1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp. double trophallaxis, you can see the liquid flowing down

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

Well I have separated the legless Pheidole queen in the above post (at the bottom), along with a few brood on her side with a wet cotton bud into a new test tube.

At first she was sticking to the entrance side cotton, and moving the brood around placing them at even intervals from the entrance cotton to the middle of the test tube.

But this morning she is near the water side cotton, along with all the brood, which appear to be at pupa stage.

And she is curled over cleaning her gaster, so she is most likely going to be laying more eggs.

She has 7 pupae, enough to get her started

 

Well things were going well but eventually the moved queen hung out on the entrance side cotton wool yesterday.

This morning I check on her and she appears to be dead....

 

I think she hung out there because she knew she was sick and would die soon.

 

The same way nanitics do when they are about to die, they separate themselves from the colony.

Now I need to move these pupa back across to their original test tube

[CoolColJ]

Pic of my recently deceased red/black to maybe all black Pheidole queens.

To the casual eye, these all look like the same species , but as you can see the size ranges from 6mm to 8mm, and they are not the same colour patterns and shape.

The largest two live queens I have are closer to 9mm

 

click for larger

Edited by CoolColJ, April 22 2018 - 4:14 PM.

[CoolColJ]

I finally caught a Strobe ant nanitic in the act of eating a piece of raw macadamia.

Something I didn't expect

 

They are not easy to get close to take a photo, due to their good eye sight and timid nature.

 

click for bigger

[CoolColJ]

Got this giant of a Melophrous sp. queen over 12mm, compared to the 6mm one I have now

Damn I didn't think they came is such sizes, like Camponotus type size and chunkiness

 

[CoolColJ]

Big Dual Pheidole sp. queens - 24th April 2018
 
My largest dual Pheidole queen's first nanitic worker arrived today
 
One of the queens grabbed this nanitic with her jaws and carried her around for a bit, cute
The nanitic did not move for a while, one of her legs was stretched out against the test tube, but after the queen carried her, she was fine afterwards.
Still not that active yet.
 
These two queens are my largest Pheidole, 9mm, with chunky build and bigger gasters than the others.
The nanitic is barely 2mm if that
 
The rest of the pupae should eclose over the next few days by the look of it.
 
 
click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

24th April 2018

 

Camponotus humilior -

Damn, it looks like the humilior have eggs and some larvae all of a sudden?!
They had zero a few days ago, hell I didn't see any yesterday!

edit - not eggs or larve, but there is some white stuff on the test tube next to the water side cotton,

Could be mold, not sure

 

Strobe ant

 

There is one nanitic that seems to be guarding the entrance of the Atom C nest, which I have blocked up 90% of it with a cotton wool.

Even then they have added a bit more sand to it.

And I can see the guard peeking at me through the entrance crack  

 

I don't cover their nest much anymore, the light doesn't bother them. Only at night after dinner, so when I get up early in the morning, the light doesn't shock them

Edited by CoolColJ, April 24 2018 - 2:41 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Iridomyrmex reburrus?

 

I think the resin nest is a bit too wet, the red soil they packed on the entrance hole to make a tunnel is completely soaked all the time

And I noticed the two workers seem to hang out in the half filled 100mm water feeder plastic test tube I left in the outworld.

Perhaps the nest is just too wet for them

 

I'll make a new 100mm plastic test tube for them and see if they move in once the water in the resin/3-D printed nest dries out, which it probably will in a week or two.

Considering how much the nest tank holds, it sure dries out fast, and I think it just wicks too much water up.

 

I'll be trying out my idea of wetting some small pieces of cotton wool to form a small wall and passage hole, and then pushing one further into the test tube to form a small chamber for the queen and brood.

And another for the test tube entrance. Wetting them to make it easy to mold the shape, and once they dry the shape will stick

I think the ants will like this

 

And help prevent the panic I get with regular test tube setups when you drop in dead insects in or just outside the test tube

Since the queen and brood is separated etc

And reduce air flow, make ants feel more secure and so on

Edited by CoolColJ, April 25 2018 - 2:22 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Iridomyrmex bicknelli - 26th April 2018

 

Had a few new workers eclose, and got up to 11 two days ago.

