1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Your major looks really cute with that huge light colored head

Most likely won't remain like that though
Logically I think she will darken to a black, as the queen and minor workers are all black, but you never know...
I mean Phediole antipodum queen is mainly black and dark brown, while the workers are yellow and the majors have red heads

Edited by CoolColJ, August 25 2018 - 7:01 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Winter 26th August 2018

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
heat cable
7 nanitics, 10? larave, 2 cocoons

Next batch of Strobe ant brood finally cocooning
There are at least 10 larvae as well.

Still at 7 nanitic workers, they sure live for a long time. First one eclosed on 2nd April, so about 5 months now!
 

click to enlarge

Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
heatcable
1 minor worker, no brood. 

zzz

Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
No eggs. 2 workers
 
zzzz

 
Pheidole Colony A - Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm queen
heatcable
33'ish workers, 1 major pupae, maybe 2

 

Still no sign of that major yet...it must be much larger than colony B's major since it is taking so  much longer to eclose
 I can't see it, where they hid it.

Pheidole Colony B - Pheidole sp, all black 8mm queen
 heatcable
17 workers. 1 Major

Lots of pupa ready to eclose in a week or so. anout 15, so they are going to catch Colony A

major's head and thorax still pale, but statting to look  reddish brown - didn't expect that colour from this species with a black queen

Pheidole Colony C - 2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 7mm queens
heatcable
15 workers
tons of eggs and brood

nothing major to report


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
 
No eggs, 2 nanitics, 1 crippled. 1 small Camponotus larvae
No changes, till spring

 

that crippled nanitic is most likely abadoned now


Camponotus suffusus 18+mm - queenless
 heat cable
14 workers, 5 large larvae + more? ( some foreign from a different Camponotus species)
 
Damn, up 2 workers, did not notice when they eclosed. No wonder they feel so much bolder now.

All are suffusus workers.
Still no sign of any foreign species. There are about 5 large larvae left, and some small ones.

 

Very active workers, during the day, so not nocturnal like most Camponotus.

Either my fluon barrier is wearing down, or they are good at walking over it now..

 
Iridomyrmex - black 8.5mm queen
aquarium filter dam and cotton wool chamber wall/entrance - heat cable
 
14 nanitics,  1 pupa, 2 semi pupa, large and medium larvae, big stack of eggs and small larvae

 

Woah 14 nanitics in 6 weeks, that's my record for the fastest start yet!!

Fed them a dead termite worker, and it's all gone now.

Saw the queen munch on it as well. Perfect sized meal for this stage

 
Pheidole sp. red, dark gaster 7mm queen
cotton double chamber setup - heat cable

1 nanitic - bunch of brood, 20+ 1st instar larvae and eggs
 
Nanitic has darkened.

Queen has layed a ton of new eggs.

 

Nanitic has finlaly explored the front of the test tube sipping some honey for the first time as I type this.

I smeared some honey on the wall of in a 3D printed test tube bowl, so less likely she will get stuck

She is tiny...

 

 

[Leo]

The lioponera escaped right?  In my fuzzy memory most cerapachines cannot climb...

[CoolColJ]

Winter 26th August 2018 - Queen update


Banished Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm
heatcable
clump of 3 large, 1 medium, 8 small larvae

Woah she finally has her first pupa!
Soon she will have her own colony after being banished from a dual queen setup

Gave her a dead termite alate nymph, which she carried to the middle of the test tube and left it there.

click to enlarge



3x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm
heat cable
3 large larvae, and 6 smaller ones?


Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm

No eggs


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

Queen 1 - heat cable - big clump of brood, over 20, some small and medium larvae
double chamber setup, exposed to light
 
Queen 2 - 3 large larvae, 4 ist instar larvae
I have her in my double test tube modded setup, with a polystyrene foam chamber entrance
in red test tube rack
 


Pheidole antipodum? 14+mm
in magnetic glass top gypsum founding nest

32+ 1st insta larvae
 
All of her 32 eggs have hatched, pretty crazy...
I see her carry around this big ball of brood on ocassion.

