86 replies to this topic

[Nare]

Update 9 (23/03/20)

 

It's been a little while since my last update. The THA arrived, and I have since moved some of my colonies - the Pogonomyrmex occidentalis and the Formica wheeleri went into mini hearths, and the Camponotus pennsylvanicus went into a fortress. I decided to get museum glass on all of the formicaria, as I was told it's miles better than normal glass, and I have to agree, it's pretty good. Unfortunately, I've found that a fair amount of condensation does form on the glass when I heat these formicaria, but that's likely due to me adding too much water. All of the colonies that I moved in have been doing really well, with both the Formica and Pogonomyrmex possessing nice brood piles. They've been fed a steady supply of sugar water and roaches (and poppy seeds for the Pogonomyrmex.), and seem to be quite content.

 

My other colonies are doing alright - both of my Formica fusca-group colonies are doing really well in their test tube setups, one in particular is just exploding with pupae. Unfortunately, the aserva aren't doing as well as I'd hoped, especially compared to the wheeleri. The colony currently consists of 3 wheeleri host workers, a few eggs, and a single naked pupa. I gave them some fusca-group pupae from my largest fusca-group colony, and as of right now they've brought one pupa inside. I assume they'll collect the others when they feel ready.

 

In other news, I did get out anting on a few nice days during the March break. At one location, I found at least a dozen decently sized Formica ulkei and exsectoides mounds. Unfortunately in said location it is illegal to collect or remove wildlife, so I can't collect any queens there in summer. However, at another location, where I am able to collect queens, I found a field with a half dozen decently sized ulkei mounds in pretty close proximity. I'll definitely be hanging out there mid-July this year - I really wanna get my hands on a few queens to give ulkei another try.

 

Anyways, here's some photos of my colonies.

 

Pogonomyrmex:

In this pic you can see a worker feeding chewed up seeds to some larvae. Pretty neat stuff.

 

Formica wheeleri:

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus:

As you can see, they've all got super full gasters - they usually drain their feeder in a day or two.

 

On another note, it was my birthday recently, so I ordered a copy of A Field Guide to the Ants of New England - I've heard good things about the book, so I'm super excited to get my hands on it. Maybe I'll finally be able to figure out how to ID ants.

 

Almost forgot. Here's a link to the imgur album for anyone who can't view the pics on the site.

Edited by Nare, March 23 2020 - 12:54 PM.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

The Ants of North American is a good book as well. I ordered it a bit ago, but the COVID-19 has other plans for when it'll get here

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 9 (23/03/20)
 

Hello there.........

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I'M HUNGRY!!! Is what the queen is like

[TennesseeAnts]

It may be illegal, but that doesn't mean you CAN'T collect from there, but rather you SHOULDN'T.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

lol

[Nare]

I'M HUNGRY!!! Is what the queen is like

That's not even the queen, just a major. Unfortunately, this colony's queen died. Gonna try and introduce a new one when they fly in May.

[Nare]

It may be illegal, but that doesn't mean you CAN'T collect from there, but rather you SHOULDN'T.

I wouldn't enjoy the colony as much if they came from an illegal queen. 'Sides, it's illegal to remove wildlife from that area for a reason - what might be just a few queens for me could be a multitude of prosperous mounds down the line that can't be enjoyed by future visitors if I take those queens.

[DDD101DDD]

 

I'M HUNGRY!!! Is what the queen is like

That's not even the queen, just a major. Unfortunately, this colony's queen died. Gonna try and introduce a new one when they fly in May.

 

How would you even go about doing that?

[madbiologist]

I'M HUNGRY!!! Is what the queen is like

That's not even the queen, just a major. Unfortunately, this colony's queen died. Gonna try and introduce a new one when they fly in May.

How would you even go about doing that?

Camponotus are known to accept new gynes if theirs has died.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Nare]

 

 

I'M HUNGRY!!! Is what the queen is like

That's not even the queen, just a major. Unfortunately, this colony's queen died. Gonna try and introduce a new one when they fly in May.

 

How would you even go about doing that?

