279 replies to this topic

[ponerinecat]

millipedes are easily attracted to moist wood lying on dirt. They are known as greenhouse millipedes for being common under pots in greenhouses, I would check there

[Antennal_Scrobe]

How long have you had your Strumigenys, how are they doing now, and how can I get started keeping this genus? Should I?

[Ferox_Formicae]

How long have you had your Strumigenys, how are they doing now, and how can I get started keeping this genus? Should I?

Mine somehow managed to escape. It seems every time I collect Strumigenys colonies, I never have the right materials to keep them alive for too long. However, if you do have the proper materials, they're pretty easy to care for. A plaster nest of some sort will work best for them, though you will have to start a springtail colony first before keeping them as that is the only thing they can and will eat. I do not suggest starting a colony from a single queen as they are very difficult to keep alive for very long. My S. membranifera queen lived for over 2 months but produced absolutely nothing. I would suggest attempting to find a colony.

[TennesseeAnts]

Mine take fruit flies and cricket legs.

[Ferox_Formicae]

The Gnamptogenys triangularis is doing very well. She has yet to lay any eggs, but her gaster is looking a bit larger. She's currently housed in my largest, clearest test tube, but I may actually custom-design something for her, perhaps cork-based, but maybe plaster. I'll have to see what she prefers.

 

The Aphaenogaster rudis colony has been doing very well, and they especially love when I drop in full insects, cleaning them to nothing more than and empty exoskeleton after only a few hours, often bringing the exoskeletons into their nest. The queen has also been laying lots of eggs, and she is showing no signs of slowing anytime soon, in fact getting fatter. Some of her older eggs she laid a few weeks ago have also started hatching. I'm also considering moving them into a much larger formicarium that'll give them a taller outworld and more growing space, but I may decide to reserve that formicarium for a colony of Camponotus socius once I find some, or some other sandhills species such as Pogonomyrmex badius or perhaps Trachymyrmex septentrionalis. In any case, I'm probably gonna move a colony of some sort of Strumigenys species in with them and lots of springtails. I'm really excited to finish this formicarium, and it's gonna be my most naturalistic one yet.

 

Lately, the large Camponotus castaneus colony has been highly active, most likely stocking up on resources before they go away from hibernation, but I'm also noticed them tunneling a bunch too, probably to get down deeper into the soil for hibernation.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Camponotus castaneus is usually described as very difficult to keep alive; is the naturalistic setup the secret to your success?

[Ferox_Formicae]

Camponotus castaneus is usually described as very difficult to keep alive; is the naturalistic setup the secret to your success?

Yeah. They seem to be doing very well in it.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

If I ever find a soil nesting Camponotus queen (castaneus, americanus, or novaeboracensis), I will make sure to use a vivarium instead of a test tube or formicarium. 

[ANTdrew]

Good call. I grew my castaneus colony from 11 to 50 workers in my terrarium. They were thriving until my wife went psycho mode, and I had to release them.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Over these past few weeks, I have captured a few new queens, two Crematogaster sp. queens, five Lasius claviger queens, one Lasius aphidicola queen, and a Pheidole navigans queen. All of these queens, along with all of my other queens short of my Gnamptogenys triangularis queen, who will not need to be hibernated. In the spring, I will collect some pupa from wild Lasius neoniger and americanus colonies from areas I have seen the species before.

 

I have collected a medium-sized colony of Cyphomyrmex rimosus, with around 45 workers, a small amount of brood, a single queen, and a small amount of yeast. A video of the colony can be seen here: https://www.youtube....h?v=sVKGWWlJnuc

 

The Aphaenogaster cf. rudis colony has been doing amazing, the queen laying tons of eggs, and her oldest eggs have now hatched and are in their L2 or L3 stage of development.

 

I have collected a large, most likely queen-less colony of the rare, arboreal Aphaenogaster mariae, a socially parasitic species similar to A. tennesseensis, with queens nearly indistinguishable from the workers, short of a slightly more robust build, hence why I can't really tell whether or not there's a queen. I haven't really gotten a good look at the colony, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna make a formicarium for them. However, if I do, I will probably wait until I get my saw and dremel tool so I can create a nest out of wood to suit the species' arboreal needs.

 

The Gnamptogenys triangularis queen has yet to lay any eggs, and has been pretty unactive, but she does still seem to be doing okay, just how she was doing at her collection.

