74 replies to this topic

[Kaelwizard]

Tetramorium, Camponotus and parasitic Formica species are my favorite natives. If you count the tetras as native, which in my books they are as they found their place in the world.

Edited by Kaelwizard, July 30 2019 - 8:23 AM.

[ANTdrew]

I would call them naturalized instead of native. The label native is somewhat arbitrary, but a typical definition is what was living here before European colonists came.

[Kaelwizard]

I would call them naturalized instead of native. The label native is somewhat arbitrary, but a typical definition is what was living here before European colonists came.

That’s what I meant.

[ANTdrew]

I moved Hel ,my new 2019 queen, into a mini-hearth yesterday. The process only took a few hours; I love how easy Tetras are to move. This micro colony is very active, and they crushed some termites that I gave them.

[ANTdrew]

Update 8-26-2019

This colony continues to do well in their dirt terrarium. It's not pretty looking at all anymore, though, since everything is getting covered up with clay. Even one of the violets is slowly getting buried and will probably die. There are still a ton of springtails, though, and I even see them moving around on the surface sometimes now. There are so many springtails that mold is a non-issue with this set up. I'm hoping that when I hibernate them the Tetras will dig down deep, so I can start removing dirt they've deposited.

I wouldn't be surprised if I start getting alates with this colony next year, but who knows?

 

Crazy hemp seeds feeding frenzy:

 

My new queen, Hel, is doing excellent. She just started getting a bunch of full size workers and has a huge brood pile. They are happy in their mini-hearth.

Edited by ANTdrew, August 26 2019 - 10:53 AM.

[Oddyseous]

Looking Good!

[ANTdrew]

Update 9-11-2019

 

Not much to update other than that this colony continues to grow and feed like crazy. They empty out a tall byFormica liquid feeder in just a few days now. For next year, I plan to hook a whole new big nest to this tank to provide more space for their growth, or else I could just hook a similar tank to this one filled with more of their favorite clay.

 

Here is a dubia roach feeding frenzy the other night:

 

Their tank used to look pretty like this. It's just like what we humans are doing to planet earth. Holy crap!

[ANTdrew]

Update 9-27-2019

 

 My mega-colony continues to do great in their dirt tank, though I think it may be getting a bit crowded for them. These girls are incredibly voracious; yesterday I fed them a spoonful of cooked quinoa, 4 large crickets, and six mealworms, and they crushed all the food. They've been mounding up big amounts of dirt recently, so they must be doing a lot of excavating. I'll definitely need  to hook another dirt tank to their set up next year. At that point, I'll need to move these down in my basement with a heat lamp.

 

Photo of mounded dirt:

 

All the white dots in here are the resident springtails. They like to hang out in the gravel drainage layer:

 

My new queen, Hel is doing great as well. She should hit 100 workers very soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by ANTdrew, September 27 2019 - 11:17 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Aghhhhhhhhhh! Big breakout happened with my mega-colony. They’ve excavated so much soil that it reached the lip of their barrier this morning. My wife was home and found a whole swarm of them moving into a potted plant and covering our pantry. You can imagine how pleased she was. I rushed home and pulled the set up outside and removed almost a pound of soil. I also renewed the fluon. Several hundred were lost in this ordeal. I think they desperately need more space! I won’t give up on them in any case.

Edited by ANTdrew, October 4 2019 - 4:42 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

At this point you should just buy a big fish tank, follow the Ants Australia tutorial, and drop in the terrarium.

[ANTdrew]

At this point you should just buy a big fish tank, follow the Ants Australia tutorial, and drop in the terrarium.

That’s a pretty good idea. I think it may be easier to hook this tank to a new one via tubing, though. All that would take up a lot of space.
I have them contained outside for now. Hopefully I can make it to diapause because I need a break from this colony. For real.

[NickAnter]

I'm am going to try really hard to find a queen of these this year. It turns out that there is a colony just a few miles away from me!

[ANTdrew]

It shouldn’t be too hard to find one if you have colonies around.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

At this point you should just buy a big fish tank, follow the Ants Australia tutorial, and drop in the terrarium.

Definitely cheaper than a THA Formicaium, that's for sure lol 

It's insane how high-priced some of his formicariums are

[Kaelwizard]

I'm am going to try really hard to find a queen of these this year. It turns out that there is a colony just a few miles away from me!

There are probably colonies right around you that you do not know about lol. Tetramorium and Lasius spp. Are the dominating species in my neighborhood.

[NickAnter]

I live in Orange County. This is the first recorded instance of them being here. And sadly, they fly when I am in school. They are probably rather rare.

Edited by NickAnter, April 7 2020 - 5:38 PM.

[ANTdrew]

You’re in school at 6:00am?!?

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

You’re in school at 6:00am?!?

You realize you're not going to be the only teacher on Formiculture, right? Statistically it was bound to happen one day if you don't count Ant_Dude as a Camponotous teacher.

[ANTdrew]

You’re in school at 6:00am?!?

You realize you're not going to be the only teacher on Formiculture, right? Statistically it was bound to happen one day if you don't count Ant_Dude as a Camponotous teacher.

Woah, are you a teacher, too? School’s OVER for me when Tetras fly in any case.

[DDD101DDD]

 

 

You’re in school at 6:00am?!?

You realize you're not going to be the only teacher on Formiculture, right? Statistically it was bound to happen one day if you don't count Ant_Dude as a Camponotous teacher.

Woah, are you a teacher, too? School’s OVER for me when Tetras fly in any case.

 

When is school over where you teach?