 

I'm thinking I'd put the queen in a test tube and cover the end of the tube with mesh such that they can exchange scents but can't bite. The only problem with that might be formic acid spray, but I assume the queen'd be able to run to the back of the tube to hide if attacked. Kind of like how they introduce honeybee queens.

[Nare]

Update 10 (06/04/20)

 

Just thought I'd give a quick update, cause something interesting has come up in my Camponotus pennsylvanicus colony. So this colony is queenless (the queen didn't make it through hibernation). I've seen bits and pieces of her in the outworld, so I'm certain she's dead. But when I looked into the colony yesterday, I saw this:

 

A huge clutch of eggs. I've been feeding these guys sugar water regularly and the occasional roach. I assume these eggs were laid by one of the fat majors (of which there are a few), maybe even the one pictured here:

 

She's kinda buried in the middle of some other workers, but her gaster is huge - full of what I initially assumed was just sugar water, but might be ovaries now. I suspect these eggs will all develop into drones.  I'm not really looking forward to that, cause drones kinda freak me out - they look a lot like solitary wasps, which I really don't like. I'm curious to see how the drones / the colony in general reacts to a new queen if I catch one this season. Like I said in previous updates, the plan is to introduce a newly caught queen in a similar way that apiarists introduce queen bees to colonies. Hoping it works, cause I'd hate to have this colony just dwindle away.

 

Anyways, that's it for now. The rest of my colonies are pretty much the same, though the Pogonomyrmex in particular are really starting to take off. The Formica wheeleri are doing well too, as are the Formica fusca-group. The aserva are still kind of struggling. Very little brood, and I saw a dead worker in the outworld. I'm going to see if I can permanently borrow some more brood from one of the other Formica colonies.

[NickAnter]

Glad I'm not the only one who dislikes wasps......

 

Good job on these colonies!

[ForestDragon]

wasps are awesome though! I watch the wasp hives around my shed and they are so cool and they arent even bothered by me anymore lol, they don't mind it I even pick up some of the wasps and put them on my finger

[NickAnter]

Polistes don't bother me much. It's anything with a "vesp" in it's genus name that does.

[ANTdrew]

I’ve seen some of the coolest wasps ever in my native plant garden. Ichneumon wasps are beautiful, yet gruesome at the same time.

[Nare]

Update 11 (03/05/20)

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus are doing well, none of the males have eclosed yet, but there are a ton of great big pupae. None of the majors are as physogastric as they were last update, so I assume they're pretty much done laying eggs. Colony's still eating well, they like their sugar and their roaches.

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis are also doing really well, they had a ton of brood and now have a ton of workers. It's getting difficult to clean all the seed husks out of their outworld. I suspect this colony will be moving into my second Fortress formicarium sometime this year.

 

Formica wheeleri haven't produced any brood for several weeks now, and their last pupa has eclosed. I'm taking this to be a sign that they're obligate slave raiders. When I can get my hands on a decent amount of host Formica pupae, I'll give some to this colony. Should they produce more brood after the host brood injection, I'll take that as confirmation that they're obligate, which unfortunately means I probably won't be keeping them... Sad, but they'll probably be better off with someone who has the resources to keep an OSR.

 

Formica aserva have been moved into the mini-hearth that the wheeleri were in, they seem to be doing well. Right now, the colony is maybe a half dozen or so fusca-group host workers taken from my fusca-group colony, as well as the queen, and the one surviving wheeleri worker. They ate a roach last week and seem to be enjoying the sugar water I offer, so hopefully this queen will produce some brood in the near future. This colony might end up being the sanguinea-group species that I end up keeping, as they aren't obligate slave raiders, and so should do well regardless of whether they receive regular injections of host brood or not.

You can just see the queen poking her head out of the port. It's blocked off with cotton, but she likes to hide in there, since the main chamber's still a little bit big for such a small colony. Unfortunately her colours don't really come out in these pictures, but her head's a darkish red, and her mesosoma's a bright orangey-red. Not quite as striking as the wheeleri, but still neat.