She does wander around a fair bit, unlike other lazy small Pheidole species
Usually goes to the nearest cotton plugged port 1-2 times an hour, maybe to take in the air flow.
Either stand near it or goes directly to it, but does not tug on it.


Rhytidoponera species 6-7mm
Tub and tubes setup - exposed to shadowed light
 
1 egg
 
I see her wander around a bit, maybe she wants more food...


Iridomyrmex - black 8.5mm queen
aquarium filter dam and cotton wool chamber wall/entrance - heat cable

Her first nanitic just eclosed, so I should promote her to colony status
And there are more black pupa that should eclose in a few hours.
She has at least 10 more pupa, as well as some larvae and eggs

Will try and sell this one

[CoolColJ]

The lioponera escaped right?  In my fuzzy memory most cerapachines cannot climb...

She's an excellent climber! climbed over fluon and threw a lightly shut lid at one stage, but she returned the next day.

I ended up releasing her...

[Leo]

 

The lioponera escaped right?  In my fuzzy memory most cerapachines cannot climb...

She's an excellent climber! climbed over fluon and threw a lightly shut lid at one stage, but she returned the next day.

I ended up releasing her...

 

You should have gave her some ant brood to munch on. Would have been nice to see someone else keep dorylinae 

[CoolColJ]

 

 

The lioponera escaped right?  In my fuzzy memory most cerapachines cannot climb...

She's an excellent climber! climbed over fluon and threw a lightly shut lid at one stage, but she returned the next day.

I ended up releasing her...

 

You should have gave her some ant brood to munch on. Would have been nice to see someone else keep dorylinae 

 

yeah she wasn't responding, but maybe I let her go too soon, as most ants here do nothing until spring

Edited by CoolColJ, August 27 2018 - 3:01 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole colony B's major has darkened a bit, still brown in the head and gaster... with an all black queen and minor workers, you would have never guessed that...

Size comparison - queen is a bit over 8mm, so she is less than half the size of the queen, and only a 1mm larger than the largest minor worker.
There is a smaller nanitic here as well. So this major is smaller than I'm used to seeing, usually they are twice the size of the minor workers and closer to 75% of the queen's size.
There might be a third larger caste of super majors for this species....

click to enlarge

 

 

I have never seen this species before, around here it's mostly variations of a red/brown queen of 6-7mm with 5mm majors and 2mm minors.

Or 8-9mm black queens with dark red heads, 3mm minors and 6mm black majors with large maroon heads

 

 

I also have a dual queen colony of smaller 7mm black queens with dark red heads as well, which should have different looking majors

Edited by CoolColJ, August 26 2018 - 5:17 PM.

[CoolColJ]

[rbarreto]

I'm really jealous of your Pheidole.

Edited by rbarreto, August 27 2018 - 9:53 AM.

[CoolColJ]

I'm really jelouse of your Pheidole.

 

 

Ha I have so many Pheidole queens right now, i will definitely have to sell some once they all get majors, and I decide which to keep.

They do seem pretty common here, much like some other ants are in other countries

[sirjordanncurtis]

Keep the ones with the largest heads

[CoolColJ]

Keep the ones with the largest heads

 

My 15mm Pheidole antipodum queen has that covered as far as the largest majors go

 

There is one red one I will keep due to catching her on the wind screen of my car.

And will keep one of the multi queen setups.

And one black one species

 

Still will be tough to narrow down to 3...

Edited by CoolColJ, August 27 2018 - 12:31 AM.

[CoolColJ]

I fed my strobe ants(Opisthopsis Rufithorax) a cricket head and bum yesterday

Quite amusing, the queen loves the cricket head, picking it up with her front legs and munching away. After a bit a worker drags it away from her to the rubbish dump in the nest.

