55 replies to this topic

[AnthonyP163]

The high fatality rate likely isn't your fault (at least mostly). L. neoniger always have high mortality rates, that's part of the reason the flights include so many queens. With Lasius, it's sometimes just out of your control. From last years flights, I only have 1 surviving neoniger and 1 surviving crypticus. I believe I caught over 10 of both combined. Doesn't help that they prefer to lay eggs after hibernation.

 

Good luck with your Tetramorium and may you catch more Lasius during the soon flights.

[Scherme]

Back at it again. 

These poor girls.

 

Couldn't help myself. 

 

August 29th, they had big flights in my back yard so I started filling tubes and petris.

 

I made some of the petri founding chambers that Miles from The Ant Network has a tutorial on. I dig them.

My second batch seems less absorbent than the first? idk ill keep trying.

 

I spared the majority of the population and only took 11 queens.
I put 5 in AC TTs with the holder, put 1 in a glass TT, and put the last 5 in the petri founding chambers. 

 

As of the time I am writing this, they all have small piles of eggs. 

 

I have a dedicated mini fridge for these ladies this year, as well as a heating cable for the first couple months I will keep them warm.

So sustainable and stable temps in a check this time. I have a separate thermostat to regulate the fridge to above normal operating temps. I figure I might even get to cool them down this way.

 

I THINK maybe not a gradual enough cool down might have let to my failure last time. 

 

I love the look of L. Neoniger.

 

[AnthonyP163]

Good luck!

[ANTdrew]

So lucky! I still can’t find these, despite searching in parks that are full of them every fricking afternoon. Argh!

[Scherme]

Big Update

 

So it pretty much depends on who you ask for what to do in certain situations. 

 

This is my current plan: Hold off diapause until nanitics. 

 

Currently it looks like I have 2 contenders that will produce nanitics soon. 

The most advanced is 1 lady in a petri founding chamber

This was actually a bit ago, she has a couple cocoons that are darkening. 

 

This lady is in a TT founding setup

 

I have several others with large piles of eggs that never seem to have advanced to larvae, yet. I am giving them time. 

 

I figure at the vary least, if get them into diapause January, I can get 3 good months of it. 

 

 

I lost one queen in the petri founding chambers, all the TT queens are still alive. 

 

My TT vs Petri experiment has so far produced the following conclusions which anyone i believe could have guessed:

 

 

TT Pros:

In a TT holder, they are easy to store and provide a hydration side and warmth side.

Hydration lasts way longer and doesn't require frequent fill ups. 

 

TT Cons:
Water is a PITA to change.
Cotton ball on water side becomes gross.
Tube distorts pictures.

Petri Pros: 
More picture friendly

Easily rehydrated
Does not become moldy quickly, i haven't seen any at all.
Easy to provide and remove food and sugars.

Petri Cons:
Frequent hydration
Removing lid had high risk of escape. 
Ventilation isn't very easy to get, I currently have 1 pin hole in each top, is that enough? too much? idk

 

Currently the largest and most advanced brood is in a petri founding chamber. I have 4 petri founding and 6 in TT.

Which is better? idk it seems preference, maybe even by the sp. would determine that. It is a very small test that cannot really conclude much. 

I am setting up the fridge this week to dial in temps, but I will be waiting to put them in.

 

Today I cut some small squares of parchment paper and put a drop of byFormica's Sunburst on them and offered them to the queens. When they found it they eagerly drank it up and I watch as their gasters expanded. 
 

 

[ANTdrew]

Awesome! I actually found another one of these at the end of September, dealate this time.

[RushmoreAnts]

Fortunately Lasius (especially nanitics) are pretty timid, and therefore the chances of escape are lower than with other more aggressive species. I couldn't do a petri dish setup with my Pogonomyrmex, as the moment I opened it up half the colony would all over my nightstand.

