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NickAnter's Nylanderia vividula Journal(Comeback!)


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221 replies to this topic

#101 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 8 2020 - 10:32 AM

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looking gorgeous! 


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#102 Offline ForestDragon - Posted February 8 2020 - 11:05 AM

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I have an idea why you were not successful Drew. In the early stages, they need tons of food. Only later on, when they get repletes, can they go a while without food.

Very fitting Ant Drew. I do Kenpo Karate, so....

Also, I dumped the larger tube. They are in the process of moving in. The ones that were dumped yesterday all moved in, so this time it should go quicker, that is, if the queen cooperates.

you do karate? i am a ninja as well, 2nd dan in taekwondo



#103 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 8 2020 - 11:26 AM

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Oh.  I am only a green belt.  Soon to be green belt with a brown stripe. Over a year to go to get  black belt.   Usually takes more than five years in my system. But, I have gotten to green belt in under two years, which is pretty good, so, who knows?


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#104 Offline ForestDragon - Posted February 8 2020 - 11:35 AM

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Oh.  I am only a green belt.  Soon to be green belt with a brown stripe. Over a year to go to get  black belt.   Usually takes more than five years in my system. But, I have gotten to green belt in under two years, which is pretty good, so, who knows?

my school doesnt use stripes (unless your >7) we just go solid, yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, brown, red, navy, stripe black(only stripe in normal system) and then black belt, then 10 degrees of black belt I'm 2nd we are a traditional school, our gm is one of the highest in the world according to world taekwondo foundation, only 5 and he has a 10th dan in like 5 disciplines or smth, taekwondo, karate, gumdo(korean version of kendo) and kimodo, he's also my neighbor, 



#105 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 8 2020 - 11:41 AM

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Our's is: White, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Blue, Blue with a Green Stripe(I skipped that, I had enough material according to Grandmaster Taylor) Green, Green with a Brown Stripe, Brown, First Decree Brown Second Decree Brown, Third Decree brown, Black, Fist Decree Black, and all they way up to tenth decree.


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#106 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 28 2020 - 6:52 AM

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   Had about 10 worker deaths, but I am not too worried. If I see serious die offs I will move them out. If they keep dying at this rate they will still keep exploding in numbers. They devour massive mealworms every few days now, and I just provide a THA liquid feeder with sugar water in it. Unless I find a cricket outside, or a termite, that is mostly all they get, and they are still thriving. It is great that they are so simple, and don't need lots of variety. I would say that they are at at least 850 workers. What I plan to do when they outgrow this formicarium(probably next year) is to put them in a paludarium setup, on an Island, so I would not have to worry about escapees, and, in the setup, there would be other Islands, on one I would like to put a Hypoponera species, and on the other maybe Pheidole navigans. The islands would all border up to the glass at the bottom, but leaving water around the edges so that I could still view their tunnels without having to worry about escapees.


  • ANTdrew likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#107 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted February 28 2020 - 4:15 PM

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What I plan to do when they outgrow this formicarium(probably next year) is to put them in a paludarium setup, on an Island, so I would not have to worry about escapees, and, in the setup, there would be other Islands, on one I would like to put a Hypoponera species, and on the other maybe Pheidole navigans. The islands would all border up to the glass at the bottom, but leaving water around the edges so that I could still view their tunnels without having to worry about escapees.

And of course these are on YouTube, lol.

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis


#108 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 28 2020 - 4:16 PM

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I admit, that is where I got the paludarium idea, but connecting the edge to the glass and having multiple islands is my own.


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#109 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted February 28 2020 - 4:17 PM

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Yes, of course. Can’t wait to see them.

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis


#110 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 28 2020 - 4:21 PM

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Hopefully they have some more growth explosions, and it will only be in a couple months. I even have some water plants already....


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#111 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 29 2020 - 1:16 PM

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I fed them a live random subterranean termite alate today. Within 30 seconds they had it immobilized. They already had a lot of experience on the larger Incisitermes minor, so I guess this was no trouble at all for them. If there are more termites I find, I'll freeze them, and keep them frozen so that I have a nice supply. Sadly, despite the fact that my dad knows they can't destroy the house, I still can't keep them. Their strategy is to grab the wings first so that it can't keep them flapping and send ants flying, as happened with the Incisitermes, then spread eagle them, and get a worker or two to spray it in the head. I am feeding them something every other day now, to hopefully encourage more egg laying.