 

Formica fusca-group colonies are doing alright. Unfortunately one colony hasn't really done much, and is slowly dying off it seems. The other colony is doing really well, and despite the fact that I've been taking a few pupae from them here and there, they still have probably 2 dozen workers and a dozen pupae, as well as various other pieces of brood. They also like their roaches, and I'll probably hold onto them incase I catch any other parasitic Formica this summer that will need host brood. 

 

Unfortunately the Lasius cf. aphidicola queen I caught back in march passed away. I didn't manage to get her any host workers in time, because I found her wandering around on a warm day in late winter - warm enough for parasites that flew last year to seek out host colonies to invade, but not quite warm enough for host colonies to actually be active.

 

There is some good news, however. We had our first day around and above 20c today, and Prenolepis imparis had some big flights. I bussed out to a large park in the area (maintaining social distance) to see if I could find any queens. I didn't find any at the park, however I found about 8 queens just while waiting at various bus stops. A few expired in my bag from the heat, however I managed to make it home with 4 queens, who are now getting cozy in a tube together. From what I understand, this species isn't super active, so I probably won't update on them very often. But I figured I found the queens, and if they aren't very active then they're probably pretty low maintenance, so I might as well try to keep them.

 

Also found a lil jumping spider today and accidently uploaded the picture to this album, so here's a bonus pic:

Didn't keep it, they're too small for my liking. I'd probably lose it somewhere in my room.

 

And now with the first flights of the season over, I figured I'd better discuss my plans for the year. This year, I'm looking for the following:

• Camponotus pennsylvanicus - I need a queen to try and introduce to my queen-less colony. Shouldn't be too hard to find, I always stumble across a few every year in late May to early June.
• Formica ulkei - I bought a queen last year but she didn't make it through hibernation. This year, I've scouted out maybe a half-dozen decent sized nests in a large field, so I'm hoping to catch their flights in mid-July. Queens of this species are somewhat rare and highly sought after, so I'd be super excited if I find some. Plus they're just really cool.
• Formica obscuriventris / other rufa-group - I've heard crazy things about these queens, including explosive brood growth. I've scouted out a pair of massive mounds up north at my cottage (not entirely sure which species inhabits them though since there were no active ants on them when I found them, it was likely too cold), so I'm hoping to catch a queen this year. Unfortunately their flights are the week or two before those of ulkei, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the scheduling right. Fortunately a few of these queens should pop up on the shops across the country throughout the summer, so I might just end up buying one if I don't manage to catch one myself.
• Lasius interjectus - Only recently gotten interested in this species, and I was surprised to learn that they've been found in a ravine system right near my house. Apparently they have the largest workers of all Lasius, and the queens look pretty neat too, so It'd be cool to give them a try.

Finally, I figured I'd keep any other queens I stumble across this year (excluding Myrmica rubra cause they're invasive and annoying, and absolutely everywhere), as I have plenty of feeders, space efficient setups, and a decent amount of time on my hands. I can always sell / give them away at the end of the year - there's never a shortage of people looking for a colony of ants it seems.

 

Anyways, that's it for this update. Next one will probably be in a month or two, and will hopefully include a new pennsylvanicus queen. Stay tuned.

[Nare]

Update 12 (23/05/20)

Prenolepis imparis:

These queens are doing pretty well. Two of the queens are wingless, one has shed a wing or two in the tube, and the other still has her wings. However, judging by the size of the brood pile, I'd say at least two of the queens are fertile. Take a look:

Lots of eggs, even a few small larvae. They're protective of their brood, but pretty calm. Don't run around everywhere when you disturb them (Looking at you, Formica).

 

Ponera pennsylvanica:

Collected a small colony of these when I was out of the city. Likely gonna trade them to someone else, too small for my tastes. Neat looking though.

Blurry queen cause my camera work kinda sucks.

 

Lasius umbratus-group:

Found two of these girls when I was out of the city. Introduced one to some Lasius cf. brevicornis (maybe?) workers, seems to have gone well. Currently in the process of introducing the other. Wasn't planning on really keeping any parasitic Lasius besides interjectus, but the more I look at these girls, the more I appreciate them. They're kinda like little tanks, and they're good at fighting off Lasius workers (had a few mishaps during the introduction, queen's okay, but some workers were lost). Comes with the job I guess. Anyways, this one queen's only got 10 hosts, which is a little low. Gonna see if I can collect some Lasius brood somewhere sometime, and give it to them. Problem is, all Lasius in my area don't have pupae yet, so I'm stuck with gently scooping up larvae. Not the best.

