115 replies to this topic

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

 

 

Expectation: Pogonomyrmex occidentalis are worth $100

Reality: they die for literally no reason.

I'm old enough to remember when a very well-regarded "P. Occidentalis [sic] Specialist" wrote that if you spend that much, there is a "nearly 100% success rate."

Expectation: people who are very smart about ants can also be nice.
Reality: they can’t and will end your social life.

 

don't kill your social life! It's the one thing that is surviving beautifully besides your ants

[OhNoNotAgain]

Gonna ignore the off topic posts in this long thread, but:

 

Expectation: Harvester ants (Veromessor pergandei) know how to deal with dandelion seeds, even with fluff still attached.

Reality 1:

Nanitic A: "Dandelion seed! Let me haul it into the test tube." (Hauling a seed toward test tube.)

Nanitic B: "What's this fluffy trash doing here? It must go out. Out, I say." (Evicting dandelion seed from test tube same time A is working hard to get another one)

 

Reality 2: (Ants have amazingly removed fluff from seed and properly thrown out fluff, but left it near the entrance.)

Nanitic: "Now that I've hauled the fluff out as trash, time to get more dandelion seeds."

Backs up with seed, hits fluff, misses test tube entrance.

Backs up with seed, hits fluff, misses test tube entrance.

Backs up with seed, hits fluff, misses test tube entrance.

(Repeat until local human caretaker gets disgusted and removes fluff with tweezers.)

 

Reality 3: (Ants have amazingly removed fluff from seed, leaving a long thin stalk attached to the seed.)

Nanitic: "What's this long thin stalk thing? It must go out!" (hauls it out) "Oh wait, there's a seed on it. I'll take it back in." "Wait, what's this long thin stalk thing? It's trash! It must go out!" "Oh wait, there's a seed on it. I better take it back in."

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, September 30 2019 - 2:34 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

[OhNoNotAgain]

Stupid nanitic and stupid antkeeper anecdote.

 

Being a noob to modern antkeeping (I last kept ants nigh upon 30 years ago) I too have been kind of amazed by the wild "run away and never be seen again" nature of some nanitics. Meaning, I didn't ant-proof my outworlds enough and I lost a couple nanitics that way... I'm guessing it's the oldest daughters, programmed to go out into the wilds on adventure. But man, they are soooo persistent in trying to escape and get lost somewhere.

 

Recently I got a new colony of Camponotus fragilis and put the tube into an outworld and started cleaning up ant stuff. I picked up an empty (used and moldy) test tube and found a big pale Camponotus nanitic in it. I thought it was an old escapee from my other Camponotus (sansabeanus) colony. I somehow caught the freaked out ant and dumped her into the formicarium for the salsabean colony. She found the hole down to the queen and ... hilarious sight ... she got within an inch of the queen and ran screaming away (well I couldn't hear the screaming, exactly, but I've never seen an ant book so fast). That's when I figured out she was from the fragilis colony (luckily the salsabeans didn't even notice). She'd probably jumped ship when I took out the cotton plug. Not sure how, but I got her into the fragilis outworld and she was busy hyperventilating on the ceiling for a while, but eventually found a dried puddle of Sunburst and then suddenly all was right with her world. Later I found only contented nanitics purring in the test tube, so I assume she made it home safely.

 

The funny thing is I also saw the queen bopping a nanitic on the head a few times until the nanitic coughed up whatever she had stored. "I'm hungry. Hello! (BOP BOP) I said I'm HUNGRY! (BOP BOP)"

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

Expectation: Queens will try to be the best mothers they can.
Reality: “Hmmm tiny exposure to light? My children will pay for this with their lives!” -Every sensitive queen ever

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I feel bad for the nanitics. They're gonna tell the queen and she's gonna come after us

[Leo]

Expectation: queen has workers! should be fine.

Reality: queen decapitates worker, kills all brood, destroys nest, murders entire cleanup crew, then sits in the outworld for 5 months without eating then dies from starvation.

