Big-headed ants (Pheidole pallidula)
Pheidole pallidula · Pheidole
Big-headed ants (Pheidole pallidula). Recorded flying in two windows: January through February and December. Dark reddish brown head, reddish brown mesosoma, dark brown gaster. Winged alate with a tall, robust mesosoma, distinct from the slender wingless workers. Recorded near 2 of the 198 locations Dealate tracks.
When do big-headed ants fly?
Recorded flying in two windows: January through February and December.
Flight calendar
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
An estimate for this genus in this region, not species-specific published research.
Queen appearance
Dark reddish brown head, reddish brown mesosoma, dark brown gaster. Winged alate with a tall, robust mesosoma, distinct from the slender wingless workers.
darts in short, quick bursts and hides under litter like other Pheidole
How to catch a queen ant →Founding care
Fully claustral: seal her in a test tube setup, somewhere dark and undisturbed. She raises the first brood on her own wing muscles and needs no food or opening until the first workers appear.
No winter diapause needed.
Diet: Omnivorous (sugar water, honey, insects, meat, seeds nuts etc.)
Beginner · Queen ~7-8 mm
Read more on AntWiki →Care data from antkeeping.info (CC BY 4.0).
Habitat
Soil · also under stones · typical for this genus
After a flight, watch bare or grassy ground for wingless queens. Scan stony ground, paths and kerbs for searching queens.
More Pheidole species
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