Lost one escapee.

And then it seems 4 died overnight, most likely from just "old age"

 

I can see a lot of bodyparts on the left side of the test tube, as a couple of the remaining workers are munching on them

 

So down to 6 workers and a lot of brood.

One pupa close to eclosing.

These ants do develop fast, so I'm pretty carefree with them, almost foolproof.

 

----

 

I let one wild bicknelli worker I found in my bathroom into the test tube a few days ago.

What a wild chase inside the test tube, but the workers eventually killed it and fed on it

[CoolColJ]

I found another red Pheidole queen today... under a slab of concrete that last housed a Tetramorium bicarinatum colony, with tunnels and all, but I guess they got sick of me lifting it up and taking some of their larvae, and it appears abandoned

(if only all my ants would change their test tubes this easily)...

 

Anyway this queen appears to be a different species to my other non laying red queen. She has light red head, and dark red body, about 6-7mm.

If she starts laying, and other red one doesn't, I'll be releasing her

 

 

My other non laying one for comparison

 

 

I'm using my new test tube setup - rushed version

But I may move her to that Chinese acrylic founding nest that finally arrived

 

Edited by CoolColJ, April 25 2018 - 7:41 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole sp, all black, 7mm 26th April 2018

 

Her first nanitic finally eclosed

First time seeing this species as I mentioned before. So I am finally on the way to see what kind of majors she has

[CoolColJ]

Large Melophorus sp. queen 10-11mm 26th April 2018

 

I now have this rather large Melophorus sp. queen now, and she dwarfs my current queen!

Around 10-11mm and chunky, vs 6mm or so. Although they both have rather similar colour schemes.

 

The challange is to get her to lay eggs..

 

click for bigger

 

She is loving the raw honey foil I snatched from new Pheidole queen's test tube. She's been at it for the last 30 mins...

 

 

 

---

 

She does this curious thing when she hunches down like a dog and rubs her belly against the test tube surface...

It's like she's snarling

 

[FeedTheAnts]

Great journal, I love your Pheidole. Wish I had a species that large that I could find around my place, most of the Pheidole I see are tiny.

[CoolColJ]

Great journal, I love your Pheidole. Wish I had a species that large that I could find around my place, most of the Pheidole I see are tiny.

Thanks. I haven't seen too many smaller Pheidole queens around here, but the minor workers are always small.
Never seen minor workers over 3mm, but the majors do vary in size depending on the queen.


-----

Big Dual Pheidole sp. queens - 27th April 2018

 

Speaking of Pheidole, my dual large queens have had another nanitic eclose.

So two right now, and maybe a third today.

I can see two more dark pupa

 

I haven't fed them yet, but after the 4th nanitic I will.

Or by Sunday.

 

 

Large Melophorus sp. queen 10-11mm

 

I put her in my spare Atom C nest last night.

And she still sits on the wall above the nest entrance, not doing much.

She was much more active in the test tube.

I'm a bit worried about her in this nest, it still has a chemical smell...

 

I think I will open up this nest and put it in an outworld with red dirt.

Along with a test tube setup, in case she leaves the nest and prefers it.

[CoolColJ]

My solitary all black Pheidole 7mm queen's first nanitic

 

click for larger

 

 

 

 

 

Bicknelli munching on some spider legs I pulled apart

 

Edited by CoolColJ, April 26 2018 - 5:51 PM.

[CoolColJ]

I put down two pieces of raw macadamia outside a Pheidole nest, and the next thing I know, the Pheidole took over one piece.

While the Tetramorium bicarinatum the other, and fights erupted.

And then a single Pheidole major came out and smashed faces!

This Pheidole species is one of the largest ones around here. Major is around 6mm

 

I think this is the same species as the larger red headed/black body Phediole queens I have

[CoolColJ]

Large Melophorus sp. queen 10-11mm 28th April 2018

 

So I put her Atom C nest in an outworld, opened it up. This has red dirt with a water feeder.

She remained inside the nest for a day, not doing much, but she then came out and  tried to dig a chamber under the water feeder

Wandered around for a bit.

