116 replies to this topic

[P0rcelain]

i found this lass in my back yard right next to the back door. well, at i think she is a lass.

 

she is very, very small, only a few mm long. i want to say around 3-4 from eyeing it.

found in new south wales, blue mountains. help with identification appreciated.

 

i am still unsure if i am going to keep her. assuming she is actually a queen, i am scared to think how tiny the workers would be.

sorry about the image quality. i only have an iphone. i swear i would shoot it better if i could.

 

tucked safely away in the comfort of my wardrobe

[Manitobant]

Looks like notoncus sp to me. The workers are around the same size as the queen. Whether these queens are fully of semi claustral is debated so I would feed her every now and then just in case.

Edited by Manitobant, October 13 2019 - 5:43 PM.

[P0rcelain]

thank you a lot!

these photos are really awful so i am going to try to get my hands on a better camera later. i might be able to borrow one.

i will be sure to keep a careful eye on her.

 

edit: if she is semi-claustral that would explain her behaviour before i caught her. she was sticking around small, cozy places and staying very still. probably taking short rests. i had difficulty telling if she was foraging or looking for a place to hide. so she could had been doing both.

 

 

if you meant these, then i definitely see the connection. though i am not sure if i saw a spine. i will have to take a closer look a day or two from now, when she has had time to settle in.

Edited by P0rcelain, October 13 2019 - 6:02 PM.

[DDD101DDD]

Wow, nice!

[P0rcelain]

i had the opportunity to try out a better camera tonight.

nothing.

too blurry. i need a macro lens.

i did take a careful look by eye though. it is very difficult to see and i am not sure, but i think i did see a petiole between her abdomen and thorax.

i suppose i should be assuming that this is a notoncus sp queen from now on.

 

when would you all suggest i feed her? i have probably stressed her out a lot today so i am not too keen to interact with her much more. i think it would be wiser to forget about her for a while, but if i should feed her sooner rather than later or change her habitat to a more semi-claustral one, now is probably the time, right?

[P0rcelain]

could i hassle you for a full latin name?

 

i have looked everywhere and i cannot find any information on this species.

[NickAnter]

With those pictures we can't quite get it down to the species level.

[Manitobant]

i had the opportunity to try out a better camera tonight.
nothing.
too blurry. i need a macro lens.
i did take a careful look by eye though. it is very difficult to see and i am not sure, but i think i did see a petiole between her abdomen and thorax.
i suppose i should be assuming that this is a notoncus sp queen from now on.
 
when would you all suggest i feed her? i have probably stressed her out a lot today so i am not too keen to interact with her much more. i think it would be wiser to forget about her for a while, but if i should feed her sooner rather than later or change her habitat to a more semi-claustral one, now is probably the time, right?

most semi claustral queens are fine in just a test tube and can be fed sugar water/honey and small insects.

[ANTdrew]

Small ants are fun! I like them because they usually grow fast and they can be more active than bigger ants like Camponotus that basically just sit around doing nothing 98% of the time. Keep us posted on her progress.

I have a feeling this won't be your last queen this season, either.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Small ants are fun! I like them because they usually grow fast and they can be more active than bigger ants like Camponotus that basically just sit around doing nothing 98% of the time. Keep us posted on her progress.
I have a feeling this won't be your last queen this season, either.

Mine just hang from the celing of the test tube (somehow, just like how a nanitic can squeeze her way through a 2mm gap)

[P0rcelain]

With those pictures we can't quite get it down to the species level.

aaa

i thought sp was the species.

i understand, me just knowing that is enough for now.

i will figure out some way to get a better look at her. maybe i can find/buy a magnifying glass or something.

i saw a macro lens for phones for $30 so that might be worth a shot.

