680 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

I finally got some dead workers from Queen Della’s colony under a microscope last night. I’m thinking they are C. lineolata now due to the many erect hairs I saw on the pronotum. It was hard to get a photo that showed them, but maybe some you whizzes can chime in?

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[ANTdrew]

Update 4-13-2023

 

Queen Della and her colony are doing exceptionally well in my hot kitchen. The room temp ranges from 75-85 degrees and heats up a lot with our consistent cooking. I also have their box sitting on heat cable. I am power feeding all my colonies with huge dubia roaches I got from a customer. All the above factors are leading to some excellent growth for these ants. There are about 100 eggs and a significant amount of larvae and pupae. Their feeding responses have been impressive as well. I hope to move these into one of my Antpartments once they fill up their tube. 

 

Photos from 10 days ago (brood amounts are much larger now):

 

Feeding GIF:

 

The bad news is that my founding colony of Crematogaster seem to be duds. They are not coming out of their tube, and they still only have four nanitics. Hopefully they can get it together. 

[Ernteameise]

I absolutely adore the looks of the Crematogaster.

They are so cute.

But I did not dare keeping them as a beginner species, since on the shops, there are warning labels that they are fast growing and can overwhelm a newbie.

Looking forward to seeing your colony grow!

 

And I keep my fingers crossed for the founding colony.

[ANTdrew]

Update 4-29-2023

 

Queen Della and her KardashiAnts^tm are really off to the races! Big swarms of workers pour out now when I drop in roach bits. Their brood pile is absolutely massive as well. I plan to move them into a free Antpartment I have ready for them once most of these pupae eclose. They'll also need an outworld upgrade soon. Crematogaster are truly without equal. 

 

[Ernteameise]

Wow, these are really taking off!

 

I can see why some German ant keeping sites do not recommend these ants for beginners, because the colonies grow so fast.

[ANTdrew]

Update 5-11-2023

 

Queen Della is embarking on some serious growth. The colony has a couple hundred pupae built up into a massive wall in the middle of their tube. They have similar numbers of new eggs and larvae stuck to the top and sides of the tubes (Crematogaster larvae have special sticky hairs just for this purpose). I'll definitely need to provide them with a nest upgrade soon. These photos will either excite or terrify you, depending on your perspective on tiny, explosively growing ants. 

 

 

In other good news, my newest queen is starting to show some promise. They are up to seven workers and are starting to forage more outside the tube. I'll be putting this colony up for sale, so I don't run out of space. 

[ANTdrew]

Update 5-25-2023

 

Rampant growth continues for Della and her Kardashiants. Their tube is all the way full of brood, and they even started stacking a pile on top of the tube under some aluminum foil I had put to cover it. I'm feeding these ants lots of dubia roaches, mealworms, and a new addition of fruit flies. I will hook up a larger nest this weekend for them to start exploring. This photo really captures the explosive growth the colony is undergoing.

 

[Virginian_ants]

Cool! I love Crematogaster they are really cool to watch.

[ANTdrew]

Update 5-30-2023

 

I finally got around to hooking up an available Antpartment^tm I had available for this colony to expand into. I'm sure they will problably just stay in their old tube, but I'll see what they do over the next few days and consider dumping them out or trying sunlight to move them over the weekend. 

 

 

[ANTdrew]

Update 6-6-2023

 

It's been a week since I hooked up the new Antpartment to the Kardashiant's colony. They seem to be liking it so far and have steadily built up an impressive brood mountain in the middle chamber. The photos below will show the progression. This is only a portion of their brood, by the way!   

 

 

In other news, I sold my newest colony on Memorial Day. Hopefully they are doing well in their new home. 

[AntsCali098]

Wow, that's some impressive growth and brood numbers!

[Flu1d]

That brood is so cute wtf 👉👈

[ANTdrew]

Addendum:
They built Brood Mountain all the way up to the ceiling.

[liamsantics]

WOAH

[ANTdrew]

Brood mountain has continued to grow steadily! They’ve even started stashing brood in the third chamber of their Antpartment. A huge population boom is coming!
Enjoy this short video of the Kardashiants at work:
https://drive.google...ew?usp=drivesdk

[Ernteameise]

OMG!!!!!

[Jonathan5608]

I need to grab some cremas this year

[Lillyrose]

I love the mountain. That is pretty amazing!

[ANTdrew]

I looked at two more specimens under a microscope today, and these seem to be cerasi after all. I’m a little disappointed, to be honest.

[ANTdrew]

Please enjoy this short video of the explosively growing colony. They are fully moved into the Antpartment now.
https://drive.google...ew?usp=drivesdk