387 replies to this topic

[Antennal_Scrobe]

So I merged my journals. Everything I post about my own ants will be in here from now on.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, September 26 2019 - 2:05 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I let that new Formica queen go, by the way. 

[Antennal_Scrobe]

My Lasius don't eat a lot of food, but they sure do chug water from their nestmate all day long. There are like 5 drinking from it right now and it's almost empty. The Temnothorax colony is just full of male alates now, as far as I can tell, no workers are hatching. The Tetramorium are doing well, I should feed them today. Camponotus queen #2 (cf. caryae?) has a pupa and a large larva, I can't wait to see the first workers. The Formica pallidefulva co-op colony has a massive pile of pretty big larvae. I should buy a Mini-Hearth or something not made of glass or plastic. Wouldn't want them to gas themselves to death when I check on them.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I think my Camponotus cf. caryae queen ate her brood. I can't see it in there, and she is suddenly physogastric. Such a shame, I was looking forward to those workers. At least the F. pallidefulva still have their 20ish larvae. 

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, August 19 2019 - 12:13 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I just caught a commensal ant cricket and introduced it to my Tetramorium.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, August 19 2019 - 1:34 PM.

[ANTdrew]

I just caught a commensal ant cricket and introduced it to my Tetramorium.

Neat! Keep us posted in this.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

An update on the cricket: he is hanging out on the ceiling of the nest right now, I don't think the ants mind him.

[Kaelwizard]

Those ant crickets are the ones that live with ants right?

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Yeah, Myrmecophilus pergandei. 

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Good news! It turns out that Camponotus queen #2 did not eat her pupa! I really don't know where she hid it that one time. The two Formica queens have raised their first pupa, and have over fifteen larvae of various sizes.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I'm calling Camponotus queen #2 Camponotus cf. caryae, and the uncertain Formica queen is F. cf. neogagates from now on.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, August 22 2019 - 10:16 AM.

[ForestDragon]

You have a 2 queen Formica pallidefulva? I didn't know they are polygnous  that's a new one for me

[Antennal_Scrobe]

They are. The lone queen I have has maybe an egg or two, the two queen colony has 15+ larvae and at least one pupa. For the record the queens I put together were caught at most 30 meters from each other and ten minutes apart, so it is quite likely they are sisters or cousins. 

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The Camponotus nearcticus queen has a secret lair in the sawdust that I can't see, so she might actually have some brood.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The Tetramorium queen has been laying lots of eggs, which I noticed hanging from the ceiling today. I'm not sure why they hang the brood, but I am glad that the queen increased her egg laying rate after the brood boosts.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I fed the Formica queens a mealworm; they were probably starving due to all the hungry larvae. One queen was drinking from it. Interestingly, she curled her gaster under her body as if to spray the mealworm with formic acid, though she did so without showing any other signs of aggression. Was she softening up the food with ant meat-tenderizer, or was she just curling her gaster for no reason? I love raising colonies from scratch like this, especially when I have other ants and my entire hobby doesn't depend on one queen.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The Tetramorium have so many larvae! I swear they are twice as big as they were last week. The cricket is doing fine and seems to have the ants convinced that he is a fellow colony member.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Caught a Formica subsericea queen. I also caught a Formica montana colony. They were moving again, so I took one of their 5+ queens and a bunch of workers and brood.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Released the Formica montana; I couldn't really care for them. Also released the Temnothorax after realizing all the queens were probably somehow unmated.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Am I the only one who just obsessively checks Formiculture because they have nothing else to do?