1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

I wish I could get a look at the winged R. metallica that was with my colony, I didn't get to check the antenna, your drone seems to have a plump gaster, perhaps I was mistaken. I would be interested to see how long the drone lives when left in the nest.

Yeah wasp'ish look with straight antenna = male drone
Apparently these can live up to 5 days after mating, based on another persons experience

[DaveJay]

I wish I could get a look at the winged R. metallica that was with my colony, I didn't get to check the antenna, your drone seems to have a plump gaster, perhaps I was mistaken. I would be interested to see how long the drone lives when left in the nest.

Yeah wasp'ish look with straight antenna = male drone
Apparently these can live up to 5 days after mating, based on another persons experience

I only got a couple of split second glimpses of the head but the pictures of the gaster and thorax were deemed to be female when shown.
It'll be interesting to see how long he lasts.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 29th September 2018
 
 
3x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm
heat cable
2 pupa, pile of larvae  and eggs
 

Hooray, there is one dark pupa that should eclose tonight, and finally they will be a colony after many months of spinning wheels!

This is one I will keep if things go to plan

 

They are finally using the heating cable.

3 Queens seem to be working well together.

One on the cotton minding the brood there, another at the heat cable brood pile

 

But I do sense some tension -

at one point the dominant queen, gaster striped was taking the brood and dark pupa from the heat cable to the cotton.

While another queen took the brood from the cotton back to the heat cable!

This went on for a while

[CoolColJ]

Rhytidoponera sp2, green 7-8mm queen2 - purple/blue gaster iridesence
16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
3 eggs
 
Just watched her lay 2 eggs in a row.
They sure take a while to come out compared to my other queens.

3 seems to be the limit for these queens, for the first batch

Edited by CoolColJ, September 29 2018 - 3:49 AM.

[Major]

I was on vacation for 4 days so didn't get a chance to read. But as usual, it's amazing!

Judging by the kinds of ants you keep, I don't think you will like Nylanderia very much. Their small, fast, sometimes lazy, and are picky eaters.

[CoolColJ]

I was on vacation for 4 days so didn't get a chance to read. But as usual, it's amazing!

Judging by the kinds of ants you keep, I don't think you will like Nylanderia very much. Their small, fast, sometimes lazy, and are picky eaters.

Yeah, we will see, I released the winged one, and found a unwinged one that afternoon
I just put her away in the test tube rack.
Can always release, as chances of selling her are low.

Definitely will need to sell/release a fair few ants as I have found the stress levels going up as the number of ants here go up!

Edited by CoolColJ, September 29 2018 - 3:23 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 30th Septmber 2018

Nylanderia sp. 6mm queen

16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.

 

So the one I had has laid 2 eggs in her cardboard lined test tube.

I found another wingless one today, and put her into the same test tube.

They touched antenna, and seem to be getting along - hmmm polygynous?

 

Even cleaning each other...

Edited by CoolColJ, September 29 2018 - 6:26 PM.

[Major]

I’m pretty sure their polgynous. It always seems to be the case with these small passive ants.

[CoolColJ]

I think these are the girls I see in my bathroom. I used to think they were Crematogster due to the heart shaped gaster, but they never lift their gaster over their head.

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, September 29 2018 - 8:40 PM.

[rbarreto]

That looks a lot like Lasius to me.

[CoolColJ]

That looks a lot like Lasius to me.

We don't have Lasius here though

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus 18+mm - queenless
Atom C nest inside circular outworld - heat cable
14 workers, 1 large 3 medium larvae
 
With a heavy heart I have released these into my backyard...
No queen, and not much brood, there is no point keeping them around.
 
Even with the lid open, sun exposure, sitting on a small tree stump, they wouldn't leave after a few hours.
I even see tetramorium ants enter the nest to explore, but these girls beat them off.
So I had to dump them out
 
Yeah the two queens and colonies, cost me a lot of money, lesson learned.
I'll never spend that much on non dream species ants again, plus Camponotus don't vary too much regardless of cost and rarity.
Although these are very active during the day, much like Camponotus aeneopilosus, which I should be able to catch a queen of my own, as I have seen a nest of these near my house.

Edited by CoolColJ, September 30 2018 - 5:26 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen
16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, and cotton double chamber setup - in small outworld
6+ eggs
 
At least 6 eggs now, maybe 1-2 more!
That's a lot of a semi-claustral's first batch, none of my green Rhytidoponera have more than 3, and Polyrhchais only lay like 2


Rhytidoponera aspera Gamergate colony
20mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
7 workers - 2 maybe more as Gamergate queens, 1 drone
 
Moved them into a 20mm test tube setup. Added 3D printed test tube dish with raw honey, and a termite alate nymph
 
 
Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm test tube, cotton double chamber setup - heatcable
2 eggs
 
Sigh down to 2 eggs, after she got her mandibles caught on the cotton for the 4th time and freaks out, had to break her loose....
Maybe I'll move her to my now empty Atom C nest - no cotton to get tangled in!
 
Removing the double chamber setup could help, but that's more for when she gets workers, which are a tad aggressive, to help in feeding them....

Edited by CoolColJ, September 30 2018 - 5:27 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole cf antipodum 15mm queen
in magnetic glass top gypsum founding nest
60 brood?

Well it's been nearly 3 months and her eggs have not developed!
She has around 60 of them now I believe
Nest temperature is too cold...

And applying the heatcable to the gypsum nest has cause condensation on the glass in one area that never dries.
And on the queen herself!
Don't think long term exposure to this is a healthy thing for her, so I will stop it.
Sigh, might move her back to a test tube, so I can get a good heat cable application to get the brood developing!

click ton enlarge

[Leo]

I had a carebara queen with 70+ eggs, but they never developed and she died.

[CoolColJ]

Don't sc

I had a carebara queen with 70+ eggs, but they never developed and she died.

Don't scare me!

[CoolColJ]

Spring 30th September 2018
 
Pheidole Colony G - 3x Pheidole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm queens
heat cable
1 nanitic, 3 pupa, pile of larvae  and eggs

Little dinky nanitic is awake!
Offcially promoted to colony status 
 
There is another brown pupa, so second nanitic should be online tomorrow I think.

Edited by CoolColJ, September 30 2018 - 5:28 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 1st October 2018
 
Rhytidoponera sp2, green 7-8mm queen - gold gaster iridesence
16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
5 eggs

Laid another egg
 
 
Rhytidoponera sp2, green 7-8mm queen2 - purple/blue gaster iridesence - large downturned gaster tip
16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
4 eggs
 
The same

Edited by CoolColJ, October 1 2018 - 12:31 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Nylanderia sp. 6mm queen
16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
3 eggs 

3 eggs now, and they placed them to the left side of the test tube on the glass just in front of the water dam.
Queens getting along just fine, and appears to have a single pool of eggs

[CoolColJ]

So I lifted a large brick on the right side of my backyard, one that I have never looked under before...

And there was a large red Pheidole colony on the left side with a few majors, pretty big majors for a red species as well, at least 5mm, and a small green Rhytidoponera species.

I think a real R.metallica, that are much smaller than the queens I have and workers I have seen at a nearby park. Not only in length but much thinner looking.
There were quite a few alates and drones - why they haven't flown yet beats me, after all the rain and hot days recently!

These drones are tiny, look about 3mm much like Iridomyrmex drones. Quite a suprise after seeing R.aspera drones being the same size as the workers of 7mm

Needless to say fights broke out and the pheidole raided the Rhytidoponera, which were no match for the swarm of small Pheidole workers, even without the Majors.
I saw several R.Metallica alates go down RIP....

How these two species nested under the same brick and not know of each others presence beats me!