26 replies to this topic

[Ferox_Formicae]

Another species within the genus Colobopsis is within my ownership, this time Colobopsis impressa, and unlike my Colobopsis obliqua, these guys have a queen! I found them at my park inside of some hollow vines. I was looking for where that colony of Camponotus snellingi could be as I have seen workers foraging, and I cracked open a hollow vine and found a good size colony of what I thought were Crematogaster ashmeadi, but they turned out to be Colobopsis! I thought they were Colobopsis obliqua at first, but I took a closer look at the head of one of the majors and noticed that their head was slightly concave as opposed to being completely flat. These were not Colobopsis obliqua, they were Colobopsis impressa, a new species for me! I decided to blow through one of the twig pieces while I was on the sidewalk, and the individual that popped out was non other than the queen! She was just gorgeous! I got them home and collected about thirty or so workers, a small colony probably about two years of age. I plan on housing these girls in a hollow twig, and I can't wait to see how things go for them. Here are some nice pictures of a major and the queen:

 

Edited by CloudtheDinosaurKing, June 4 2019 - 4:51 AM.

[MegaMyrmex]

Aww, so jealous! I goind a colony of these duringn the summer in a hollowed out twig but while trying to tap the brood and workers out, I accidentally flung the whole darn thing across my room:/

[Ferox_Formicae]

Aww, so jealous! I goind a colony of these duringn the summer in a hollowed out twig but while trying to tap the brood and workers out, I accidentally flung the whole darn thing across my room:/

Ooh, I usually just try and cut sticks open with a knife. What I do is find an empty part at the edge, stab it, and then twist the stick back and forth until I get a split. Then I gently continue slicing and twisting until a chunk of the hollow twig comes off. It usually doesn't split it in half entirely, although that would be awesome!

[Ferox_Formicae]

Bad news, I was closing the lid to their container last night, and the queen ran out and got her abdomen crushed in the lid. I felt her there however and removed it. She was in shock and she fell to the floor. After I found the Colobopsis obliqua queen I wanted to take her out to see how she was doing and to compare the two. Her abdomen was kind of flattened, but no organs were coming out and the bleeding had stopped. She was also running around like her good old self and going insane while the Colobopsis obliqua queen was calmly walking. Then again the Colobopsis obliqua queen must have been colder as I had just collected her from a cold, dead branch, while my Colobopsis impressa queen was warmer as she was under a towel and had several pieces of wood over it to keep the colony warmer. She's looking okay and I think she'll be okay. I once found a huge Crematogaster cerasi queen and her colony under a rock, and when I put the rock back down, I accidentally busted her abdomen. When I checked on her the next day, she was just fine, and the day after that, so I have no doubt in my mind that she'll be okay.

[TennesseeAnts]

On no! Hope she gets better and can still lay!

[Ferox_Formicae]

On no! Hope she gets better and can still lay!

She's doing better. I checked on her today and she's doing a lot better. I didn't get a really good look, but she looked like her abdomen was a lot fatter. She must have more hemolymph in it, so that's good.

[Ferox_Formicae]

I checked up on the queen, and she's doing much better. Her abdomen has regained all of it's hemolymph and is back to normal. She's still acting normal, so that's good.

[Ferox_Formicae]

I have some bad news. Over the past few hours the queen has been getting slower and slower. I just checked up on her, and she is dead. I feel so bad now. Because of me not checking when I closed the container, the queen is now dead, and the colony is going to die. But, there is some good news. As most of you guys know, I have two other colonies of Colobopsis, two colonies of Colobopsis obliqua only one has a queen however. I'm still looking for her. So while this journal is discontinued, the Colobopsis obliqua journal lives on!

Edited by CloudtheDinosaurKing, December 2 2018 - 8:52 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

RIP

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, December 2 2018 - 10:37 AM.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Just caught a colony inside of a hollow bamboo twig at the zoo, and it's an absolutely massive colony, with lots of brood! I'm going to extract the colony tonight, and hopefully the colony has a queen. This journal is back up, and I have some nice plans for this colony!

[TennesseeAnts]

Where would I find these in Tennessee?

[Ferox_Formicae]

Where would I find these in Tennessee?

Cracking open hollow twigs is a good way to find colonies. A lot of the time though, these are satellite nests with no queen, but sometimes, you get lucky. Nuptial flights should be starting up soon as well. They fly in great numbers from late May to early July.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Queenless, but lots and lots of alate brood! I'm gonna introduce a queen to this colony once they start flying, and once I know the queen is fertile.

[TennesseeAnts]

I have never even seen Colobopsis before. I don't think they exist in Middle Tennessee.

[Ferox_Formicae]

I have never even seen Colobopsis before. I don't think they exist in Middle Tennessee.

Just wait for flights. If they do live in your area, you'll know it when they have their flights. Just turn on a porch light or something, and you will see dozens of queens scurrying around.

[TennesseeAnts]

It may be because they are arborial ants. I guess I may want to start climbing rotten trees! (Totally safe!!)

[Ferox_Formicae]

It may be because they are arborial ants. I guess I may want to start climbing rotten trees! (Totally safe!!)

The tree doesn't have to be rotten, and they often nest within reach. Just look for dead twigs and crack them open. If you're lucky, it'll be hollow. The ants I most commonly find inside of hollow twigs are ants in the genera Crematogaster and Pseudomyrmex. I also find Brachymyrmex, and Camponotus inside of them sometimes.

[TennesseeAnts]

Are Psuedomyrmex native to Tennessee? I think they are.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Are Psuedomyrmex native to Tennessee? I think they are.

Yes, two species, P. pallidus and P. ejectus.

[Ferox_Formicae]

More and more queen alate pupa are appearing, bringing the count up to three, plus lots of alate larva! I will finish up their nest tomorrow, I just have to get a hollow stick from my park for their nest. I will make sure the twig is about the same size as the original bamboo nest they had.