680 replies to this topic

[UtahAnts]

Awesome start to a new age for the divas!

 

My question is how did your friend manage to contain a Crematogaster queen for a week in a Ziploc? The bag containment method has always failed me, and I also use damp paper towels. I've lost Solenopsis, Camponotus, Liometopum and Lasius queens on separate occasions when I try to contain queens while camping. I've even double bagged, and they still escape by morning. The fact that a Crematogaster queen didn't chew out is pretty impressive, she probably knew to stay in the bag, so she would be featured in this ongoing saga or something.

[ANTdrew]

In my experience, Crematogaster queens are pretty chill animals. She must have just felt comfy in the bag, or maybe she was enjoying the beach trip? Haha

[ColAnt735]

Divas! Divas! Divas! I can’t wait to see how these colonies turn out!

[ANTdrew]

Update 10-12-2022

It's already been a month since I rebooted this journal. Queen Della and her colony are doing very well with lots of brood and new workers. The most recently eclosed workers are now full sized. I still need to get some under a microscope to figure out her exact species, but I'll make time for that soon. I will be putting the colony in diapause pretty soon once it gets cool enough in my parents' basement. I'm looking forward to a great second season with this colony. 

 

[T.C.]

What kind of phone do you have? Put some led lights over the setup and a lot of the newer phones have pretty fair macro ability. I have been able to get close enough to non ID'd species with my phone to find out. 

[ANTdrew]

What kind of phone do you have? Put some led lights over the setup and a lot of the newer phones have pretty fair macro ability. I have been able to get close enough to non ID'd species with my phone to find out.

I have an iPhone SE.

[antsriondel]

Update! This is an awesome journal! Great job!

[ANTdrew]

This colony is currently in diapause in my parents’ basement. I expect great things from them next season- and from a new queen I will found in 2023.

[T.C.]

This colony is currently in diapause in my parents’ basement. I expect great things from them next season- and from a new queen I will found in 2023.

 

Make AntDrews Crematogaster Colony Great Again! 

[ANTdrew]

MACCGA!

[antsriondel]

Update? Are these out of hibernation?

Edited by antsriondel, January 30 2023 - 6:01 PM.

[ANTdrew]

No, not yet. I took out one new queen to let her found a colony, though.

[ANTdrew]

Update 2-20-23

 

I checked on Queen Della and her 2.0 Divas today, and they are doing well in diapause. I plan on giving them a few more weeks of rest before putting them back on heat. I look forward to making a nicer setup for them to upgrade from their current test tube. 

I have a new queen I collected last fall in an incubator now as well. She's been heated for three weeks now, but still has no eggs. I hope she is not a dud since I sold all my other queens to Stateside Ants! Oh well....

[AntsCali098]

Are these fun to keep? Thinking of getting a C.cerasi colony, which I assume is quite similar to divas.

[ANTdrew]

Are these fun to keep? Thinking of getting a C.cerasi colony, which I assume is quite similar to divas.

The Divas are C. cerasi, and yes! This species is the very definition of “fun to keep.”

[AntsCali098]

Cool, I'll try them out in the future. Good luck with your colony/queens.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-1-2023

 

Happy meteorological spring, everyone! Quick update to say that the new queen I found last September now has a nice egg pile. This queen was found while camping in Prince William National Forest over the Labor Day weekend. She does not seem to be a dud after all. 

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-15-2023

 

It is the Ides of March, beware! It's also time to start waking up my colonies from diapause, so I've started bringing some home from my parents' cold basement. Queen Della is now back on my ant shelves, and I'm happy to say that the colony made it safely through diapause with no losses and a small brood pile. I'm hopeful that colony growth will ramp up this season, and I also plan to get these under a microscope soon to finally verify their species since a couple of factors make me suspect they might not be C. cerasi. I have a nice Antpartment nest on standby for when this colony grows a bit more. 

 

The image above shows my newest queen and her growing brood pile. I'm very pleased with her progress so far. She is pleasantly thicc at the moment. I have a great name ready for her if I end up keeping her, so stay tuned. 

Edited by ANTdrew, March 15 2023 - 8:02 AM.

[aznphenom]

I am at a point with my crema that there is a nest size limit and outworld ratio. Essentially, I have about the same amount of workers inside and outside the nest. I have capped outworlds to all my ants and culled them for population control. 

Edited by aznphenom, March 15 2023 - 8:56 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-23-23

 

My Crematogaster are crushing it at the moment. I checked my newest queen last night, and she got her first three minims at some point this week. A fourth one should eclose any day now. I fed them a drop of Sunburst nectar, and I'll need to figure out an outworld for them soon. There is something wrong with my clip on macro lens, so I haven't gotten good photos of them yet. 

 

Queen Della is fully active now and foraging has gotten back to normal levels. I've been feeding these dubia roach chunks, which they are eagerly feeding on. These are enjoying the heat in my kitchen, which is where I've relocated all my ants shelves. Here are some feeding time photos from last night: