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[Ferox_Formicae]

Finally got another colony! It's got about 150 workers, and about 50 alate males and females. I'm not entirely sure if I got any fungus during their collection, but the good news is that they farm yeast, so I gave them a bit of yeast and put a bit of it in some water, and they seem to be taking a liking to it! I was very rushed during their collection, so I was very worried that I missed the queen, but I actually did get her! Looking at these compared to my new Trachymyrmex septentrionalis colony, they are tiny. The Trachies are literally twice their size! They do have very similar habits though, from their movements, all the way down to the way they play dead when threatened. They just look very different in appearance, Trachymyrmex looking terrifyingly similar to Acromyrmex versicolor, and Cyphomyrmex looking like a cross between Mycetosoritis and some kind of Cephalotes. Very unique looking ants. It will be about a week until I can get them into a proper setup, as I am going to move them into the nest my smaller colony of Trachymyrmex septentrionalis are currently inhabiting, but I have to wait for their new nesting containers to arrive, which will arrive between June 8th and 14th, so it'll be a little bit.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Dead for no apparent reason.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Not even a week later and I've got another colony! I actually found them only two yards away from the large colony of Trachymyrmex septentrionalis I collected, which is very close to another colony of Trachymyrmex only two yards away from that nest! I find a lot of Attines in that area! I managed to follow a worker carrying some caterpillar frass back to her nest. The nest is rather small, with only about 100 or so workers and about 5 alate males. The queen actually still has a piece of wing still attached to her, which surprises me! The colony does seem very healthy, and I got them into a nest almost immediately after their capture. I moved them into the nest my Aphaenogaster lamellidens used to inhabit, and they moved right in. This nest seems to suit them very well, and it matches the species nests in the wild, with the rather horizontally shaped chambers for farming. I'm hoping this colony does a lot better than the other two colonies!

[Ferox_Formicae]

This colony is a lot bigger than I thought it was! I went back to their collection area, and I saw some workers taking frass under a rock. I lifted up the rock, and yup, another chamber absolutely full of fungus, brood, alates, and two more queens! I know I didn't get it all though, so I'm going back tomorrow to get the rest of the colony. This colony is doing very well!

[Ferox_Formicae]

While I was away in Florida, my mom's friend was watching my ants. Unfortunately, the sensitive Cyphomyrmex couldn't handle it, and they died. May they rest in peace with my two other deceased Cypho colonies.