species of ants in the genus ''Pheidole''. It is widespread around the Mediterranean.

Species identified by Stuart
View Stuart's profile

By Stuart

All rights reserved
Uploaded Jul 22, 2015. Captured Jul 20, 2015 07:31 in Eparchiaki Odos Magouladon-Afiona, Arillas Magouladon 490 81, Greece.
  • Canon EOS 600D
  • f/10.0
  • 1/256s
  • ISO100
  • 55mm