4 replies to this topic

[Monarch]

I was recommended an AntsCanada video by youtube for whatever reason and decided to play it.  I loved the idea of having an ant farm ever since!  After months of research, i decided to start one!  I live in north Texas and thought it impossible to find a queen ant this time of year.  Leaving the gym, i happened to look down and behold.... a dark red queen ant!  I just happened to have an empty pill bottle my grandmother left in my car!  It was a bit too thick for a cotton ball but i made it work.  

 

August 21, 2019

Found my first queen ant and put her into an adapted pill bottle cotton ball setup.  After some research, I determined she must be Solenopsis Invicta (imported Fire ant) ! SCARY. But I'm determined.  She sitting in my dark closet on a shelf where she won't be bothered.

 

 

August 23, 2019

I went into my local Kroger store and asked for some water picks.  I received about 5.  Came home to try to move my queen but saw she had eggs!  I don't want to move her now!  Going on a hike, i found ANOTHER Invicta and 3 Brachymyrmex patagonicus (rover ant)! YASH.  1 still had her wings and was lose to many other queens with wings as well as MANY super tiny males! I could hardly see the males, they were so small!  I did the dumb thing and grabbed 1 winged and 1 male and put them into a cotton ball test tube.  I ran a mile and found the other 2 Brachymyrmex patagonicus and decided to put them in together in a test tube set up since i read they were poly.

 

August 26, 2019

Decided to check on all 5 of my queens and so far so good! Everyone has eggs and the poly group seems to be doing fine..... so far.  The winged Brachymyrmex patagonicus still has her wings and the male is dead.

 

TIME SKIP

 

September 12, 2019

 

i decide to check my first queen, the pill bottle Invicta and see little workers running around! woot!  I was not prepared and learned that there isn't ANY firebrick or AAC stone anywhere!  I decide to build for her a setup where i put the bottle directly into an 5.5 gallon outworld.  I will post pictures as i set up the next day

 

[Monarch]

 

September 13, 2019

Bought a 5 gallon glass aquaium along with some white sand from petco. I rinsed the sand and tank and food container thoroughly with water and will have it dry overnight

 

 

 

Addd the sand! Wow sand takes soooo long to dry out!  I added the food container on the right there will the founding queen and water test tubes will go.  I shouldn't have removed the sand inside though.

 

 

Added some black stone accents.

 

 

Added the founding queen pill bottle and water test tube.  The shell (on the left) is for future feeding.

 

 

 

Put the lid back on the food container! its blocked off from the outworld for now.  Adding a plastic lid on top until i get some glass cut and finished!

 

 

Used a hole punch on the food container that leads to a tunnel of cotton balls.  will use the straw as an entrance to drop water in without opening the container.  Going to switch the shell out for something smaller.  Also looking to put a finer white sand on top to make is look smoother and nicer.    Have acrylic sheets there that I'm going to cut today and put as a lid.  don't want to wake up whilst being eaten by demonic fire ants.

 

 

 

Septemer 15-20 2019

 

Invicta decided to leave the formicarium and build there in the sand...  soooo going to adapt the tank.  Added some soil from outside and pennywort.  Going to update more tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

September 30, 2019

 

Got about 15+ ants.  Added some bark with lichen and a local turf weed (ID?).  Pennywort seems to be growing.

 

 

Edited by Monarch, September 30 2019 - 5:53 AM.

[BeginnerAntKeeper]

If you want a clear ID of ants you can always take a good picture of them and send to the Ant IDs section. Be sure to follow the guidelines at the top of the threads and copy-paste that to make an ID thread to get a clearer ID of your ants.

[ANTdrew]

Good luck with this colony! Make sure you really escape proof your tank, though. May I suggest getting a piece of thin acrylic that would fit just inside the rim? You could cut out the middle of that piece to create an overhanging lip that you could apply fluon to and glue it to the rim. I wouldn’t mess around with baby powder or anything else when it comes to invictas.

Edited by ANTdrew, September 25 2019 - 1:57 PM.

[Monarch]

Great Idea!  I'm currently working on getting some glass cut today at lowes to fit over the top.  or maybe they have thin sheet of acrylic.  Still looking.

 

Good luck with this colony! Make sure you really escape proof your tank, though. May I suggest getting a piece of thin acrylic that would fit just inside the rim? You could cut out the middle of that piece to create an overhanging lip that you could apply fluon to and glue it to the rim. I wouldn’t mess around with baby powder or anything else when it comes to invictas.