 

The Camponotus castaneus vivarium is absolutely flourishing, with new life springing up everywhere. I've also seen some new creatures popping up, spiders, snails, and even a large Common Earwig female who's been trying to nip at the dead crickets that have been put in. I also added in a young female Eastern Fence Swift, and she seems to be doing well. The Camponotus castaneus colony has also been doing great, and are probably ready to go into hibernation. I've also seen some of the other colonies doing well, the three Temnothorax curvispinosus colonies seem to be doing well, and I occasionally see workers from the Crematogaster laeviuscula colony, which actually doesn't have a queen, but does have a large amount of young brood. I also added in a dying colony of Camponotus decipiens with male and female alates and some eggs they laid. Who knows, the eggs may be fertile. You never know.

[Mdrogun]

Good call. I grew my castaneus colony from 11 to 50 workers in my terrarium. They were thriving until my wife went psycho mode, and I had to release them.

I have always told myself that I will never let my SO control any part of my ant keeping hobby. I'd rather toss out the girl than the ants. I am also 18 and 100% not married though, so who knows 

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

Good call. I grew my castaneus colony from 11 to 50 workers in my terrarium. They were thriving until my wife went psycho mode, and I had to release them.

I have always told myself that I will never let my SO control any part of my ant keeping hobby. I'd rather toss out the girl than the ants. I am also 18 and 100% not married though, so who knows 

 

Oof, mood.

[Aaron567]

The Gnamptogenys triangularis that are spreading across the southeastern US right now most likely do exhibit a defined period of diapause. It is probably what has allowed them to do particularly well in these cooler regions. G. triangularis has a very wide native distribution which includes areas in the tropics, but the fact that the gulf coast population started in Alabama and could have already spread as far as South Carolina as your finding suggests (unless you live on the coast where a separate introduction is a slight possibility), tells us that the source population is very possibly located in northeastern Argentina where a lot of the other classic southeastern exotics originated. This could be the reason why the older population around Miami never really seemed to take off; the climate may be too warm down there for an Argentina population.

 

That being said, I'm beginning to wonder if Gnamptogenys triangularis queens that fly in October and November wait until spring, after diapause, to lay eggs. The queen I had last year laid eggs almost immediately, and I found her in August, two months before the queen I found this year. My recent queen failed to produce anything and has since died. Something I have noticed with this species (and perhaps you have noticed too?) is that these queens are extremely inactive and seem to perpetually sit motionless 24/7 until you disturb them enough to get them to move. Perhaps they are waiting for spring to become truly active.

 

I think the next time I catch a queen of this species I will expose her to cooler temperatures for the entire winter and see what results come from it afterward.

[Ferox_Formicae]

The Gnamptogenys triangularis that are spreading across the southeastern US right now most likely do exhibit a defined period of diapause. It is probably what has allowed them to do particularly well in these cooler regions. G. triangularis has a very wide native distribution which includes areas in the tropics, but the fact that the gulf coast population started in Alabama and could have already spread as far as South Carolina as your finding suggests (unless you live on the coast where a separate introduction is a slight possibility), tells us that the source population is very possibly located in northeastern Argentina where a lot of the other classic southeastern exotics originated. This could be the reason why the older population around Miami never really seemed to take off; the climate may be too warm down there for an Argentina population.

 

That being said, I'm beginning to wonder if Gnamptogenys triangularis queens that fly in October and November wait until spring, after diapause, to lay eggs. The queen I had last year laid eggs almost immediately, and I found her in August, two months before the queen I found this year. My recent queen failed to produce anything and has since died. Something I have noticed with this species (and perhaps you have noticed too?) is that these queens are extremely inactive and seem to perpetually sit motionless 24/7 until you disturb them enough to get them to move. Perhaps they are waiting for spring to become truly active.

 

I think the next time I catch a queen of this species I will expose her to cooler temperatures for the entire winter and see what results come from it afterward.

I think I'll actually do this. I'll probably go ahead and put some soil into her test tube tonight before putting her into diapause, maybe add a few springtails from my active springtail colony.

[Aaron567]

I think I'll actually do this. I'll probably go ahead and put some soil into her test tube tonight before putting her into diapause, maybe add a few springtails from my active springtail colony.

 

Cool. Just make sure you don't keep her too cold, I wouldn't do any lower than about 60F, and I would also keep offering her food just in case.. 

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

I think I'll actually do this. I'll probably go ahead and put some soil into her test tube tonight before putting her into diapause, maybe add a few springtails from my active springtail colony.

 

Cool. Just make sure you don't keep her too cold, I wouldn't do any lower than about 60F, and I would also keep offering her food just in case.. 

