9 replies to this topic

[dominatus]

I have three Pogonomyrmex badius queens. They were dug up from claustral chambers. I had six dug up but some miscommunication with my brother in law left three in the sun and they fried. AAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG. I am so mad at myself for that.

 

So good chance they are fertile I hope, since they were found in claustral chambers. I read every post on here and elsewhere that I could find about these ladies. So I put them in some sand and let them dig. See the video below. There are many posts saying a natural chamber like this is your best bet to get a good healthy start, instead of the usual test tube set up.

 

 

The plan now is to just put them in a warm room and wait for some workers to emerge in a month or so. I figure I should just put a few drops of water once a week or so to keep the sand moist but I shouldn't need to do anything else till I see workers. God I hope this works. I am designing a 4 ft tall display for them that they will be able to dig in, with an outworld on top. I can add more room for them. Casts of natural nests have shown they can go 9ft deep and 3ft spread. I plan on trying to give them an similar area to dig in over time. I like building things All that is dreams unless I get one of these fine ladies to succeed.

 

So, suggestions? Tips? Good vibes? Don't think it would be good to move them now that they have dug in, it seems to be a the kind of set up people have had success with before.  

[SuperFrank]

I know a few people who keep them successfully. They do well in a setup with our natural silica "sugar sand" (I'm in Florida) and from what I understand need it fairly warm to thrive, either with a heat lamp or mat/pad. I've heard you can observe them becoming noticeably more active when their hear source is turned on each day.

[dominatus]

Yes. I have sand from their habitat. That is what they are digging in the video. I am keeping them warm. Hopefully workers will appear in a few weeks.

[dominatus]

One dug her chamber so that I can see her through the bottom. She had a mouth full of eggs!!!! Holding my breath!

[PacificNorthWestern]

I heard that this species is fully claustral, but i know that some species are semi claustral, you might want to add some seeds just in case

[dominatus]

I heard that this species is fully claustral, but i know that some species are semi claustral, you might want to add some seeds just in case

I put some grass seeds in there. I'll put some other types when I get some.

[dominatus]

Well. I am back in Texas. My brother in law is raising these guys for the nieces. I have a friend from Facebook that claims he knows where some P. badius are on the Louisiana border. He says they had lots of claustral chambers when he visited last week. Seems doubtful as I know of no records of these being found further west than Louisiana. We are headed there this evening as a fun road trip and see. Hopefully I'll at least get some type of harvester ant queens for my own keeping. Let y'all know.

[ANTdrew]

Good luck!

[dominatus]

Good luck!

Well. Holy crap. It was more than good luck, it was an amazing trip.

He was right, it was harvester ants showing polymorphism. We walked an acre or two bordering a sparse pine forest and there were harvester ants everywhere. Soon as we got past the forest there were no more. Lots of colonies but very isolated. I collected 10 queens from chambers and just walking around. I felt that had to give me a good chance at one being a healthy fertile female that won't die on me. It was (I think he said) land of my friend's family. He said it looked like there were a lot more those tawny ants encroaching then he remembered as a kid so who knows if that spot will have those harvester ants in the future.

We walked an old arena field and barn also. Found a Camponotus sp. queen. Also found a bunch of trap jaw ant queens. They looked just like the one I found at my house so that was also pretty amazing find.

I am done, lol. I have my hands full now... I can't believe I actually had such a successful Anting trip though.

Edited by dominatus, June 30 2019 - 7:02 PM.

[ponerinecat]

luck favors you.