20 replies to this topic

[Broncos]

I have a pogonomyrmex californicus colony but don’t know where to put it into because I hear they don’t do well in 3D printed nests, test tubes or really anything plastic?? What about dirt nests!?

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Dirt setups make keeping the humidity for your ant colony difficult to say the least, always have the possibility of collapsing on the Queen/brood, makes mold control very difficult and often has zero visibility of the colony. Just keep these things in mind...

[DDD101DDD]

Dirt setups also have several advantages, it has a more natural founding stage and as long as there is a drainage layer the humidity should be fine. It is recommended to take soil with some clay content, because that will be more stable and will most likely stop the dirt from falling.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

However, you can never be sure and I personally like to see my ants, however it depends on what Broncos likes

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

And some people may not know a. How to find soil with clay content and b. Not everyone knows that they need clay rich soil so the tunnels don't collapse
And some people may not know a. How to find soil with clay content and b. Not everyone knows that they need clay rich soil so the tunnels don't collapse
Sorry, double post

[mbullock42086]

fine sand mixed with powdered clay mixed then saturated.  that's what i use for my C absquatulator and theyve been doing well for two years now

[JenC]

For Pogonomyrmex, you could simply use substrate from where they're from

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Yeah, that's always an option too

[Broncos]

Thanks guys... but... yay or nay


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I appreciate the info though!


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[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

For me personally, it's nay

[DDD101DDD]

I say yay.

[ariaant]

Hello,

I caught two p rugosas queens this summer and placed one in a test tube and one in a very simple dirt shack (6 x 4 x4 inch or so container).  The test tube colony has the queen and 2 workers.  The dirt container has at least a dozen workers and i saw glimpses of way more brood.  I also caught one p californicus queen, i tried the test tube set up for a few weeks but nothing happened.  I stuck her in a similar dirt container and a month later she had at least 5 workers.  Other people have documented similar success with dirt shacks vs tubes.  

 

So i think dirt shacks work better but there are problems associated with them.  My biggest problem is visibility: I can barely see anything, especially with the californicus colony -they stick dirt on the plastic container to give them some cover.  Also managing the humidity is tough (i don't have any drainage layer) and i have learned to add very little water weekly and that's with no lid (with the lid on the humidity is way to high).  Also they dig a lot so set the initial dirt level several inches below the top of the container or they will pile the newly dug out dirt all the way to the top of the container and will be able to escape.  Lastly i used dirt from where i caught the queen; seems to have a decent clay content and nothing hasn't collapsed.

 

I have since placed the test tube rugosus colony in a tar heels formicarium after it got its first worker.  To be honest, i like looking at that colony better (cause i can clearly see what's going on) but its so small i am not sure they will survive the winter. I think next season what i will do is get more queens, do the test tube set up and keep the strongest colony in a mini hearth.  That way i can see the colony but maximize the chance of having at least one strong colony.

 

Hope that helps

[ANTdrew]

Just my two cents: I love dirt set ups. Humidity is really easy to control just pour water on the top to keep some moisture (this is exactly what people do with potted plants). Mold is a non-issue if you get springtails going, too. On a deeper level, I think colonies must be more comfortable following their instincts to dig.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Wow, very timely as I juuuuust got a P. californicus colony. As dspdrew seems to keep all of his in dirt boxes I bought a Dirt Box 1.0 as well.

Funnily enough the queen just didn't seem to want to stay in the dirt box and kept trying to go back to the test tube (then change her mind and go back toward the dirt box, then change her mind and...), until finally as per advice I just rudely dumped them all in. We'll see (or not see, given their tunneling habits) how it goes.

I've been wanting to do ONE colony in dirt (like how we did it in the old days) but yeah, all the pics with the dirt blocking the tunnel views are kind of depressing.

 

Springtails: Yes, I was going to do that, too. I have huge hordes of Folsomia candida to spare.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, November 3 2019 - 10:40 AM.

[Broncos]

Anyone know how I can get spring tails thanks for all of the advice it really helps
Especially that essay that someone wrote


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[Broncos]

I think I will use the dirt setup (dirt box formicarium 1.0) and this red clay and sand mix)


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[ANTdrew]

I find springtails under rocks, and they really like compost piles. Look wherever there’s a lot of rotting plant matter. If you can’t find any, there are companies that sell them online.

[mbullock42086]

honestly the BEST sub you can use for any ant is basically just coco fiber and vermiculite but it's not pretty and ants tend to be dark colored, making it hard to see em

Edited by mbullock42086, November 5 2019 - 1:31 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

I strongly believe that dirt is the way to go for all Pogonomyrmex, or at least the ones in California.

I've kept 4 species of Pogonomyrmex, all in both tubes and dirt collected from natural Pogonomyrmex habitat, and the ones in dirt always outgrow the tubed ones.

Sure, tubes do work alright sometimes. But in my experience, dirt leads to the highest success rate for Pogonomyrmex.

[nurbs]

Yes, they do need dirt/sand, but you can use test tubes. I had around 30 P. californicus (grouped three queens each) and 60 true poly P. subnitidus (grouped 5-9 queens each) in test tube setups with fine quartz sand and a pencil case outworld. A few queens were infertile or died, but the majority doing very well. Most the colonies are 30-90 workers now.

 

This was two months ago, when I first checked on them after putting up their setups inside a shoebox and incubating for a month:

https://www.instagra.../p/B16x4hxAihL/

 

EDIT:

I don't like using pure dirt box setups because you can't see a darn thing.

Edited by nurbs, November 5 2019 - 4:36 PM.