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NickAnter's Pheidole navigans Journal

Started By NickAnter , Dec 28 2018 8:11 PM

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#1 Offline NickAnter - Posted December 28 2018 - 8:11 PM

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I caught this queen at school, during nutrition, I was so surprised when seeing it that I froze for a moment, then immediately pinched her between my thumb and index finger and rummaged through my lunchbox trying to find a Zip-lock bag, when I succeeded an found a bag full of pretzels. I then dumped all the pretzels into my lunchbox, and put the queen in the bag, and put the bag in my pocket. I then, later found a 0,5 mil. mechanical pencil and poke holes into the bag. I then got home, and put her in a test tube setup. Except for running out of water, and then re filling the bottom of the test tube, having a flood, everything went well. When we were camping, her eggs turned into larvae, and then, about a week ago one turned into a pupa, and then, on the 27th it eclosed. Earlier today, i found a springtail in my yard, killed it, and put it in. I also made sugar water, soaked a small piece of cotton in it and put it in the tube for them.

Queen=4 millimeters
Worker=1 millimeter


Edited by NickAnter, May 29 2020 - 8:15 AM.

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Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#2 Offline ANTdrew - Posted December 29 2018 - 7:59 AM

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Cool! Your adventure is just beginning. Good luck!
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#3 Offline NickAnter - Posted December 29 2018 - 1:53 PM

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Thanks!


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#4 Offline NickAnter - Posted December 31 2018 - 8:25 AM

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     I have a minor update, which I found to be interesting.  This is that the ants have eaten the springtail, and it seems, have drank most of the sugar water.  I also think that all the other eggs the queen had when the worker eclosed, have turned into first instar larvae!!!!! Also the worker is much darker than before, whis is to be expected, but did so extremely slowly; a full four days to not be callow, I don't know, but this seems to be a little odd. if anyone has any answers to this, I will take them


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#5 Offline NickAnter - Posted January 1 2019 - 9:00 AM

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  I have another update and it is a good one, there is another pupa that was hidden to me until this morning, soon, there will be another worker! :yahoo:


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#6 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 16 2019 - 1:29 PM

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Well, the original colony died months ago, due to neglect.  I did just catch two more queens though, so hopefully, they are fertile, and will get workers.  I will soon post pictures.


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#7 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 16 2019 - 5:22 PM

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Tomorrow, at school, I will hopefully find more of these. When I get home, if I have any, I will take some pictures.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#8 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 17 2019 - 2:10 PM

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I found another one at school, at around 11:45, and, when my phone is charged, I will edit this post and add a picture. It laid an egg in a bare test tube! Hah! This queen is very productive already! Well, here is a pic, sorry it is so crummy, the test tube makes it worse:

Edited by NickAnter, June 17 2019 - 4:01 PM.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#9 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 18 2019 - 2:42 PM

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The queen who layed that egg in the collection tube, well, she layed three scattered eggs in her proper tube.  Hopefully this does not signify infertility.  She certainly seems productive though.  The others have done absolutely nothing, which is normal, as I have only had them for two days.


  • TennesseeAnts likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#10 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 22 2019 - 7:44 AM

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Well, I caught another one this morning, so I tubed it up. No updates because I am not checking on them for a week. Will post an update on Wednesday. Edit: I caught another one, so I decided toput it in a naturalistic setup. This will be interesting to see how she does in a naturalistic setup.

Edited by NickAnter, June 22 2019 - 10:56 AM.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#11 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 23 2019 - 4:13 PM

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Update:

Well, all test tube queens have eggs. All but one tube has very scattered eggs. Likely infertile. The one in the sand setup, I can't see anything, so she could have eggs. Hopefully one is fertile, as i want to test a hypothesis I have about this species.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#12 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 25 2019 - 9:37 AM

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Well, I can confirm that all but one in a snap cap vial setup with a cotton ball, have eggs. Only two queens have eggs that are not scattered all around the tube.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#13 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 26 2019 - 10:28 AM

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All queeens except one that have eggs have now laid more, and made them into a ball! Hope remains. Except for the one without eggs, and the one with scattered eggs.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#14 Offline NickAnter - Posted June 30 2019 - 4:06 PM

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All now have eggs. Only one queens has scattered egg. Despite the neat clusters of eggs, I am worried they are infertile, with over a week with not larvae. Has anyone else kept these at around 82 degrees? Did they develop this slow?

Edited by NickAnter, June 30 2019 - 4:06 PM.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#15 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 3 2019 - 10:18 AM

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I think that two queens have larvae, but I am not sure.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#16 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 5 2019 - 7:42 AM

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I caught four more queens in my pool. One has a head that is bigger than the others, and one seems slightly bulkier and lighter in color. I am not sure if they are different species, or just some slight variation. I will take some good pics when the queens calm down. Edit: I am pretty sure that no queens have larvae.

Edited by NickAnter, July 5 2019 - 10:49 AM.

  • TennesseeAnts likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#17 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 9 2019 - 7:36 AM

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I caught two more, in my pool, and just walking around. One of the older queens has a huge pile of eggs, that might have larvae in it.
  • TennesseeAnts likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#18 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 12 2019 - 9:06 AM

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No larvae in the huge pile, but there is one queen that has two fairly large larvae. Workers will be here in a couple weeks, though that is all she has. She is the only one with larvae though, so I'm happy. However, all new queens have eggs now, and none are scattered. Hopefully some more will be fertile.
  • ANTdrew and Somethinghmm like this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#19 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 17 2019 - 10:56 AM

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There is another queen that is definetly fertile!! I will put one colony in a hydrostone formicarium, and one is a big, multi colony terarrium I would like to build some day. All the new queens have at least fifteen eggs. Some have around 30.

Edited by NickAnter, July 17 2019 - 10:56 AM.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#20 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 21 2019 - 6:39 AM

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Well, the queen that is the second to last caught has the most larvae, and eggs. I even winessed her feed a larva via trophallaxis!
  • TennesseeAnts likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

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