  • RushmoreAnts likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#112 Offline NickAnter - Posted March 2 2020 - 7:45 PM

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Near disaster. 2 workers escaped from the nest. I saw the problem, and added two more clips to the side of the nest. One of the workers that was about to get out, got smushed. Then, the real test begun. They release some pheromone when they get injured, so a bunch of worker ran toward the area, and began trying to get under the acrylic. Thankfully they failed. 


  • Da_NewAntOnTheBlock likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#113 Offline NickAnter - Posted March 16 2020 - 7:34 AM

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Doing great. They have plateued in worker count, with older ones dying, and new ones being born. But, the queen laid over 100 eggs, and they have 50 pupae, so I think they will be okay. And I have over 20 water plants now! They just need to quadruple in size.
  • RushmoreAnts likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#114 Offline NickAnter - Posted April 13 2020 - 9:51 AM

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  Queen has laid hundred upon hundreds of eggs, and about 60 large larvae and pupae. They do have quite the graveyard, so I think all older workers are dead now, but, it's not getting much bigger now though. I think part of it may have been lack of humidity, as they seem to need very high humidity, something that the nest they are in is not great at, unless I water it every 2 days, which I will do from now on. I feed them protein every day now, and they seem to like that. recently, it has mostly been Reticulitermes hesperus alates.

 

I will start black-lighting in my front and back yard again today, and until Thursday, hoping for some of the Camponotus that I now know are in my neighborhood. I have also seen Nylanderia queens in my pool, so I know they are flying, so I will hopefully get some of those. When/if I do, i will introduce one to this colony to see if it will be accepted. I don't expect it to, but hopefully it will. If so, they will be ready for a multi-native species(S. molesta, Hypoponera, maybe C. clarithorax if I find some) paludarium in no time.


Edited by NickAnter, April 13 2020 - 9:51 AM.

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Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#115 Offline NickAnter - Posted April 16 2020 - 5:25 PM

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I found no queens on my blacklight the last two days, and nothing besides tons of termites in my pool. On Tuesday I did see what I am pretty sure was a large sphinx moth.

 

They do however, have up to 400 eggs, and about 100 pupae/large larvae.  :o 

 

And I forgot to say, but this colony lost a few younger generations of workers, about 200 in fact, so they are only at about 600 workers, but will hopefully be at 1000 soon. Half of the eggs have already hatched.

 

I am still sticking to the daily protein regimen, hoping for even more eggs. I will post some pictures of the egg pile soon, as in sometime in the near future. And sometime in the near future is either never, or later this evening.


  • ANTdrew likes this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#116 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted April 16 2020 - 5:29 PM

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I found no queens on my blacklight the last two days, and nothing besides tons of termites in my pool. On Tuesday I did see what I am pretty sure was a large sphinx moth.

 

They do however, have up to 400 eggs, and about 100 pupae/large larvae.  :o

 

And I forgot to say, but this colony lost a few younger generations of workers, about 200 in fact, so they are only at about 600 workers, but will hopefully be at 1000 soon. Half of the eggs have already hatched.

 

I am still sticking to the daily protein regimen, hoping for even more eggs. I will post some pictures of the egg pile soon, as in sometime in the near future. And sometime in the near future is either never, or later this evening.

Nice, everyone love to see pics!


There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#117 Offline NickAnter - Posted April 16 2020 - 5:35 PM

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Pictures!










  • VoidElecent and RushmoreAnts like this

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#118 Offline VoidElecent - Posted April 25 2020 - 10:09 AM

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One of the coolest colonies I have ever seen. I've never gotten a Nylanderia colony to live past hibernation.


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#119 Offline ADHTCIAD - Posted April 25 2020 - 10:19 AM

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Amazing colony. Very nicely done! (y)


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What do you get if you cross some ants with some ticks...?

All sorts of antics!! ... :lol:

 

Okay, I'll leave. That's the ant-ire joke anyways.


#120 Offline NickAnter - Posted April 25 2020 - 10:26 AM

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Thank you!


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 





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