She later finds it and continues munching on it

 

Here is my creative video of them eating a small cricket head and bum

 

[MegaMyrmex]

Finally found my first pheidole! She got her first nanitics and after reading your journal, I can't wait till she gets her majors!

[CoolColJ]

Finally found my first pheidole! She got her first nanitics and after reading your journal, I can't wait till she gets her majors!

 

Congrats! They are fun, and will eat most things, including seeds and nuts ( that's what the majors are for, seed cracking)

Raw Nuts and raw honey make for a very long life food for them, that doesn't get moldy unless wet.

 

I like to think of them as a poor man's Pheidologeton/Carebara 

 

But the ultimate Pheidole species would have to be P.antipodum, Australia only species, due to the queens size 15mm, yellow colour of the workers and the progressive size of the majors, much like Pheidologeton/Carebara.

Well they are only Pheidole in name, and some physical traits, but I think this species is it's own thing.

 

Second would be Pheidole rhea, US species, due to large queen 14mm, and having 3 castes with a super major

Edited by CoolColJ, August 27 2018 - 3:09 PM.

[DaveJay]

Cool video Cool Col!

[CoolColJ]

Winter 28th August 2018


Pheidole Colony B - Pheidole sp, all black 8mm queen
 heatcable
17 workers. 1 Major

Colony B's first major has to guard, babysit and nurse the brood
Colony B is about have a population explosion to the current 17 workers - 1 pupa to eclose tonight, 5 brown ones soon, 14 more waiting!

click to enlarge



 
Iridomyrmex colony B - black 8.5mm queen
aquarium filter dam and cotton wool chamber wall/entrance - heat cable
 
5 nanitics,  3 brown pupa, 9 pupa, 3 large larvae, big stack of eggs and small larvae
 
Second solo queen has 5 nanitics now, and an amazing 12 pupa waiting, and lots of eggs as well!



 
Pheidole SP. Colony - red, dark gaster 7mm queen
cotton double chamber setup - heat cable

1 nanitic - 2 pupa, 20+ 1st instar larvae and eggs
 
Two more pupa have developed, damn that was quick.
And she's been laying a ton of eggs ever since that first nanitic eclosed.

I put some raw honey in a test tube feeding bowl, which the nanitic sucked for ages and fed the queen with repeat trips.
Then I put in a small peice of raw almond and the nanitic spent hours on it, she finally broke a small chunk off, which she dragged back to the brood area.
The queen saw it and grabbed it right off her, prompting the little one to run back to the almond to get her own piece

[DaveJay]

You're starting to sell me on the idea of keeping Pheidole!
Originally I thought I wasn't interested in them but following your journal makes me want some!

[CoolColJ]

Rhytidoponera species 6-7mm queen
Tub and tubes setup - exposed to shadowed light
2 eggs

She laid her second egg - not bad.

This is a good healthy queen. Good mum and active, dragging in food bits inside to her chamber, and dumping the old food outside when no longer needed.

Even dried up insect bits are still taken.

 

She seems to use the double cotton chamber thing as a toilet - lots of poop stains

One egg has hatched already, the top part has changed to first instar larvae white

 

click to enlarge

 

final pic, as I have sold her, but I may find another like her as the area has at least one nest with alate

 

 

---

 

On that note...

 

I have a proper Rhytidoponera aspera queen coming in a couple of days time, with 4 workers and some brood

 

They have a nasty sting like all Rhytidopnera.

These are one of the largest species of the genus, with a dark metallic exterior that changes from green, to blue and purple depending on light angle

Larger than R.metallica with a queen around 1cm vs 6-7mm

 

This is what they look like.

 

 

 

 

You're starting to sell me on the idea of keeping Pheidole!
Originally I thought I wasn't interested in them but following your journal makes me want some!

 

Might be too small for your tastes

But they are pretty common and cheap

Edited by CoolColJ, August 28 2018 - 3:54 AM.