17 replies to this topic

[Ferox_Formicae]

I found four of these queens tonight. I caught three, but two of them disappeared without a trace, leaving me with only a single queen. I just have one question about these, are they semi-claustral? I'm thinking they are, but I'm not entirely certain. I think all Ponerines are though.

Darn, it posted twice.

Edited by CloudtheDinosaurKing, June 2 2019 - 4:25 PM.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Just found one of the queens crawling on my Safar Ltd. Eastern Screech Owl I got on Saturday!

[TennesseeAnts]

Yes, they are semi claustral. I just realized, yours and my journals are the only 2 on the forum for Brachyponera chinensis. :shocked:

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, May 18 2019 - 5:03 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Oh. Btw, these are termite specialists, but love baby meal worms, fruit flies and crickets. I would recommend keeping a termite feeder colony for them like I did before my last colony died.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Oh. Btw, these are termite specialists, but love baby meal worms, fruit flies and crickets. I would recommend keeping a termite feeder colony for them like I did before my last colony died.

I'll try and find some termites pairs.

[TennesseeAnts]

Just get a few dozen workers from a log.

[Ferox_Formicae]

The queens died suddenly and unexpectedly, and I'm not sure why.

[TennesseeAnts]

These need very high humidity.

[Ferox_Formicae]

These need very high humidity.

I've caught 6 more queens, so I'll be sure to give them high humidity this time.

[Ferox_Formicae]

I guess I can start this journal back up again as I've captured a small colony! It has about 15 workers and a small amount of brood. I found the colony inside of a walnut. I moved them into the formicarium my Aphaenogaster rudis used to inhabit, and they seem to be taking to it well. I have noticed a bit of a problem though, I never cleaned the plastic covering so now my view is obstructed!  Oh well, it'll be fine. They seem to be tucking the queen further back in the nest, and she seems pretty happy. They've already killed three termites, and I captured a king and queen termite today to start a feeder colony.

[TennesseeAnts]

You won't be able to start a good feeder colony until around this time next year, if not more. Very long process. They need lots of rotting wood and some forest soil.

[Ferox_Formicae]

You won't be able to start a good feeder colony until around this time next year, if not more. Very long process. They need lots of rotting wood and some forest soil.

That's okay. I can collect from wild colonies until this one starts to take hold.

[TennesseeAnts]

That's exactly what I did.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Caught bunches of queens tonight.

[TennesseeAnts]

Try to get a.few workers for them. I think the reason why wild colonies have so many queens is because they accept new queens into the nest.

[Ferox_Formicae]

The colony has died, but the queens are still going strong.

[TennesseeAnts]

Update? I got 3 new queens today. 1 with wings, 2 without.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, June 17 2019 - 12:52 PM.

[SuperFrank]

I've kept small ponerines successfully before, they flourish in a small dirt setup as opposed to a test tube. Ime fruitflies and bloodworms are ideal feeders