7 replies to this topic

[BitT]

 

Genus: Crematgaster
Species: pinicola or laeviuscula ?

Common Name: Acrobat Ants, Saint Valentine Ants

 

Colony Stage: Fresh Queen
Caught Date: 05-27-2020 and 05-28-2020
Eggs: 06-03-2020
Larva: 06-28-2020
Pupa: 07-12-2020

Nanitics: 07-23-2020

Diet:

Special Needs:

 

Do they Sting or bite?:

Escape Artists?: "Heck yes!" - ANTdrew

 

Queen or colony count: 3 queens

 

Red Tube (1): First sign of eggs 06-03-2020, Larva 06-28-2020, Pupa 07-12-2020, Nanitics 07-23-2020

Orange Tube (2): First sign of eggs 06-08-2020, Larva 06-28-2020, Nanitics 07-23-2020

Green Tube (3): First sign of eggs 06-08-2020, Larva 06-28-2020, Nanitics 07-23-2020

 

07-19-2020:

Red has pretty dark pupa and I'm waiting for the first worker any day now.

Green loves to hang her brood upside down just sticking piled on the roof.

 

07-23-2020:

We have workers! Took them long enough! Aside from my impressa these girls seemed to take the longest. All 3 colonies seem to currently have two workers each and seem healthy.

Green Tube's workers just hang upside down like their queen and her brood so I'm kinda getting attached to them for this quirkiness.

Orange Tube's queen still has her wings and they're tangled with cotton. I had to untangle her a while back when she got her wings so tangled in cotton she was stuck to the water side and could hardly move and wouldn't have been able to feed or clean her brood. So I got out the tiny scissors I use to trim my dog's feet and my ant tweezers and carefully freed her. I tried to get as much as I could off without hurting her but as you can see in the video it's not all off. I hope she drops her wings sooner than later for her own safety.

 

 

I know the clownish music is kinda silly but figured since one queen tripped over her pupa and the other likes to hang her brood upside down and the fact they are "acrobat ants" that it kinda fit? IDK

 

08-01-2020:

Orange still hasn't dropped her wings and they tend to get cotton tangled in them. I think the workers are trying to clean them up for her. It's kind of funny though watching them as they crawl all over her.

Red decided to move house. I thought they escaped and it gave me a scare. lol

 

 

 

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Edited by BitT, August 1 2020 - 12:33 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Escape artists? Heck yes!
These are funnest ants to keep, though. Note the spelling is CrematOgaster.

[BitT]

ANTdrew,

Haha well I guess these are ones I'll have to keep an extra eye on. XD I read these girls have stingers. Can humans feel them and what level would you say their sting is at?

[FeedTheAnts]

ANTdrew,

Haha well I guess these are ones I'll have to keep an extra eye on. XD I read these girls have stingers. Can humans feel them and what level would you say their sting is at?

I've heard that they can't sting due to their gasters only being able to bend upwards. I'm not too sure about that though. I've been stung before, but only when my skin was over the top of their body, so maybe the theory is true.

[BitT]

 

ANTdrew,

Haha well I guess these are ones I'll have to keep an extra eye on. XD I read these girls have stingers. Can humans feel them and what level would you say their sting is at?

I've heard that they can't sting due to their gasters only being able to bend upwards. I'm not too sure about that though. I've been stung before, but only when my skin was over the top of their body, so maybe the theory is true.

 

Oh, interesting! What did their sting feel like when you got stung? And I wonder if it's true, that they can't sting down, than what are their stingers for? Usually I think of stingers as for killing prey and I have a hard time imagining them being unable to use it that way. But maybe it's for protecting them from predators from above?

[FeedTheAnts]

 

 

ANTdrew,

Haha well I guess these are ones I'll have to keep an extra eye on. XD I read these girls have stingers. Can humans feel them and what level would you say their sting is at?

I've heard that they can't sting due to their gasters only being able to bend upwards. I'm not too sure about that though. I've been stung before, but only when my skin was over the top of their body, so maybe the theory is true.

 

Oh, interesting! What did their sting feel like when you got stung? And I wonder if it's true, that they can't sting down, than what are their stingers for? Usually I think of stingers as for killing prey and I have a hard time imagining them being unable to use it that way. But maybe it's for protecting them from predators from above?

 

It wasn't that painful, similar to a sweat bee. It lingered and burned for a while though.

[BitT]

We finally have workers! \o/

[ANTdrew]

Congrats! Start planning your containment strategy ASAP.