680 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Update 1-13-2020

 I checked up on my divas this weekend, and they're looking great. They are still in diapause in my parents' basement. I'm amazed by how little moisture these ants need because both of the tubes they are inhabiting are totally dry now. Like other forum members have noted, these all form a big ball during hibernation, so I'm going to take advantage to finally dump them out of their old tubes. They have hundreds of tiny brood and probably more than a thousand workers by now.

 

 

Their outpost in the bead container:

 

My new 2019 queens are looking great as well. They remain in my mini-fridge at 44-46deg. I'm thinking about trying to make some DIY founding formicariums like the THA discus or Atom. I'm thinking that just putting a couple of nestmates in there would be plenty for hydration, with the benefit that they would be refillable during the long founding process. Has anyone out there made their own founding nests? The designs seem really simple to replicate with hydrostone.

[RushmoreAnts]

Aw... they look so cute in their ball.

[ANTdrew]

Everything about these ants is cute...until they escape.

[RushmoreAnts]

Ouch..... (literally)

[Boog]

 

I'm thinking about trying to make some DIY founding formicariums like the THA discus or Atom. I'm thinking that just putting a couple of nestmates in there would be plenty for hydration, with the benefit that they would be refillable during the long founding process. Has anyone out there made their own founding nests? The designs seem really simple to replicate with hydrostone.

 

That would be cool to see your founding nest DIY attempts! I finally got to see Tar Heel Ants nests first-hand as gifts to myself for the holidays (hehe), they're quite nice to handle! I've got an Atom nest, Discus and others and some aspects of them seem simple to replicate. My colony hasn't moved into my Atom yet and the Discus I'm saving for later so I haven't experienced keeping ants in them but I'm impressed with their build and taking inspiration on what I could replicate myself.

[ANTdrew]

Update 1-28-2020

 

 Here we go kicking off a new season for my Crematogasters. My large colony that I founded last spring, Sigyn, remains in hibernation for the moment. Yesterday, though, I pulled out my two new Crematogaster queens to start the arduous founding process. I tapped them into fresh tubes and placed a tiny square of paper towel soaked in Sunburst to give them an energy boost. I have them at room temp at the moment for a gradual warm up, but I will lay the dry end of the tubes over a heat cable later today and cover everything with a towel for darkness and more insulation. I remember last year it took from the end of January until the first days of March to get nanitics. This year, I'm not going to freak out about the water level in their tubes nor disturb them in any way ( I did fill the tubes 3/4 full, though)

 

Here are some photos. Their gasters are pretty swollen:

 

I also pulled out my Lasius neoniger queen and my Formica argentea queen. I won't start a journal for either until they get nanitics.

 

 

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Edited by ANTdrew, March 2 2021 - 9:01 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Wait 'till these become huge colonies...... 

[ANTdrew]

Haha. Facts

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-1-2020

 

Man, I forget how nerve wracking it is to start up queens in the middle of winter. In any case, I have a good set up going to incubate the four new queens I'm starting:

 

Basically it's just a plastic shoebox with a heat cable under one side. The tubes are wrapped up in my 2018 Capitals championship parade towel for warmth and good luck. I put a normal shoebox over everything for more darkness. Inside the box is staying steady in the low 80s F. I'll flex my self-control muscles and leave the girls totally undisturbed now for at least three weeks.

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Edited by ANTdrew, March 2 2021 - 9:04 AM.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Dang, you have Neoniger? Nerdbox Neoniger's are what I'm calling the colony once they get founded. Keep us updated about them tho. 

[ANTdrew]

Dang, you have Neoniger? Nerdbox Neoniger's are what I'm calling the colony once they get founded. Keep us updated about them tho.

Nerdbox Neoniger it is! The Nerds for short, lol.
Backstory: the queen was found while trick-or-treating with my kids. I had no containers, so I ate a box of Nerds candy and put her up in there. Haha!

Edited by ANTdrew, February 1 2020 - 4:24 PM.

[NickAnter]

Like me and a zip lock bag full of pretzels and a Pheidole queen at school.

[RushmoreAnts]

Like me chugging a plastic water bottle to catch any queen.

[ANTdrew]

Haha. Nice. We should start a thread about crazy things you caught queens in.

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-21-2020

 

 I checked my four new queens last night for the first time in three weeks. They've been in a dark, heated box all this time, which has been holding steady in mid-low 80s F. I didn't want to distress any queens, so I didn't shine much light and definitely didn't take photos. I'm happy to report that the two new Crematogaster queens have big egg piles now. They are actually really easy ants to found and keep.

 

I'm holding off on starting journals for my Formica argentea and Lasius neoniger queens, so I will continue to update on them here. Only the Formica queen currently has a few eggs, maybe two or three? The Lasius neoniger seems like a dud to me. She still has her wings and hasn't laid anything. Too bad, I guess, but who knows?

 

I've been driving lots of Uber in my spare time to save up for a nice THA formicarium for my big colony, Sigyn, so be on the lookout for that. No more crap set ups for my prize colony.

[Temperateants]

Do you just heat the whole box? My ants shy away from direct heat, so I was wondering how you raise the average temperature of the container with the ants in?

[ANTdrew]

If you look up in my earlier post, you'll see how I set up a way to heat up the whole box they're in. This avoids the issue you mentioned of direct heat.

[Acutus]

Good to see you Crematogasters are doing great!! I need to find a home for mine. I'm just not a tiny ant keeper and I lost most of the colony but did manage to keep it alive. I have an Aphaenogater colony like that too. Both have eggs and workers and could recover well I have no doubt. I'm just never going to do them justice.

[Temperateants]

How much do you check on your Crematogasters? I'm assuming you feed them very often, so everytime you feed them? Last year, my crematogasters consumed some of their brood, unfortunately, so I was wondering if that was from stress or lack of protein. Also, do crematogasters like fruit flies? Mine kinda like chicken breast lol.

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-27-2020

 

I checked on my new queens again much sooner than I had planned. The reason behind this was that I made their incubator box way too hot. I had decided to try taping some aluminum foil on the top of the shoe box I'm using to cover everything as a way to trap radiant heat, and boy did that work! The temp got up to 91 degrees. I freaked out and wanted to make sure that I hadn't baked any ants, so I had to check...

 

The good news is that all the queens' brood piles are developing nicely! The two Crematogaster have larvae now, and the Formica queen has a bigger pile of eggs. I think the Cremas could have workers in another two-three weeks at this rate. I won't be taking any pictures until then to avoid disturbances.

Edited by ANTdrew, February 27 2020 - 12:36 PM.