 

That'll be a bit difficult to do, but I'll give it a shot.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Okay, so it's finally time for an update. All of my queens, including the Gnamptogenys triangularis queen, are in diapause. I will have to check on them about once a week however though, mostly just to feed my Gnamptogenys queen occasionally and to make sure the temperature doesn't get too low for her, because I've had her for over a month now, and I don't want her to die. Also, I may try and feed her ant brood, as a close relative from Texas, Gnamptogenys hartmani, has been known to raid the nests of other ant species (mostly of members of the genus Trachymyrmex and Mycetomoellerius). They steal the brood and bring it back to the nest. I may feed my queen some Linepithema humile brood and see what she does.

[ponerinecat]

Over these past few weeks, I have captured a few new queens, two Crematogaster sp. queens, five Lasius claviger queens, one Lasius aphidicola queen, and a Pheidole navigans queen. All of these queens, along with all of my other queens short of my Gnamptogenys triangularis queen, who will not need to be hibernated. In the spring, I will collect some pupa from wild Lasius neoniger and americanus colonies from areas I have seen the species before.

 

I have collected a medium-sized colony of Cyphomyrmex rimosus, with around 45 workers, a small amount of brood, a single queen, and a small amount of yeast. A video of the colony can be seen here: https://www.youtube....h?v=sVKGWWlJnuc

 

The Aphaenogaster cf. rudis colony has been doing amazing, the queen laying tons of eggs, and her oldest eggs have now hatched and are in their L2 or L3 stage of development.

 

I have collected a large, most likely queen-less colony of the rare, arboreal Aphaenogaster mariae, a socially parasitic species similar to A. tennesseensis, with queens nearly indistinguishable from the workers, short of a slightly more robust build, hence why I can't really tell whether or not there's a queen. I haven't really gotten a good look at the colony, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna make a formicarium for them. However, if I do, I will probably wait until I get my saw and dremel tool so I can create a nest out of wood to suit the species' arboreal needs.

 

The Gnamptogenys triangularis queen has yet to lay any eggs, and has been pretty unactive, but she does still seem to be doing okay, just how she was doing at her collection.

 

The Camponotus castaneus vivarium is absolutely flourishing, with new life springing up everywhere. I've also seen some new creatures popping up, spiders, snails, and even a large Common Earwig female who's been trying to nip at the dead crickets that have been put in. I also added in a young female Eastern Fence Swift, and she seems to be doing well. The Camponotus castaneus colony has also been doing great, and are probably ready to go into hibernation. I've also seen some of the other colonies doing well, the three Temnothorax curvispinosus colonies seem to be doing well, and I occasionally see workers from the Crematogaster laeviuscula colony, which actually doesn't have a queen, but does have a large amount of young brood. I also added in a dying colony of Camponotus decipiens with male and female alates and some eggs they laid. Who knows, the eggs may be fertile. You never know.

A mariae queens. have wig scars. Look for that. Hope they do well.

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

Over these past few weeks, I have captured a few new queens, two Crematogaster sp. queens, five Lasius claviger queens, one Lasius aphidicola queen, and a Pheidole navigans queen. All of these queens, along with all of my other queens short of my Gnamptogenys triangularis queen, who will not need to be hibernated. In the spring, I will collect some pupa from wild Lasius neoniger and americanus colonies from areas I have seen the species before.

 

I have collected a medium-sized colony of Cyphomyrmex rimosus, with around 45 workers, a small amount of brood, a single queen, and a small amount of yeast. A video of the colony can be seen here: https://www.youtube....h?v=sVKGWWlJnuc

 

The Aphaenogaster cf. rudis colony has been doing amazing, the queen laying tons of eggs, and her oldest eggs have now hatched and are in their L2 or L3 stage of development.

 

I have collected a large, most likely queen-less colony of the rare, arboreal Aphaenogaster mariae, a socially parasitic species similar to A. tennesseensis, with queens nearly indistinguishable from the workers, short of a slightly more robust build, hence why I can't really tell whether or not there's a queen. I haven't really gotten a good look at the colony, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna make a formicarium for them. However, if I do, I will probably wait until I get my saw and dremel tool so I can create a nest out of wood to suit the species' arboreal needs.

 

The Gnamptogenys triangularis queen has yet to lay any eggs, and has been pretty unactive, but she does still seem to be doing okay, just how she was doing at her collection.

 

The Camponotus castaneus vivarium is absolutely flourishing, with new life springing up everywhere. I've also seen some new creatures popping up, spiders, snails, and even a large Common Earwig female who's been trying to nip at the dead crickets that have been put in. I also added in a young female Eastern Fence Swift, and she seems to be doing well. The Camponotus castaneus colony has also been doing great, and are probably ready to go into hibernation. I've also seen some of the other colonies doing well, the three Temnothorax curvispinosus colonies seem to be doing well, and I occasionally see workers from the Crematogaster laeviuscula colony, which actually doesn't have a queen, but does have a large amount of young brood. I also added in a dying colony of Camponotus decipiens with male and female alates and some eggs they laid. Who knows, the eggs may be fertile. You never know.

