66 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Excellent! I think most ants do best in natural soil set ups, visibility be damned. I’m going to copy your design someday.

[Ants_Dakota]

It really seems so. At least, i have found, they seem to grow faster in substrate. 

[RushmoreAnts]

I don't really see how that's possible. Perhaps it seems that way because they do better in general.

[Ants4fun]

I don't really see how that's possible. Perhaps it seems that way because they do better in general.

It’s certainly possible. I did a test on it a while back with 100 Lasius neoniger queens. The ones in soil setups got more workers faster than any other queen. Ants a specially adapted for their soil environment, so it makes sense they would do better in it.

[RushmoreAnts]

Perhaps, but I still have no idea why. 

[ANTdrew]

Perhaps, but I still have no idea why.

I think in soil the ants have more darkness and less vibrations, which reduce stress. Hydration is more natural without condensation, for example, and there are probably beneficial aspects of the soil micro-biome that we hardly understand.
The Tetramorium I put in a dirt box last May grew so much that I can’t even handle them anymore.

[RushmoreAnts]

There's so much we don't understand about even the most basic and well known species. 

[Ants4fun]

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

 

 

This colony loves their new setup. They have been consuming a bunch of seeds and insects. I feed them from this jar I got at petsmart - all living things dried insects for bearded dragons. Here's a worker eating a grasshopper:

 

 

They have expanded their tunnels a lot, but haven't been able to get too good of pictures. The queen has gone berserk laying eggs. I estimate there are several hundred eggs laid. Within a couple weeks, the tunnels should be full of brood. One of my favorite things about this colony and setup is how low maintenance it is. Since making it, the soil has remained moist, and I haven't had to fill the water chamber. Also, because of their diet, they can easily go weeks without food, relying on seeds.

 

One interesting thing they do is close up their nest every night. You can see how one unfortunate worker got 'locked out' and has to spend the night outside the nest.

 

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

 

As it turns out, one queen I thought had died survived. I unfortunately gave her workers and brood to another queen. She has laid 3 eggs, however, and if she survives until spring, I might give her some brood from a wild colony.

 

 

Also, some quick pictures of my Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula:

 

 

Edited by Ants4fun, February 25 2020 - 9:09 PM.

[Ants_Dakota]

Ahhhh. Your pogonomyrmex colony reminds me of my old Myrmica americana colony... RIP

[Thunder_Birds]

Awe:( Sorry man. 

[Ants4fun]

Not exactly a journal update, but an update nonetheless. Went down to Las Vegas area this past week. It was surprisingly quiet, probably because it was low 60's. I still found some ants on some hikes though.

 

Here is what I believe to be Veromessor pergandei:

 

 

Probably Solenopsis xyloni:

 

 

 

And last, and also least, Monomorium ergatogyna:

 

 

 

 

That's all for this week, but should have some more exciting updates next week.

[Thunder_Birds]

Awesome! Those are some great pictures too!

[RushmoreAnts]

Nice! Only thing you can see in Phoenix is Dorymyrmex bicolor and Brachymyrmex patagonicus.

[Ants4fun]

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

 

This colony has exploded in growth. Unfortunately, I left the cover off the vase a while, and they covered all their tunnels. So, with having plenty of time on my hands because of the coronavirus outbreak, I decided to move them. I bought 2 grotubes from Kevin here on the forum. I dumped their vase into a large aquarium with a lamp over them to dry out the soil. They moved into test tubes. Then, I moved them into a grotube with a large outworld. I love the visibility of this formicarium, and from starting the journal with just the queen and some adopted workers, they have probably doubled in size with a large amount of brood. I estimate there are around 150-250 workers.

 

 

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

holly mother of brood!

[ANTdrew]

Awesome. I bought the ditshacks from Kevin. Lol

[TennesseeAnts]

Stunning photos! Your Pogonomyrmex seem to be doing great too.

[RushmoreAnts]

Remember- most of the workers are South Dakota born.

[Thunder_Birds]

holly mother of brood!

I'll say! Nice colony!

[RushmoreAnts]

What type of formicarium is that? Is it homemade?