42 replies to this topic

[Antennal_Scrobe]

So I was rummaging in my local park for ants and I peeled back the bark on a log to find a colony of Lasius ants, queen and all. I collected the queen, who is extremely physogastric, and as many workers and brood as I could. I decided to give them the Mini Hearth my C. pennsylvanicus refused, and they moved in within a minute (!). I decided just to let those carpenter ants go, and took them to the park. While I previously mocked the genus Lasius and stuggled to understand why anyone would keep them, now I know: they move nests easily, grow quickly, don't bite, can climb well, and, despite being admittedly plain, are generally a good choice for an antkeeper.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, July 15 2019 - 8:53 AM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I am pretty sure this is Lasius americanus. L. neoniger is yellower, and usually lives on roadsides and other disturbed habitats. How do I edit the title of the topic?

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, July 11 2019 - 3:39 PM.

[CatsnAnts]

To edit the title, you simply edit the first post made. It will have a title edit bar.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Last night I gave them some raw honey and a chopped up mealworm. One drank a little honey but I haven't seen them eating since then. They might just not be hungry, but then again they might not like any of that stuff. Anyone know what to feed this species?

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I think I saw the queen lay an egg this morning.

[ANTdrew]

So I was rummaging in my local park for ants and I peeled back the bark on a log to find a colony of Lasius ants, queen and all. I collected the queen, who is extremely physogastric, and as many workers and brood as I could. I decided to give them the Mini Hearth my C. pennsylvanicus refused, and they moved in within a minute (!). I decided just to let those carpenter ants go, and took them to the park. While I previously mocked the genus Lasius and stuggled to understand why anyone would keep them, now I know: they move nests easily, grow quickly, don't bite, can climb well, and, despite being admittedly plain, are generally a good choice for an antkeeper.

You’ve summarized all the reasons I’d be very happy to find a NON parasitic Lasius queen someday. All I ever find are parasites...

[Antennal_Scrobe]

There must be some colonies somewhere for there to be parasites at all, so hopefully you will be successful. If it helps, I found this colony by peeling back bark on a rotten log. The log was dead, but not rotten enough to pull apart.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Colony has a massive pile of eggs I'm positive I didn't collect. Not surprising, given the queen's swollen gaster.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Does anyone know what moisture level these ants want? They are staying exclusively on the end of the nest furthest from the water source, which is odd because I had heard Lasius liked water. But maybe that area is somehow more humid.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

 

Here, have a picture. Not sure what the gray mass southwest of the queen's head is, but I think it may be larvae spinning cocoons. You can also see the massive egg pile under the queen. She laid all those in such a short time, and still has many more to go from the look of her gaster. Not sure if I should be ecstatic or a little scared. I can count 20 ants in this picture (Not including the queen) and know there are a few more, so I estimate about 24 workers. The number will soon triple because of the pupae.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, July 15 2019 - 9:02 AM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I drew this schematic today, I will build this grout nest design and move the Lasius colony in at some point. Any ideas or constructive criticism? Dimensions are 5 inches by 5 inches.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

They put the bodies of the two ants I accidentally squished into the feeding dish with the food. I think this is their way of saying "I'm not hungry".

[ANTdrew]

I like your design. Just a thought, but maybe tiny ants like Lasius would like narrower kind of tunnels? Definitely read Crystals tutorial on making a grout nest with advanced hydration.

[Lasiusumbratus]

Is it just me or does that queen look like lasius umbratus or something with how it legs and head is?

https://ibb.co/cbXC9D4

Edited by Lasiusumbratus, July 15 2019 - 4:37 AM.

[CatsnAnts]

Is it just me or does that queen look like lasius umbratus or something with how it legs and head is?

https://ibb.co/cbXC9D4

Maybe not Lasius umbratus, but I’m pretty sure that’s some sort of parasitic lasius (which is even cooler to have). Could you take more pictures?

[Kaelwizard]

Ya that queen is definitely not L. americanus. Definitely a parasite.

Edit: Looks like L. aphidicola. (Ex. L. umbratus) I have found many before. They look like that. Could be a somehow darker L. latipes.

Edited by Kaelwizard, July 15 2019 - 5:26 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Plot twist!

[CatsnAnts]

Plot twist!

[TennesseeAnts]

Yea your queen is Lasius aphidicola.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Woah! What exactly does that entail? I am basically in shock right now. Is it one of those subterranean species that farms root aphids, or can they eat like normal ants? By the way, the big tunnels on the formicarium are based on how their nest was in the wild, with wide, amorphous tunnels and very low ceilings (You can also see this at alexanderwild.com in a picture of L. americanus).

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, July 15 2019 - 8:43 AM.