112 replies to this topic

[NickAnter]

The queen in the dirt setup has a sealed off chamber, next to a leaf.   Five queens are fertile, all five with large larvae.  They should have workers fairly soon.  All with larvae except one, the first fertile one, have about ten larvae, all with visible food in them. I will probably release all but two of them when they get workers.

[RushmoreAnts]

If they're polygynous, you could combine four of them. You would also get more nanitics that way.

[NickAnter]

They are not polygynous, sadly, and the workers tear all the queens apart, as seen in Drews journal. Also, a couple queens have pupae, and orange ones at that, so workers will probably eclose in a day or two.

[NickAnter]

The queen with the most developed pupae got two workers overnight!!!! Later today, I will put in a super tiny drop of honey. After that, i will put in their all time favorite food: sunflower seeds, as I have observed in my yard.

Edited by NickAnter, July 30 2019 - 6:47 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

My four queen Pheidole bicarinata colony has five workers now.

[NickAnter]

Somehow I'm not surprised.

[TennesseeAnts]

Somehow I'm not surprised.

Why not?

[NickAnter]

Hmm lets see, maybe the fact of four queens.

[TennesseeAnts]

Hmm lets see, maybe the fact of four queens.

Hmm. I guess that could do it...

[TennesseeAnts]

They still have lots of pupae and larvae.

[NickAnter]

Two other queens got a nanitic each.  The queen mentioned a little bit  ago, the one with the most brood also has a nanitic, and larvae and eggs(1).  The queen with two workers(2) has a pupae which will likely eclose tomorrow.  I gave a little bit of honey to all queens except queen one:s whose nanitic hatched today, I gave them a sugar water soaked cotton ball, to test which works better.  The two worker colony guzzled the honey within five minutes.  The one worker colony with little brood(3), has not touched it.  I also gave a little bit of mealworm guts to queens two and three.  I am guessing that queen one will soon catch up to queen two, due to the amount of larvae and eggs that she has.  I will update in a few days, and with pictures, of all the colonies with workers.

[NickAnter]

Queen 1 now has two workers.
Queen 2 now has four workers.
Queen 3 now has two workers.
Oh, and pics are coming soon.

Edited by NickAnter, August 3 2019 - 6:24 AM.

[NickAnter]

Wow.  Queen two is showing the other queens how it's done.  She has about twenty larvae, a pupae, and four workers!   I put in a piece of sunflower seed, and a piece of mealworm, for them. The other queens just got sunflower seeds.  They all have honey.  Also, a fourth queen got two nanitics. I gave them a drop of honey, and as soon as the worker found it, she immediately started drinking. I will probably, after I get back from a trip to the Sierras, which starts on the tenth, and ends on the eighteenth, release all queens except number two. 

[Somethinghmm]

You shouldn't release exotic/invasive species.

[NickAnter]

Update:The queen died in colony 3, and colony four lost a worker. I only want two colonies, one for a vivarium, and one for a regular formicarium. Also, this species os already established here, and they do not harm any natives, they are extremely passive. I am planning on keeping colonies 1 and 2. I will decide what to do with colony 4, should they survive.

[TennesseeAnts]

My four queen Pheidole bicarinata colony has close to 12 workers now. They love acorn, honey, crickets and super worms. All four queens are still good, and lots more workers are on the way!

[NickAnter]

Congrats!!  I wish I had a larger Pheidole species near me. The nanitics of this species are smaller than Solenopsis molesta! I am sure your colony will get far bigger than mine.  The biggest colony of this species that I have found had about 1000 workers.  So I am assuming that is as big as they get, as they had many alates.

[NickAnter]

Well, all colonies have mold infestations, but most are still alive,  Three remain.  One colony even has 10 workers!  I gave them mealworm and honey. Hopefully majors arrive soon.

[TennesseeAnts]

My four queen Pheidole bicarinata colony has 30 ish workers with around 75 brood in all stages, with major pupae! They love fruit flies, honey and cricket legs.

[NickAnter]

Yeah, none of my colonies are anywhere near that big.  I bet my Nylanderia will catch up though, at their insane rate of growth.  In about a week and a half, they should be at about 50 workers.  By that time, they will hopefully be in a formicarium which makes feeding much less stressful.  Since feeding them a mealworm head, the queen should lay another large batch of eggs.  They still have a few pupae, so they might get thirty workers within a couple days.  My Pheidole grow petty slow in comparison.