52 replies to this topic

[Broncos]

Update please?

[Canadant]

What barrier do you use for Pogonomyrmex? Cool set up. Is that tank full of dirt and they just decided to build agianst the wall or is it hollow in the middle? Nice pics. Thanks.

[TennesseeAnts]

What barrier do you use for Pogonomyrmex? Cool set up. Is that tank full of dirt and they just decided to build agianst the wall or is it hollow in the middle? Nice pics. Thanks.

Most people I know don't use a barrier for Pogonomyrmex. They actually can't climb smooth surfaces like plastic or glass.

[Straywolf94]

No barriers for these colonies.  They can't climb out of the glass or smooth plastic surfaces.  Just have to keep them from piling the dirt too high.

 

The p. subnitidus colony is still doing well, but they are stuck in that small box, so haven't been growing much.  I'm too lazy to make a tank for them.

 

 

The 2008 p. californicus colony is also still healthy and doing well.  I've been restricting their food intake a bit so that they don't outgrow the fish tank.  I did notice some alates up and about 1-2 weeks ago when we were having thunderstorms in the desert.

 

I think they have enough tunnels below to keep brood now, so they do not stack as much brood at the top anymore which is a shame.

 

Been feeding them Costco chicken (finely diced/crumb), dried insect, sesame and sunflower seeds.  Occasionally will throw in a piece of watermelon or honeydew which they love. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Straywolf94, September 4 2020 - 4:21 PM.

[TheAntGuy]

Wow, been hoping for an update on these for ages. This journal got me an addiction to harvester ants, such a beautiful colony.

[nurbs]

Great work! Colony looks strong.

[Straywolf94]

It's been a while since last update so I took a bunch of new videos and pictures.  Like the rest of us, the 2018 colony has been through a lot in the last year.  I had to remove the ant table in the garage to make room for our new car, so their tank was moved to a side table.  It's a nice location with good setup, but I forgot that its accessible by Argentines, so the colony got attacked pretty badly in late 2020.  I also overwatered the holding tank and may have flooded the nest.  It's been drying out slowly but some mold has developed on one side.

 

 

Looked pretty bleak over the winter with very little activity and low number of ants on the surface.  I lifted the tank onto some plywood and put Tanglefoot all around as an entry barrier.  Re-installed the heat lamp and over the last few months they have responded well.  This is the only surviving Pogonomyrmex colony I have, so looking to start one or two more this year.  I might go with a THA setup, but I have to say the dirt aquarium has been working really well for these diggers.

 

I've been playing around with the heat lamp and figured out that they like to have their solarium at about 32 degrees C (90 degrees F).  They will stack their brood where it is warmest, but 32 is optimum.  Above 35, they will move their brood away to cooler spot.  Here is a 10 minute update video of the brood pile and surface.  Beyond what's sunbathing on the surface, there are a lot of brood underground in the left side tunnels as well.  About 1 minute in, I noticed a recently eclosed female alate.  There were a few other alates running around as well, so it's a good sign of the colony recovery.

 

 

Here is them scrambling to clear out the brood pile after I accidentally breathed on it.  Going forward, will wear facemask to keep my breath upwind.

 

 

They are keeping their granary partially under the rocks.  There's a female alate hanging out there as well.

 

 

Brood piles above and underground.  They've dug up a lot of this side, so it's funny watching them drop down a chasm carrying brood.

 

 

Seed buffet:

 

[ZTYguy]

Nice to see they are still going and hopefully they stay live and well for years to come.

[MrPurpleB]

Pogonomyrmex are pretty cute ants. Sad to see the Californicus lose the fight, but that is my bias towards my first ant species owned.

Hope to see more progress and videos!

[Broncos]

where do you get your seeds?

[Straywolf94]

Poppy and sesame from Sprouts super market.  Thistle from Amazon or Home Depot.  Kentucky blue grass was from a vendor on Amazon that nurbs or drew found 2 years ago - need to make sure they are uncoated and pesticide free.  Dandelion - grow them in my backyard since they are like $240 per pound lol.

[Straywolf94]

No real updates for the 2018 colony.  They continue to do well over this summer and have been earthing up more dirt.  I wonder how much of the original dirt is still left in the fish tank.  I really don't want to have to move them to a new nest.

 

I've placed a pane of glass on the top of the area they use as solarium.  I noticed this helps keep observers from breathing onto them and make them scramble and vacate out.

 

Around early July on a hot day, I caught a few of the female alates in the colony buzzing their wings.  Two of them escaped the fish tank by air so I collected about 12 alates total and took them back to the nests where I found them and let them go.  Hopefully they could take part in the mating flight there.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Straywolf94, August 1 2021 - 5:11 PM.

[AsdinAnts]

upd?