39 replies to this topic

[XZero38]

So i caught this queen when i was out looking around for Pogonomyrmex queens. I caught her 7/2/16 or 7/3/16 either way I've had her for almost two weeks. I don't really like checking on her very much cause she kinda freaks out and starts messing with her eggs. In the pictures you can see a small batch up eggs by her.

So far she seems to be doing well. I'm hoping that she is strong enough to found a colony. These ants are very interesting to me as far as their behavior.

I found a colony not to far from where i caught her and they are very fast and pretty timid ants but they set up little sentry's and they are very long legged ants.

Edited by XZero38, August 24 2016 - 5:31 AM.

[sgheaton]

That's a cool looking ant! I haven't seen anything like that around here yet. Or if I have, I had no clue. I'm telling myself I'm going to find a Pogonomyrmex queen this weekend....Though I doubt I'll see this one. Heck, I'll take whatever ANT queen I do find. Nice find. She should now be your one special baby.

[XZero38]

So i got one of the new THA atom C founding chambers for her and moved her in a week or two ago and i checked on her last night and she has two separate piles right now. One is a pile of 7-8 pupae and then she puts all of her eggs towards the ceiling of the chamber. Ill have to post pictures later but she is still doing well, I'm not sure how long it takes this species to go from egg to worker but I'm hoping only a couple more weeks. I'm very excited about this queen.

[XZero38]

So its been about a month since I've updated this journal so here are some pictures.

As you can see she now has workers!

As of the morning of this posting she had 6 workers one of which was still light in color.

 

The atom is already attached to a small outworld for when they want to venture out.

Its kinda funny cause right after i attached the tube to the founding chamber the workers started piling up what sand they could in the tube to block/make the entrance smaller.

[Saftron]

This pisses me off because I want myrmecocystus so bad!!!!!

[AntsTexas]

So i caught this queen when i was out looking around for Pogonomyrmex queens. I caught her 7/2/16 or 7/3/16 either way I've had her for almost two weeks. I don't really like checking on her very much cause she kinda freaks out and starts messing with her eggs. In the pictures you can see a small batch up eggs by her.

 

 

So far she seems to be doing well. I'm hoping that she is strong enough to found a colony. These ants are very interesting to me as far as their behavior.

I found a colony not to far from where i caught her and they are very fast and pretty timid ants but they set up little sentry's and they are very long legged ants.

lol, cool....  that's how i found my 2 honey pot queens

[XZero38]

Took these last night after i added water to the tank in the THA atom c i have them in.

 

They always move everything into the tube when i add water so I'm guessing i keep adding to much.

You can see on the far right how one is posted up and guarding the entrance from the outworld while the rest clean the brood.

The queen didn't care about the moisture so much and she just stayed in the atom.

[sgheaton]

How do you add water?

[Saftron]

The tarheel ants formicaria are 100% mold resistant and very water absorbing, just stick a syringe with water onto the nest and you're done

[XZero38]

In the atom C there is actually a water tank and you can fill it from the outside of it.

[XZero38]

So this colony has been doing very well and I'm pretty happy about that since they seem to be a slightly more difficult species to keep.

This colony loves their sweets, i can't give them protein and anything sweet at the same time cause they will ignore the protein source.

Currently they are setup in a Tar Heel Ants Atom C and have 20-30 workers, I havent actually taken the time to try and count. The last time i counted which was 3-4 weeks ago there were a total of 16 workers and quite a few more workers have eclosed since then including one that is quite larger then the rest of the workers, she usually stays in the nest but when there is word about some sunburst being outside she runs out there to fill up.

I apologize about the terrible angles but the lighting in the room was pretty bad so i was doing what i could to get some decent pictures.

[Solenoqueen]

Nice find, mate! What formicarium do you plan on using afterwards?

[XZero38]

Nice find, mate! What formicarium do you plan on using afterwards?

Actually once i hibernate all my colonies for the winter i will start doing a bit of experimenting cause i am looking to build my own expandable nest for them. First i will have to experiment with what i am going to make the nest out of.

[Superant33]

Make sure your formicarium has sand or another type of substrate. Without sand (any dirt), they have have naked pupae. And I have observed one of my honey pot colonies (M. mimicus) tear the naked pupae apart and consume them. I need to move them. This colony is in a slow decline.

[XZero38]

This colony is currently in hibernation and i will post pictures when i bring them out of it.

 

From my guess i think this colony has around 30-40 workers and quite a bit of them are larger then the rest.

I need to get a formicarium built for them so i can move them after i bring them out of hibernation either at the end of this month or early next.

Pictures will follow when they are brought out.

[FSTP]

very cool journal. Where did you find her? We're coming up on almost a year since you've found her, great job on caring for the colony. 

 

 

I just built a small early founding stage formicarium for a Myrmecocystus if I happen to find one in the coming months. You can see it in my formicaiurm build journal, if you're interested.

[XZero38]

I actually found her out here in colorado when i was hunting for Pogonomyrmex Occ queens. I've only seen one other mimicus queen, but i didn't have anything to catch her in as i was out playing airsoft at the time.

I saw your builds for them that is what i have in mind for the formicarium i want to build them.

Edited by XZero38, January 3 2017 - 2:13 PM.

[Leo]

update?

[gcsnelling]

I actually found her out here in colorado when i was hunting for Pogonomyrmex Occ queens. I've only seen one other mimicus queen, but i didn't have anything to catch her in as i was out playing airsoft at the time.

I saw your builds for them that is what i have in mind for the formicarium i want to build them.

Pogonomyrmex Occ??

[CrazyLegs]

So this colony has been doing very well and I'm pretty happy about that since they seem to be a slightly more difficult species to keep.

This colony loves their sweets, i can't give them protein and anything sweet at the same time cause they will ignore the protein source.

Currently they are setup in a Tar Heel Ants Atom C and have 20-30 workers, I havent actually taken the time to try and count. The last time i counted which was 3-4 weeks ago there were a total of 16 workers and quite a few more workers have eclosed since then including one that is quite larger then the rest of the workers, she usually stays in the nest but when there is word about some sunburst being outside she runs out there to fill up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I apologize about the terrible angles but the lighting in the room was pretty bad so i was doing what i could to get some decent pictures.

Great job.

I know most ants are light sensitive, but to get a clear shot with detail, light is an absolute must.

Starting from a foundress queen has an advantage in my opinion because you can slowly adjust the new queen to occasional disturbances.

I use a mobile phone for all my pics and it will focus much easier if there is plenty of light on the subject.

I do have a conspiracy theory that mobile phone cameras deteriorate with age as my partners new phone takes much clearer pics than my old one.

If I look back through my pics the earliest ones are clearer, maybe the lens just gets a little scuffed over time or something I don't know.

There is also a sweet spot distance away for a crystal clear shot. Just crop it later to enlarge it.

I try to keep the whole photo session as brief as possible by getting everything ready before bringing the test tube out of the dark.

The red backdrop is perfect for making the eggs and things visible but a little more light is still needed.

Looking forward to more posts.