Remains of a worker. One of the unlucky ones. I didn't have my paintbrush on me when I collected these workers, so I had to scoop them into my vial using my hand, which lead to a few casualties.

 

Formica fusca-group:

As usual, the one colony is doing well. No brood at the moment, but all the workers look healthy and full. The other colony is still doing nothing. I suspect (and hope) these guys lay in batches. Otherwise the lack of brood in the good colony would indicate they're going the way of the bad colony, which would suck.

 

Myrmica sp.:

Found these guys when I was out of the city. Not gonna keep them either, but they're kinda neat - almost entirely black in color. For someone who's really only seen Myrmica rubra, these guys are kinda interesting.

And of course they've chosen to nest in the outworld. Shouldn't matter much, I'll likely be shipping them out in a few day's time anyways, so that someone else can enjoy them more than I can.

 

Formica wheeleri:

Probably gonna be the last update for these guys too. No new brood for over a month now, so I'm gonna go ahead and call it with them. I assume they're obligate slave raiders, and I don't have ready access to Formica brood for the majority of the year. Seeing as how my fusca-group colonies are doing, I probably won't even be able to rely on them for brood. I'll also be shipping these guys out. Hopefully they'll go to someone who can care for them better. Shouldn't be impossible to keep them, at least the workers don't drop dead if they haven't raided (unlike Polyergus iirc), so in theory if one has lots of Formica around and can raid there nests a few times a year, one could keep this colony going and even grow it larger.

Only a few Formica oreas hosts left at this point. They've turned into the colony's repletes, though they are still just as aggressive as ever.

 

Formica aserva:

These guys are still doing okay. Not much brood, only one large larva, but hopefully after this first batch things will get rolling again. Queen has nerves of steel and doesn't seem to mind the light, whereas the host workers grab the brood and run as soon as I so much as look at them.

Workers are plump and healthy, and the queen seems okay too. All I can do is leave them be and let them do their thing. Hopefully this colony does well, cause then I'll have locked down my sanguinea-group colony for my collection. After that, it's just exsecta-group and rufa-group to go.

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis:

These guys are exploding, and have made quite a mess.

Not even really worth it to take pictures anymore, cause the glass is so grimy. They're super aggressive too - whenever I disturb them, hordes of workers swarm into the outworld. Roaches stand no chance anymore. They're starting to chew through seeds at a rapid pace now too. Interestingly, another keeper with a queen from the same batch as this one already has queen pupae in his colony, which means this species can go from founding to alates in less than a year. Not sure if my colony is there yet, but perhaps by the end of this season or by next year they'll have alates.

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus:

The drones have eclosed!

Still lots of drone brood present as well. Queens of this species should be flying literally any day now, so I'll likely be introducing a new queen to this colony in the near future. I've stopped feeding them protein in an attempt to slow down the rate of drone production, but as I said, they've still got lots of brood lying around. Not sure what I'll do about it. I guess the drone's will just pass on when they're too old. Might let them fly - after all, this colony was collected from my back deck. We'll see.

 

Finally, I wanted to share some pictures of a Formica cf. subintegra worker I took when I was out of the city this past week:

These were taken with my cellphone and a 10 dollar macro lens. Trick is sunlight it seems, and a lot of luck. I was super excited to find this worker's colony, and although it's a bit of a bummer that they're subintegra (obligate slave raiders like the wheeleri), it was still neat to see a sanguinea-group colony in person. It was almost entirely hosts, with only a few parasitic workers here and there. I hear that kind of colony composition is common for this species.

 

Anyways, that's it for this update. Hopefully next time, I'll have a queen for the Camponotus colony, and maybe even a rufa-group colony as well. We'll see.

[Antkid12]

nice! 

[RushmoreAnts]

Also note that L. americanus work pretty much the best for umbratus group queens (or at least for aphidicola). AnthonyP163 claims that brevicornis are poor hosts.