[Scherme]

Fortunately Lasius (especially nanitics) are pretty timid, and therefore the chances of escape are lower than with other more aggressive species. I couldn't do a petri dish setup with my Pogonomyrmex, as the moment I opened it up half the colony would all over my nightstand.

Yeah absolutely, I am sure it varies per species. Thankfully when I pull the tops of these queens, they just run in circles, never bothering to climb a wall. 

[Scherme]

How much diapause? well.. so far none.

 

I was convinced by someone to just try NOT hibernating them. At least not the first year. 

Most of them had eggs/larvae. 

 

So I have kept them warm.  I transferred one over from a TT to the petri founding chambers I made. I still have 2 in TTs that are being stubborn. 

 

I had a queen with several workers and a small pile of brood. They all died but the queen survived.

 

After a while I noticed another queen with a couple workers.. and then more workers and then more. Currently I am counting 15 and a growing pile of brood. 

Here she is with some of her workers. They are super active.

 

Then I started to noticed most of the other queens, including the one who lost her colony, had begun laying and it seems several of them have some small larvae. 

 

I have been giving them all sugar and recently tried giving them all bits of cut up mealworms. I tear small squares of wax paper, one for sugar solution, one for dead bug.

 

The small colony seems to be hungrily accepting both sugar and protein sources. The queens without workers have been sipping sugar but I have not witnessed them go after any protein themselves although it might happen when I am not watching.

 

I do plan to hibernate whichever colonies end up making it through the summer. I am not sure how their overall longevity will be affected by this. I hope not much. 

[ANTdrew]

I love that photo.

[Scherme]

On the move again!

20 Workers so its time to evict. I decided to put my THA MH back to work. Dusted off the minihearh, filled it and its nest mate up with water. Put a fresh byFormica 1ml liquid feeder into the outworld then attached the queens petri dish founding chamber. 

 

I am less worried about lower worker numbers, because these ladies can move. They are so fast. They quickly started exploring the new world. After only a few minutes there were 3 of them drinking from the liquid feeder.

 

I left them overnight with the light shining on the founding chamber. When I checked the next morning, all the cocoons had been moved to the screen of the water reservoir, but the rest of the brood was still in the petri along with the queen and majority of the workers.

I lifted the petri lid, and blew slightly over the top, sending them into a panic. A couple workers started grabbing brood and bringing them into the MH. I let them calm down and then repeated this several times and it got me thinking. I am really liking the petri founding setup and have plans to expand on the idea, but its purpose is mostly going to be as a starting place. Since it seems ants don't like to nest where there is any sort of air current, my thoughts are to take one petri lid and install a mesh screen. When I plan to move a colony, I can swap out the top for the screen top to add more encouragement to vacate. Just a thought, seems pretty straightforward tho.

 

After letting the winds blow on the colonies several times, all the brood was eventually taken over to the new territory, yet the queen and a few workers lingered. This also revealed two, almost completely translucent, callow workers I had not spotted before. They clung to the sides of the petri under the queen. I figured at this point it was safe enough to tap them into their new home and then proceeded to close it off once again. 

[Scherme]

 

Some newer pics of the neos in their new home. They seem to be doing well and are hungry. 

[ANTdrew]

I seem to have a much better L. neoniger queen this year

[Chickalo]

Nice topic!  I want to catch any and every Lasius species in Massachusetts (a little to far?), but very beautiful queens in my opinion.  I mean I find Lasius in general to be a very attractive genus.  

[Scherme]

I lost one and dispatched the rest of the unlaying queens. They became tetra food. 

 

The THA minihearth is working out for these girls, they seem to really like it and the nest is starting to fill out..

 

I am hopeful one day my AC lasius hybrid will actually get used. 

[Kaelwizard]

I lost one and dispatched the rest of the unlaying queens. They became tetra food. 

 

The THA minihearth is working out for these girls, they seem to really like it and the nest is starting to fill out..

 

I am hopeful one day my AC lasius hybrid will actually get used. 

If I ever kill a queen for any reason, I make sure it is food for something that needs it.