 

 

i had the opportunity to try out a better camera tonight.
nothing.
too blurry. i need a macro lens.
i did take a careful look by eye though. it is very difficult to see and i am not sure, but i think i did see a petiole between her abdomen and thorax.
i suppose i should be assuming that this is a notoncus sp queen from now on.
 
when would you all suggest i feed her? i have probably stressed her out a lot today so i am not too keen to interact with her much more. i think it would be wiser to forget about her for a while, but if i should feed her sooner rather than later or change her habitat to a more semi-claustral one, now is probably the time, right?

most semi claustral queens are fine in just a test tube and can be fed sugar water/honey and small insects.

 

ok, got it. i might try to feed her today just in case i caught her on an empty stomach.

admittedly i am a bit hesitant to feed her wild insects since that would be introducing uncontrolled factors but if it is my only choice i might just do it.

if worse comes to worse, it is still only spring and i have plenty of other chances to catch queens.

 

Small ants are fun! I like them because they usually grow fast and they can be more active than bigger ants like Camponotus that basically just sit around doing nothing 98% of the time. Keep us posted on her progress.

I have a feeling this won't be your last queen this season, either.

no, probably not.

i am unsure what i will do if i end up with too many colonies.

i might just ask friends and family if they want them and release any that are stressing me out.

 

i guess an advantage of catching queens locally is that releasing them is actually an option.

Edited by P0rcelain, October 14 2019 - 1:13 PM.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Just do your best and I'm sure everything will just work out fine . There are many ant keepers who are more than willing to help you out.

[Formicoidea]

Glad to see another Aussie catching!

 

I caught quite a few of these queens late last year, but none of them were fertile. I'm keen to see how your's go.

 

I'm sure you've already looked the genus up, and probably seen this, but just in case here is a good video about them. 

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=CYKnsc3oy0Y

[FSTP]

You never forget the first queen. I still rememebr how excited I was about mine.

[ANTdrew]

You never forget the first queen. I still rememebr how excited I was about mine.

So true.

[Kalidas]

You never forget the first queen. I still rememebr how excited I was about mine.

Ditto

[P0rcelain]

alright bois. tonight is a big night.

today i captured another queen. 'captured' is a bit of an overstatement, she literally landed on me. but regardless. i suspect she might be fully claustral, as she is sticking to the cotton ball at the water end of the tube and is refusing to move, even when i open the test tube up.

by comparison, my first queen is always quite energetic and darts around when i open the tube. clearly she is comfortable though because she does not try to escape.

speaking of my first queen. i have good news.

she tore her wings off!

obviously not a sign she as mated, but it gives me hope that things are proceeding as they should at least.

i also stumbled across a small reading magnifying glass, which i have used to take photos of marginally better quality. still not anything ground breaking yet, but the detail is a bit better.

my first queen

the photos are not detailed enough to see it, but she actually has a spine between her abdomen and thorax. so far it seems our identifications are correct.

my second queen

tonight i am also attempting to feed them. as an experiment, i am attempting to feed them boiled egg soaked in sugar water.

so far neither seem to be showing interest in their meals. thoughts/suggestions?

i might just leave them at it and see if they go at it, for now.

[P0rcelain]

two hours have passed and i have removed the egg.

i have no idea if they have eaten it or not. but in case anyone was wondering, soaking the egg definitely worked to extend its moisture beyond 2 hours.

you know, just in case anyone was having problems with egg drying up too fast.

the second queen needs some time to relax. she is very alert and distressed after today.

attempted an escape while i was removing the egg, while the other just patiently sat there as i removed it.

i will probably let them be for a day or two and check up on them then.

even though i will have a great urge to look at them.

[Manitobant]

The second queen is an iridomyrmex species, probably bicknelli. She is fully claustral and needs no feeding.

[P0rcelain]

i suspected as much. it is interesting, because i was observing that she was just getting distressed by the interaction while the first was more or less her usual self.

this is likely obvious to any experienced ant keepers, but from my research and the experiences of today i feel safe in saying that you cannot treat a fully claustral queen like a semi claustral one.

the stress would likely kill her, if it does not prevent her from laying.

Edited by P0rcelain, October 15 2019 - 1:25 PM.