680 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

The temp in the box this morning was 84 high - 82 low. I think that is a decent range.

[antsandmore]

That’s a good point, Anthony. I’ve had 100% success rate with seven queens of this species the last two winters heating them in the same way. Crematogaster are such heat crazy ants in general, so I’m not sure. I think I just got some dud queens, but I’ll keep waiting. There is also a heat gradient in their box because the back of the tubes is closer to 82. The one queen with eggs has them all bunched up closest to the heat at the front of her tube.

I second this. My crematogasters love the heat. Maybe even tooo much.

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-1-2021

Welcome to the Monday of months. I did my weekly check on the new founding queens this morning, and some good news is that the newest queen I started last Monday has already laid several eggs. That's more like it! The first queen already has a big pile of larvae! I bet she'll get nanitics before March. The other two are still in dud mode.

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-8-2021

 

I did my weekly queen check today, and I'm happy to report that one of my new Crematogaster queens is very close to getting nanitics. A second queen I started two weeks ago has laid more eggs as well. The other two duds are progressing about as fast as my savings account.

 

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-12-2021

The pupae in the photo up above are darkening. I expect heart-butt nanitics at some point next week.

 

My mega-colony is still happily dozing in my parents' cold basement. I'm in no rush to wake them up, but I have some cool plans for new outworlds and a new nest expansion for them. Stay posted.

Edited by ANTdrew, February 12 2021 - 5:39 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-15-2021

Bam! My new queen got her first few nanitics! Four of them are eclosing, with many more on the way, which makes me thinks this is a stellar queen. I gave them a drop of sunburst. So cute!

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Edited by ANTdrew, February 16 2021 - 6:20 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Awwww. Brings a tear to the eye

[ANTdrew]

Awwww. Brings a tear to the eye

I know, dude. I wish I could send you this queen. I will keep carrying the Valentine torch!

[Kaelwizard]

But Drew, how are you going to handle a second colony of ferocious Crematogaster hell bent on escaping?

[ANTdrew]

But Drew, how are you going to handle a second colony of ferocious Crematogaster hell bent on escaping?

The two colonies I’m founding are already reserved for sale to other FC members from my state.

[ANTdrew]

Photo Update 2-16-2021

 

Wow! This queen is really kicking butt! She went from zero to seven workers in a week. That's quicker than any of the many other queens of this species I've raised.

 

 

I gave them a chopped open cricket thigh.

[Kaelwizard]

 She went from zero to seven workers in a week.

 

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-19-2021

This new girl continues to impress me! They are up to 12 workers now, which is lightning fast. Yesterday I opened up their tube and gave them a BoxBox container outworld. I fed them a cricket piece today and a bunch of workers rushed out in minutes to chow down! Once the nanitics find their nectar feeder, this colony will be off to the races.


You can see how I customize their tube entrance by drilling a queen sized hole in the plastic cap that comes with the test tubes I use. I cover it with half of the cardboard roll from some tin foil. I really hope that the keeper who is buying these will do well by them!

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Edited by ANTdrew, February 19 2021 - 11:13 AM.

[Scherme]

and a well deserving gold star I see! Very nice

[AleeGuy]

Sheesh they grew fast, it only been like 4 days since she only had brood. Is that the Mario and Luigi setup from diy formicarium builds thread?

Edited by AleeGuy, February 19 2021 - 12:55 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Sheesh they grew fast, it only been like 4 days since she only had brood. Is that the Mario and Luigi setup from diy formicarium builds thread?

Yes, that is one of the outworlds I made back in December. I sold the other one to Spazmops.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-1-2021

 

This new queen is unreal! She made it to 20 workers in just two weeks! That's pretty superb growth judging from my experience with other queens of this species. I've been power feeding them lots of crickets and baby earwigs. Their sense of smell must be really good because the nanitics come out within seconds of dropping in the food. I'm also happy that they learned how to use their nectar feeder last week.

 

 

A second new queen has made it to larvae and is progressing nicely. I love how easy this species is to found.

 

I'll be waking up my mega-colony really soon. This year will surely be a wild ride with them.

[ANTdrew]

I went through this journal and tried repairing some of the photos I accidentally deleted. Many of them came flipped on their side, through.

[Temperateants]

Really gorgeous colonies. How long do these queens have to hibernate? 

[ANTdrew]

Eight or nine weeks is enough for new queens to get them to lay eggs.