She finally crawled into my custom cotton wool setup in a small plastic test tube. She likes it > than the Atom C

So far so good, hope she feels comfy and wants to lay some eggs!

There is some raw honey on a wax paper outside if she needs it.

 

Like this one I made for the new red Pheidole queen earlier

I put a foil tent over it to keep it dark.

The opening in the second cotton wool section is facing up in this case, and she crawled over it and into the "chamber"

 

Edited by CoolColJ, April 28 2018 - 2:04 AM.

[CoolColJ]

That smaller red Pheidole I released a couple of weeks back, putting her back into a chamber under a brick - well I found her dead, missing a gaster.

Probably baby centipedes got to her, I find them under these bricks quite a bit.

 

---

 

On the brick to the left of the one above I found another Pheidole queen (same species as the one I found earlier this week )

As soon as I placed her into my new cotton wool test tube setup she climbed up into the second cotton wall opening and down into the chamber and stayed there.

With normal test tube setups they tend to run up and down to the entrance looking for a way out

Around 6-7mm

 

click for larger pic

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - 29th April 2018
 
 
Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant)
 
humming along, slow and steady. 4 nanitics, 5-6 cocoons, 5 larvae and probably some eggs as well, just hard to tell apart from the sand etc

So far only eating raw honey and nuts

I have their entrance 90% blocked up with a cotton wool, but they added some sand to that, and there is always one worker peeking out as a guard.

She hangs upside down from the wall, and you can just see her head through the nest opening

 
click for bigger

 

Their current setup, lets them run around a bit - which is the best part of keeping them

 
 
Melophorus sp. (furnace ant)
 
Still with the two larvae which have not spun a cocoon after 2 weeks.

No eggs layed - since a few weeks now

And the queen did eat 2 other eggs, so she must be stressed from the forced test tube move last time.

Well their cotton is getting moldy, but it's safer black type.

Maybe I move them into my spare Atom C nest.....
 
 
 
Iridomyrmex reburrus?
 
Yikes, one one nanitic died last night I think, found her dead body in the outworld.

And so the pattern continues, when nanitics start hanging outside away from the queen, it usually means they are about to die.

I suspect the third and last one will die soon.

Thankfully the queen has a lot of brood, and one of the pupa is starting to go brown, so maybe in a 1-2 weeks it will eclose

The queen seems oblivious to all the deaths, she's super busy with the brood.

 

 
 
Camponotus humilior
 
Finally a single egg is laid!

And two of the nanitics have dents in their gaster...

 

 
 
Iridomyrmex bicknelli
 
Another worker eclosed a day ago, so up to 7 now, recovering from recent mass deaths.

You can see a piece of meat they managed to rip off the large chunk I gave them last night

And there is a dead wild worker I found in my bathroom.

2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm

 

Up to 2 nanitics now, and another about to eclose.

There is also another nanitic body at the top right behind the queen's gaster, not sure what the deal is with it, maybe it's dead.

Still haven't fed them yet, waiting till 4 nanitics or so. Maybe I give them some raw honey at least.

 

 

 

 

Pheidole sp, all black  7mm

 

Single nanitic with a decent amount of brood. I think another 1-2 weeks before more eclose.

 

[CoolColJ]

29th April 2018 - Queen update
 
Iridomyrmex sp. 7-8mm
 
Into week 4, I think she stopped laying eggs, but she already has well over 30
Some are becoming medium sized larvae now.
Maybe another 2 weeks till nanitics. Slower than I expected.

click to enlarge 


 
2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8mm
 
Some eggs have become small larvae
 

 
 
3x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm
 
Damn they layed a lot of eggs since last week.  Old pic ---> https://i.imgur.com/QgMOTMp.jpg

They started sipping the honey I have in a foil in the front of the test tube, this week.


  
 
Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm
 
No eggs
 
Pheidole sp. red 7mm

 

Still no eggs...

 

Pheidole sp, light red head, dark red body, 6-7mm

 

Queen 1 - no eggs

Queen 2 - no eggs
 

 

Large Melophorus sp. queen 10-11mm

 

She likes her new setup, but no eggs yet.

 

Edited by CoolColJ, April 28 2018 - 11:53 PM.