[Guy_Fieri]

Expectation: queen has workers! should be fine.
Reality: queen decapitates worker, kills all brood, destroys nest, murders entire cleanup crew, then sits in the outworld for 5 months without eating then dies from starvation.

There's gotta be a story behind this one.

[Leo]

 

Expectation: queen has workers! should be fine.
Reality: queen decapitates worker, kills all brood, destroys nest, murders entire cleanup crew, then sits in the outworld for 5 months without eating then dies from starvation.

There's gotta be a story behind this one.

 

ah, yes, my old anochetus queen.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

And I thought this post died
Turns out, just a queen did lol

[TennesseeAnts]

Expectation: Majors are fearless warriors, prepared to kill anything that threatens the nest, and cut up food like nobody's business

Reality: They'd rather sit in the nest all day, have the minors struggle with prey items and defend the nest, while they run and hide.I

(This is aimed towards Camponotus subgenus species, like Camponotus chromaiodes or pennslyvanicus. My Myrmentoma subgenus Camponotus majors are fearless)

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, October 5 2019 - 2:37 PM.

[Manitobant]

Expectation: colobopsis are large and fearless ants much like camponotus

Reality: they tiny (at least truncatus)

Expectation: ant colonies that have outgrown their current home will immediately move into a bigger nest

Reality: hippity hoppity that's not my property

Expectation: heating my ants is a foolproof way to get them to grow faster

Reality: test tube floods and brood dies, maybe the queen too

Edited by Manitobant, October 5 2019 - 4:17 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

More Veromessor.

Expectation: Veromessor live in a desert and thus will treat seeds as treasure.

Reality: Veromessor are ridiculously picky and will obliviously walk all over piles of various appropriate and painstakingly purchased seeds and ignore them all.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Expectation: Ants have exceptional sensory capabilities and will not get easily trapped and stuck.

Reality: The nanitics whose tiny brains have switched to "explore and get lost somewhere" mode will find the one bit of exposed adhesive and promptly get stuck and die. (Yup, this is the Camponotus nanitic that got lost, wound up in the wrong formicarium, etc.)

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, October 5 2019 - 8:23 PM.

[smares]

Haha this is entertaining

Expectation: a small nest is good but a big neat is better!! Let's put this queen with one nanitic and one larvae in a giant formicarium!

Reality: no no no. Ants stress over too much space and die

[ponerinecat]

Haha this is entertaining

Expectation: a small nest is good but a big neat is better!! Let's put this queen with one nanitic and one larvae in a giant formicarium!

Reality: no no no. Ants stress over too much space and die

this is actually really normal, ants are very insecure. not that annoying, just know your ants.

[Mdrogun]

Expectation: Surely ants come across water droplets in the wild, they'll be fine.
Reality: "I should go for a swim until I die."

 

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I wonder if the apparent stupidity of tiny colonies is because of the way ants make decisions. Each ant makes a decision based on what it "thinks" about the "ideas" of it's nestmates, causing the smarter choices "voted" for by more ants to be favored by the colony at large. But with a sample size of three it just takes two ants to reach an overwhelming majority of 66%. Not to mention a nanitic isn't exactly on par with the well-fed workers of a mature colony.

[Temperateants]

I wonder if the apparent stupidity of tiny colonies is because of the way ants make decisions. Each ant makes a decision based on what it "thinks" about the "ideas" of it's nestmates, causing the smarter choices "voted" for by more ants to be favored by the colony at large. But with a sample size of three it just takes two ants to reach an overwhelming majority of 66%. Not to mention a nanitic isn't exactly on par with the well-fed workers of a mature colony.

Good point! Also, some of my young Camponotous colonies have finally established a trash pile!!  

[Solenoqueen]

Expectation: Look at (insert polygynous species here)! They will surely get along!
 

Reality: One queen dominates, kills all others.