A mariae queens. have wig scars. Look for that. Hope they do well.

 

I never did collect the queen and they ended up dying.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Sorry I don't update this journal as much as I probably should. I just am always busy doing other things, such as pinning ants or making formicaria or whatever else I'm doing. Anyways, I'm gonna try and update it more, so here we go.

 

I've been collecting tons of Crematogaster gynes lately, as they seem to fly a lot during late Fall and early Winter. I currently have 10 lineolata queens and 1 ashmeadi queen. While on the subject of Crematogaster, I don't think I ever addressed this, but a few months ago I collected a large colony of C. minutissima, but I kind of forgot about them for like two whole months, but I've finally remembered I had them, checked on them in the temporary (hehe, temporary) holding container, just a pill bottle with a large, wet cotton ball. I looked in and all I saw was mold and a few dead ants on the cotton ball. I assumed they were all dead and took the cotton ball out so I could clean out the pill bottle, only to see dozens of them poor out. They're still alive and thriving with tons of brood! Also, dang are their eggs big. The colony has around 50 workers and 12 queens with tons of brood, mostly young larva. I've moved them into a test tube setup and they're doing very well. I love those little guys, and it's so cute when they get angry. They're like little scorpions! They produce more venom (proportionally) than other Crematogaster species, and it's actually pure white. It's also very sticky. Anyways, I have high hopes for these little guys.

 

So I still have that Gnamptogenys triangularis queen, and she is doing quite well and is now out of hibernation. However, she did scare the crap out of me the other day. So I moved her into a new, larger test tube and gave her a fairly large millipede to munch on (a little Plectroctena reference for you there). I check on her a few minutes later only to see her on the floor of the test tube with her last two pairs of legs in the air. I immediately removed the millipede and took the queen out of the test tube to check on her. Her front pair of legs were working just fine, but her last two pairs of legs were still stuck in an upward-facing position and immobile. The tip of her gaster (the bit curled under the body) was also extended. I put her back into the test tube, extremely worried for her. I went to NC for the day, and when I came back, she was just fine, as if nothing had happened. Her gaster and legs were back to normal, and she was just sitting there like always. I'm guessing the reason she was acting so strange is either a) she was not used to that particular species of millipede, which I think was a juvenile American Giant Millipede, or because the millipede was so large, she couldn't take all of the poison the cut body was producing. In either case, she's fine now and I've learned a lesson about giving her such large millipedes. From now on I'll just stick to giving her Greenhouse Millipedes and other small species, never again such a large species.

 

I've had a large colony of Cyphomyrmex rimosus for a little under a month now, and at the moment they seem to be thriving. They have tons of yeast, have only had one small die-off, and seem to enjoy their custom-designed Attine-style lab formicarium. I need to water them twice a week, and if I do that they should be just fine, as that is what I kept doing wrong in the past, not enough humidity. The only problem I have with keeping them at the moment is the fact that finding caterpillar frass in the middle of winter is no easy task. I've had to revert to feeding the bits of bird droppings, which they seem to tolerate as their yeast is doing very well.

 

So the large colony of Aphaenogaster cf. rudis I've had for a while now ended up being A. carolinensis. A few weeks ago I forgot to water them and they had a huge die-off of over hall the colony. They've been reduced down to about 30 workers and a small amount of brood. I've moved them into a lab-style formicarium and they seem to like it a lot better. They also did have male brood but I think they ate it.

 

I'm doing some modifications to the formicarium that houses my Aphaenogaster lamellidens and large Camponotus castaneus colonies. I'm widening the entrance with a dremel, and I am going to move the Aphaenogaster into a lab-style formicarium so I can keep a close eye on them, as the colony is still very young, and also I wanna have a better look at such pretty ants. The Camponotus are doing very well in their new formicarium, and I can now see them a lot better, and even the queen, though there tends to be a lot of condensation on the front panel the disrupts my view of them. If anyone knows how I can solve this problem, please let me know, as I would like to make some high-quality videos of them. Also, I do have a smaller castaneus in hibernation at the moment with 10 workers and a small amount of small brood. I also found a medium sized colony in the wild I could not find the queen of that has a huge amount of small brood, so I will cleanse them of all pheromones and introduce them to the small colony.

Edited by Ferox_Formicae, January 8 2020 - 7:28 AM.