41 replies to this topic

[FSTP]

This was my third year trying Pogonomyrmex rugosus. It is also my  third year at failing to found and start a colony. I never get them past the 2-5 worker stage. they either don't get any workers at all or get about 5ish workers then they start to die off and finally the queen is all by herself and then dies and gets covered in a mold. I swear next year I'm going to get a colony of these going.

[YsTheAnt]

I find dirt works best for them. My one year old colony is growing very slowly but steadily, 20ish workers now.

[Broncos]

Thanks for all of the help. She produces a lot but likes to eat her eggs like humans eat ice cream.

[Broncos]

I just saw some small larvae! I gave the queen a small drop of honey and she devoured it in a few minutes.

[ponerinecat]

Thanks for all of the help. She produces a lot but likes to eat her eggs like humans eat ice cream.

What about lactose intolerant humans.

[Broncos]

Thanks for all of the help. She produces a lot but likes to eat her eggs like humans eat ice cream.

What about lactose intolerant humans.

Non lactose ice cream


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[Broncos]

These guys have been eating parts of crickets lately and the brood is developing VERY SLOWLY. They now have 5 larva, 2 being small. But the cluster of eggs is quite large.

[Broncos]

I just saw a few pupae!! This is exciting!

[Broncos]

So i just noticed a pupae casing. That means 2 workers!

[ponerinecat]

Wait what, pupae on Pogonomyrmex?

[YsTheAnt]

Wait what, pupae on Pogonomyrmex?

All ants have pupae. I think you mean cocoon .

[RushmoreAnts]

I would assume even naked pupae have an outer coating of some sort that is discarded once the workers hatch.

[Broncos]

When the ants enclose from their pupae there is a thin layer of whatever. its not a cocoon but most of the time the larva eat it.

[TennesseeAnts]

When the ants enclose from their pupae there is a thin layer of whatever. its not a cocoon but most of the time the larva eat it.

Yea I saw this with my Pogonomyrmex when their first worker of the season eclosed last month.

[Broncos]

Hmm, the last worker died and the queen is now alone, she has laid a good amount of eggs but none have gotten very far without being eaten. I check every month and she still hasn't progressed. But she is receiving cricket parts and honey every now and then.

[Broncos]

This queen is a TROOPER! So before, I had her in a custom dirt nest and a water test tube connected. She moved herself into the water test tube and managed to chew up the cotton to where it started leaking. I noticed she had been pretty drenched so I jumped in to action. I made a test tube setup, sprinkled some desert sand in there to make her feel comfortable and mover her in. I ended up getting all of the dirt out of her old setup without harming the eggs. I got the eggs with a toothpick and set them down next to the queen. Then I fed her a chopped cricket and a drop of honey. This was 3 weeks ago, and today she is doing great with some larva. \If you are wondering why I didn't just move her back into the dirt setup. Its because that dirt is terrible. The water just slides along it and after hours it finally absorbs. Even when it is wet it still takes hours.

[B_rad0806]

Yeah, I'm not too much of a fan of dirt setups. At first it looks cool but it's just too hard to manage because of mold and other problems. I just stick to tubes

[JenC]

Was your dirt mostly clay?

[Broncos]

Was your dirt mostly clay?

It was a mix of clay and a bit of baked garden soil.

[Broncos]

I spoke too soon on the trooper thing because this queen died yesterday. Quite a bummer. She just kept eating her eggs.