1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Summer 2nd January 2019

Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 Major, 2 minor workers, 1 medium, 1 small cocoon, 3 large larvae, 1 small, 12 eggs.
 
While I was out anting last night that large cocoon eclosed, and out comes the colony's first big major!
She is almost the same size as the queen and with the largest head so far
I think she will have the same colours as the queen as well.

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen2
16mm test tube - heat cable
2 workers, 20+ eggs

 

Sold them last night

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 Major, 2 minor workers, 2 medium, 1 small cocoon, 2 large larvae, 1 small, 12 eggs.
 
Another medium sized cocoon has been spun.

The major has been munching on the dead termite alate I found last night.
Something the minor workers never did...

Since the second worker has eclosed I'm seeing one of the minor workers out in the outworld quite often now.

[CoolColJ]

Testing out some prototype 3D printed feeding dishes with my test tube ant colonies -
Top - polyrhachis rufifemur
Middle - Iridomyrmex purpureus, meat ant
Bottom - Pheidole

There is a basin for honey, and main dish area for the food and rubbish dumping

The best combo would be the basin design from the middle one with the large dish are of one of the others.
There is a hollow area at the front end for using tweezers and forceps to insert


The Pheidole setup has a double chamber entrance, which meshes well with the dish

I just leave in there, and they feed and then dump rubbish on top the left over food and honey.
Until the nest time I feed them, where I can just pull the whole thing out, clean and refeed

Edited by CoolColJ, January 2 2019 - 4:24 PM.

[sirjordanncurtis]

Will you plan on retrying to donate brood to the C. nigriceps?

[CoolColJ]

Will you plan on retrying to donate brood to the C. nigriceps?

Well one queen is doing well with lots of eggs, the other not so well.
So maybe...
The nest is still there, under a big rock, edges covered with twigs by the ants since the last time I raided them.
Good chance all the alates and drones cocoons have eclosed by now as they are flying.
But that may mean not much workers cocoons around, assuming they bring them up to the surface under the rock to warm up

[CoolColJ]

Summer 4th January 2018

 

Pheidole Colony G - 2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm queens
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber entrance - heat cable
90+ workers, 2 majors, third major pupa, 3+ major larvae, lots of brood

 

RIP dual queen Pheidole colony... as the worker number approach 100 with 2 majors, and a lot of major larvae and worker pupae...

this morning I noticed the workers pinning one of the queens down by pulling on her limbs... I guess this one is going to get delimbed and then killed

 

Makes me nervous about my other multi queen Pheidole antipodum setups

 

I may rescue her and ut her in a new setup..

 

click to enlarge

 

 

Edited by CoolColJ, January 3 2019 - 10:47 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pulled her out, while the ants swarmed everywhere, she is already missing her middle right leg, had to soak her under water for over 10 mins before the workers would let go.

I'll probably just release her as there is no point trying to start another colony with her.

[YsTheAnt]

Maybe try giving her a few pupae from the other colony. Once she gets a few of her own workers you can sell her.

[CoolColJ]

Maybe try giving her a few pupae from the other colony. Once she gets a few of her own workers you can sell her.

 

 she is missing a leg so less likely to be sold

 

 

edit - just found a possible buyer that I was also selling my R.aspera  to

Edited by CoolColJ, January 3 2019 - 8:24 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Gave her 6 workers, 2 pupa about to eclose, a few more white pupa, 5 or so larvae, one which maybe a major
some slight aggression at first, but now OK

 

Sold her and my R.aspera to the same person

[CoolColJ]

Did some blacklighting tonight just after sunset and got orange Colobopsis are flying in.
Colobopsis macrocephala I think.
I grabbed 3 alates, grabbed a bunch of drones that gathered, which are hopefully theirs and dumped them into the same tube.
 
Although my blacklight tube died, and I ended up using my torch
The drones started landing around 9:15pm, so just after sunset, and then the alates arrived at 9:30pm.
A few termites also buzzed in.
As per usual R.metallica workers came and feasted
 
Pixel 2XL phone pics of ghetto soda bottle blacklight trap - HDR+, Night Sight (turns night/dark into Day/lit) and then lit by torch
 
click to enlarge

 

 
 
Threw them into the same test tube as they are flying and should mate, but the 1 alate and all the drones look sluggish and half dead
Not feeling lucky, probably none are mated...
 

Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - red film - heat cable
1 egg

One of the 3 Colobopsis macrocephala alates I blacklighted a few nights ago has laid an egg!
The other 2 have died....

As seen above

I also caught 3 a week ago in the same manner, with wings and all, but I let them go thinking they weren't mated, but they probably were in hindsight...
It appears that they mate first and then fly to my lights. Hence why all the males I captured a few nights ago were dying by the time I got home.

What a cute boxy head

And those long rice like eggs

 

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, January 5 2019 - 11:26 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
2 workers, 4 cocoons, 2 eggs?
 
A second worker has eclosed

[CoolColJ]

Gave her 6 workers, 2 pupa about to eclose, a few more white pupa, 5 or so larvae, one which maybe a major
some slight aggression at first, but now OK
 
Sold her and my R.aspera to the same person

regarding that banished Pheidole queen

Moved her out, gave her 9 workers, 2 pupa about to eclose, a few more white pupa, 5 or so larvae, one which maybe a major.
There was some slight aggression at first.
Seems 3-4 workers were friendly, the larger and older workers were not. These moved the brood against the exit cotton.
When I put the test tube on top the heat cable the workers brought all the brood near and under the queen.
Now she is sitting on top the pile like a mother hen and inspecting them etc. So she has claimed the brood.
And she has a 3 or workers always near her. The rest hang out at the cotton exit side.
2 more dark pupa will eclose tomorrow. These should be all hers.
I see no more aggression after a few hours, and a worker fed her.

She will be OK and I sold her

[CoolColJ]

Summer 5th January 2018

Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - red film - heat cable
2 eggs
 

She laid another egg last night!

She stays against the exit cotton....

[CoolColJ]

Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 large sized larvae

 

Despite not feeding it much, at least I haven't seen her drag much food to her larvae for it to feed on, it has gotten pretty big.

And just then I saw the queen gather some dirt from outside and bring it inside the nest.

So it's probably time for it to spin a cocoon!

 

Let's hope it does spin a cocoon though...

 

edit - will dump some coarse sand at the nest entrance to help out

 

edit2 - that worked she moved a pile of the damp coarse propagation sand next to her larvae

Edited by CoolColJ, January 5 2019 - 3:53 AM.

[CoolColJ]

The red dirt I have been using in my bull ant outworlds is too fine for the larvae of bull ants to spin cocoons I think.

The damp and coarse propagation sand I bought from Bunnings looks to be ideal with the big grains and small pebbles.

Allows the queen to move big chunks of substrate into the nest for the larvae to spin their cocoon

Hopefully!

 

click to enlarge

 

[CoolColJ]

Hahah checked up on her again and she completely buried the larvae under the substrate! It should cocoon...

[Leo]

wow good job

[sirjordanncurtis]

colobopsis eggs