28 replies to this topic

[SouthernAnts18]

Ants where collected 03/10/18 during an emigration. A series of containers connected by tubing was There temporary Home until a proper Formicarium was set up.
Feeding the Ants has been a fun experience. According to studies There main source of Food is other Ants, But They have readily taken other Insects as well. There Home now is a tank containing Dirt from the collection site and Substrate designed for other Insects and Spiders. A Male from another Colony was collected on the emigration Trail. He died after about a Week and was eaten by the Colony. I assume He mated with The Queen due to the fact that These types of Ants generally do not harm a foreign Male until after They have Mated with the Queen.
The Ants were placed in the tank and within a few Days They excavated a lot of tunnels.

[SouthernAnts18]

This is a link to a video I took of Them

[AntsBC]

And yet another Neivamyrmex journal!... 

Edited by AntsBC, April 29 2019 - 4:41 PM.

[gcsnelling]

Was the male winged, how sure are you of the Id?

Edited by gcsnelling, October 28 2018 - 3:15 PM.

[SouthernAnts18]

Yes 100% positive on the Id. The Male's Wings had been removed. Which is one of the reasons for the Id as a foreign Male

[gcsnelling]

Makes sense to me.

[SouthernAnts18]

It took at least 1-2 Months to collect Them. I monitored Them the entire Time and waited for the emigration

[SouthernAnts18]

[SouthernAnts18]

Feeding Opacithorax has been interesting. A mixed diet has been working so far and no mass Deaths have occurred. It does appear that the Older Ants do get a little darker with age. From a Orange/red to a darker red. The Queen stays hidden completely since given the new tank and substrate. Crickets, Mealworms, and other Ants are consumed quickly. Ant Brood is always taken as expected. The Food appears to be "stored" and consumed when needed. 5-10 Crickets seem to satisfy the Colony's needs and They prefer Them Live.
Prekilled Ones seem ignored.

[SouthernAnts18]

[neoponera]

great videos

 

what about giving them a proper modular formicarium with soil, do you think it will be able to contain them. I think that if a antsCanada formicarium can house fire ants, it can house neivamyrmex

[SouthernAnts18]

You are absolutely right. In fact They originally were in a modular set up. The problem I had is They utilized every part and was difficult to clean. It worked well for a while but They are very messy and caused some issues. I have found that as long as there is a steady supply of Food, They stay put in one area. Soon it will be a giant modular system that connects multiple tanks that will be completely changed out every few Weeks. That should prove easier to maintain

[SouthernAnts18]

Thank You for Your compliments

[neoponera]

and if you get them in that giant modular formicarium, please post a video on them

 

i am very interested

[SouthernAnts18]

I will try. I think for now I am going to leave Them be. They have started to slow down in preparation for Winter and I do not want to cause any stress.

[neoponera]

Also, keep in mind that you are keeping one of the most challenging type of ant on the entire world.

 

When you make any moves that involve them, think about it many times.

 

Reduce interactions like vibrations to 1%

 

Purdue entomology just lost his Neivamyrmex colony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.D: i think changing the lighting will do great for the video quality

Edited by neoponera, November 6 2018 - 4:45 PM.

[neoponera]

Maybe the cleaning problems might be fixed by having multiple formicariums (with soil to increase the ant's comfort and reduce the queens mortality rate from 100% to 99%) connected to the same out world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.D: having  the tubes entrances reduced with pieces of cork might increase confort:

[SouthernAnts18]

Those are great suggestions. I agree They are not an easy Ant to keep and in no way do I suggest anyone keeping Them. They are very abundant here where I am and I have a rule. Try once and that is it. If it fails never again. They are a beautiful Species and I do not want to threaten them.

[SouthernAnts18]

I do like the cork idea. I will have to look into it and see if I can pull it off in the size I need

[Manitobant]

Update?