5 replies to this topic

[mcwoodhill]

just luckily got a very tiny colony of Acromyrmex O: a queen two workers and a tiny fungi garden like diameter of less than 1/3 inch

I put them in a glass box—quite huge though and then in a closed reptile box with cotton fiber substrate and few decorations

The temperature is around 75 humidity 80%

But the queen just keeps walking out and digging, leaving unattended the fungi ball. I put a rose leaf and it came with a rose petal. The two workers didn’t do much either. One of them dragged the ball to touch the leaf then all done!

So now basically the queen is tunneling a worker is exploring the world and the other sitting under the leaf!

Could anybody tell what is going on? Will the fungi garden die without attended? Will the queen return to the box?

Big thanks in advance

[venator]

The nest is too large and the humidity inside the nest needs to be at 99%+. I would suggest you place the fungi and queen inside a test tube with water or an upside down deli cup. The reptile box is fine, as long as it can maintain a high humidity. 80% humidity is fine for the box, but the humidity inside the nest must be at 99%+. The queen is digging because she is trying to find a better nesting location. Once you provide a tight space with high humidity, she will settle down. Acromyrmex are fairly hardy, but the fungus needs a boost in humidity immediately or it will die. Here's a site for more info on leafcutters: http://www.leafcuttingants.com/forum/

[Kalidas]

Venator is right, the big issue with leaf cutters is their fungus. They themselves are hardy mistresses that can handle pretty tough condition, their fungi though can not. Test tube setup is best at these early stages.

And woah thanks for linking that forum... I didn't know it existed

[YsTheAnt]

Test tubes are not the way to go with leafcutters and oftentimes results in the ants tangling their fungus in the cotton and it dying.

[venator]

 

Here's my setup for my young Atta sexdens colony. I use a thin layer of coconut fiber + ceramic balls on top as substrate. The coconut fiber is kept thin to prevent the ants from burrowing, but enough to maintain humidity. The ceramic balls are added because they are easier to clean and is resistant to mold growth. They are also good for keeping humidity. I added a plastic box on top of the fungus to further help maintain humidity, but this is likely redundant since the humidity sensor is at 99% outside the box. For the tank, I used a custom made cheap plexiglass tank. The tank has ports that can be opened and connected to more tanks with tubes. Each tank costs about $12 only.

[mcwoodhill]

thank you guys for all the great input and sorry for the delayed response

 

taking advantage of the holiday season I've transformed the whole system into a bigger rain forest vivarium

 

and as suggested I've downsized the nest its now a 5*5*5 cube with clay substrate

 

the colony grows to some extent and lets see how it goes:

 

Now the problem is after laying the first one or two patches of eggs the queen stops reproducing