Polyrhachis rufifemur queen is super bloated but she's still munching on a baby wood roach
click to enlarge
Edited by CoolColJ, January 23 2019 - 5:44 AM.
Polyrhachis rufifemur queen is super bloated but she's still munching on a baby wood roach
click to enlarge
Edited by CoolColJ, January 23 2019 - 5:44 AM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Already sold em, but here is a pic of the Meat ants feeding strips of roast chicken they shredded up to the larvae
click to enlarge
Camponotus suffusus bendigensis queen 2's super bloated nanitic worker
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Edited by CoolColJ, January 23 2019 - 6:13 AM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Summer 25th January 2019
Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 nanitic - 1 cocoon, 1 large, 1 medium, 5 small larvae, 2 eggs
Woohoo, that large large has cocooned overnight!
This larvae was a small one in a pic I posted some 11 weeks ago.
I did not know that these had a brood time closer to 4 months, heated....
Let's see how long it takes for this cocoon to eclose...
this cocoon was one of these eggs back on 14th October last year... so 14 weeks
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Got a winged Anonychomyrma alate fly onto my computer screen just then in my room.... 10:20pm.... So they must be flying.....
Put her into a test tube for now...
But my windows have been shut all day, with the aircon on... Where did this lady come from!?
Same species as this, not my pic
Edited by CoolColJ, January 26 2019 - 3:29 AM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Edited by CoolColJ, January 27 2019 - 10:38 AM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Queen update - Summer 27th January 2019
Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 cocoon
Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen
20mm test tube, in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1 cocoon, 9 eggs
She laid 6 more eggs since a few days ago
See pics further up
Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1 cocoon, 11 larvae
She moved all her brood into the front chamber of the test tube...
Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
2 small larve, 4 eggs
She laid 2 new eggs!
And her first two eggs have hatched into small larvae
click to enlarge
Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 9
All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance
in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1) Dual queen - red dirt - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up at the middle of the test tube
5 nanitics - huge stack of eggs, larvae and some pupa
2) Dual queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool water dam
big stack of eggs
4) Queen with red dirt - moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance
small clump of 15+ eggs, 15 donated brood from queen 5 - mostly pupa, some ready to eclose
6) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of queen 5
big stack of brood, some pupa, one yellow one
7) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of setup 2
big clump of eggs
Heat cable
3) Queen with coco coir - moved all the coco coir against the cotton dam, wicking the water into it
big stack of brood - 20+ nanitics, 4+ mini majors
5) Queen - bare test tube
10+ nanitics - huge stack of brood
I thought queen 6 would ahve nanitics by now, but nope.
Queen 7 still on eggs, but she laid a few weeks after the others as I separated from setup 2
Setup 2 and queen 4 still have eggs that haven't hatched.
But queen 4's donated pupa, look ready to eclose.... hopefully it gets her going!
click
Edited by CoolColJ, January 27 2019 - 10:52 PM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
You should have kept the alate. I had a prenolepsis alate try to fly away, but then she laid eggs and got workers.
You should have kept the alate. I had a prenolepsis alate try to fly away, but then she laid eggs and got workers.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Edited by CoolColJ, January 27 2019 - 7:43 PM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Summer 28th January 2019
Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 9
All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance
in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1) Dual queen - red dirt - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up at the middle of the test tube
5 nanitics - huge stack of eggs, larvae and some pupa
2) Dual queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool water dam
big stack of eggs
4) Queen with red dirt - moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance
2 nanitics, small clump of 15+ eggs, 13 donated brood from queen 5 - mostly pupa
6) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of queen 5
big stack of brood, some pupa, one yellow one
7) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of setup 2
big clump of eggs
Heat cable
3) Queen with coco coir - moved all the coco coir against the cotton dam, wicking the water into it
big stack of brood - 20+ nanitics, 4+ mini majors
5) Queen - bare test tube
10+ nanitics - huge stack of brood
Queen 4 has 2 nanitics eclose, from the donated 15 brood from queen 5.
And 3 more to eclose by tomorrow.
They are already attending her pile of 15+ eggs.
This may not get her own eggs to hatch, but it's better than nothing...
So queen 5 could have had 5 more workers this week at least
I may donate some pupa to the the dual queen setup 2 as well.
Who still have a big batch of unhatched eggs.
There are two queens, previously 3, so all 3 queen's brood can't possible be this slow?!
--
So far Queen 3 and 5 seem to be most fertile and have the fastest growing brood genetics.
Queen 6 looks to be decent. Queen 7 unknown at this stage.
Everyone else is super slow.
Out of 12 queens 3 have died, 25 % death rate so far.
And only a 33% good colony founding rate.
My previous 3 queens all died.
Yeah, not good odds for this species...
Edited by CoolColJ, January 27 2019 - 11:05 PM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
You should have kept the alate. I had a prenolepsis alate try to fly away, but then she laid eggs and got workers.
She was in my room, and the whole house has been shut up all day, so chances are good she wasn't mated but you never know
---
Pic Pheidole antipodum queen 5 this morning, taken with my Pixel 2XL phone with Blitzwolf clip on macro lens.
Her brood pile is still decent after donating 15 to queen 4.
And her worker count is starting to blow up already
Wow that looks really good for a phone with macro clip on. Way better than the ones I try and take haha.
Yeah the Pixel 2XL camera software stacks multiple shots, 9, together at every pic taken and merges them together to improve low light and noise performance.
But with moving ants this can be a problem
I used the Open Camera app, and adjusted some settings manually.
The Blitzwolf lens is pretty good as well, doesn't seem to have the distortion on the sides I see in some clip ons.
And cheap too.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Pheidole antipodum queen3's nanitic mini majors fully darkened.
They have a darker red head now
These are still small, there will be much larger ones later on
click to enlarge
Edited by CoolColJ, January 28 2019 - 3:07 AM.
Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/
Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/
Edited by Rstheant, January 28 2019 - 6:52 PM.
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