189 replies to this topic

[Mettcollsuss]

Tetramorium tsushimae

Has some pupae now. Getting closer to workers.

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Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Attached a new larger outworld between their two current nests.

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Temnothorax sp.

A friend found a Temnothorax alate and gave her to me. She kept her wings for a week or so and was acting infertile, but after checking on her yesterday, she had dropped her wings and had 2 eggs.

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Aphaenogaster picea

Grew significantly while I was away. 20-30 workers now.

[Mettcollsuss]

Forelius sp.
Found a queen of what I'm fairly certain is Forelius. She already has a few eggs.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, August 19 2019 - 3:52 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

Dorymyrmex bureni

So I was completely mistaken about that Forelius ID...

[Mettcollsuss]

Tetramorium immigrans

I just got back from a trip and all the new queens have nanitics. Only in one of the colonies so far am I seeing aggression amongst the queens.

 

Tetramorium tsushimae

She has a nanitic!

 

Formica subsericea

I have attached a THA Labyrinth to their current nest and am moving them in.

 

The queen I caught last year FINALLY has a worker.

 

Dorymyrmex bureni

I put the queen in a THA Atom nest + outworld.

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Got my hands on some P. occidentalis. I have 2 queens with eggs and a colony with 3 nanitics, 2 pupae, and some eggs + small larvae. I put the colony's tube in an outworld with a thin layer of coco fiber substrate and a tray of seeds. The queens of this species seem a lot more active and dominant than most other species.

 

Colony 1

 

Queen 2

 

Queen 3

Edited by Mettcollsuss, August 25 2019 - 8:25 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

You do realize those are boosted workers, right? Not nanitics. Her workers have yet to come.

[Oddyseous]

I'd like some pictures of your crematogaster cerasi to compare to my own if possible. 

[Kaelwizard]

I'd like some pictures of your crematogaster cerasi to compare to my own if possible.

Crematogaster look very similar to each other.

[Kaelwizard]

Ya those are NOT nanitics.

[Mettcollsuss]

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Colony 1 has 5 workers now, and both of the queens have steadily developing brood. They just had eggs when I got them, and now they have some mid-size larvae. I made an incubator-type thing out of an old reptile enclosure with some heating cables in it and a sensor that turns the cbles off when it gets too hot. Currently keeping them at 80°F (26.6°C). I've actually moved all my queens and colonies into it with the exception of Prenolepis and my large colonies that won't fit (Tetramorium, Camponotus, Formica).

 

Formica subsericea

Completely moved in to their new THA Labyrinth.

[Mettcollsuss]

Dorymyrmex bureni

She died  : (

 

Tetramorium tsushimae

4 workers, but not much brood.

 

Temnothorax sp.

Last week, when I checked on her, she had some eggs. Now she has no brood. She seems healthy and calm, so I'm not sure what happened. I hope she ends up being successful.

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Colony 1:

A couple new pupae, 30 eggs, and 15 larvae of assorted sizes. They're keeping the queen, eggs, and larvae in the test tube, but are keeping their pupae in the outworld, about an inch away from the tube entrance. They have workers guarding both areas, seem healthy, are eating, and this doesn't seem to be causing any problems, so I'll let them do what they want.

Queen 2: 1 or 2 pupae and 20 eggs.

Queen 3: 2 or 3 pupae, 20 eggs, and 10 larvae.

[ANTdrew]

Are you going to hibernate your Pogonomyrmex?
Are you going to try to find any new Crematogaster? I’ve had a lot of luck with them this year.

[Mettcollsuss]

Are you going to hibernate your Pogonomyrmex?
Are you going to try to find any new Crematogaster? I’ve had a lot of luck with them this year.

I hadn't considered that yet. I'll have to think on it.

 

I definitely want more Crematogaster and would love to try again, but they're really hard to find around here. It took me three years to get my first Crematogaster queens, and both of them were found by friends, not me. 

[RushmoreAnts]

 

 

 

I definitely want more Crematogaster and would love to try again, but they're really hard to find around here. It took me three years to get my first Crematogaster queens, and both of them were found by friends, not me. 

 

 

 

Same here. My friend did catch a queen once, so I still hope.... 

[ANTdrew]

I wonder why they would be scarce? The kids up in the Ontario anting thread are finding like 20 at a time. I’d definitely hook ya’ll up if I could.

[Mettcollsuss]

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Colony 1:

Nothing new.

 

Colony 2: First nanitic plus a pupae close to eclosing.

 

Colony 3: The queen is helping her first pupae eclose as I'm typing this.

 

Formica neorufibarbis

Weren't doing well in the Ant Tower so I moved them to a tube. 7-10 workers.

[Mettcollsuss]

Double post, sorry

Edited by Mettcollsuss, September 28 2019 - 11:35 AM.

[Canadian anter]

I wonder why they would be scarce? The kids up in the Ontario anting thread are finding like 20 at a time. I’d definitely hook ya’ll up if I could.

Crematogaster isn't scarce. They just have a really small flight frame. They fly maybe for a few hours on 2-3 days per year. My suppliers and I caught 95 or so in total in the span of around 2 hours, but outside of those two hours we got 3-4 at most.

[Mettcollsuss]

Tetramorium tsushimae

Queen died

No idea why. Seemed healthy.

 

Formica subsericea

Colony #1 is doing well. Nothing new.

Colony #2 got second worker.

 

Formica neorufibarbis

Already has several new eggs. They had no brood when they moved in two days ago.

 

Prenolepis imparis

Colony #1: one of the three queens died.

Colony #2: all workers have died.

I might try to add queen #2 to colony #1.

[ANTdrew]

Do you still have your big Tetramorium colony? Mine’s getting crazy huge now.

Edited by ANTdrew, September 29 2019 - 9:24 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

Do you still have your big Tetramorium colony? Mine’s getting crazy huge now.

Yep. How big is yours? Mine is at about 3k and taking up most of a Phalanx.