93 replies to this topic

[RushmoreAnts]

Just checked on her. The egg pile looks larger; not sure if she's layed more or if the eggs have grown (maybe both). I know I said pictures were coming asap last week, but THIS week they'll be here.... i hope...

Eggs don’t grow......... did you mean hatch?

[TheMicroPlanet]

Yes... we'll say I meant that... suuuuuure I did... yep, undoubtedly.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Her brood pile is noticeably larger. I can also see what looks like really tiny larvae! Also, for once, I managed to get a half decent picture of her without the red film. So far, so good! You can see the larvae-looking blobs to the right of her wings, and it looks as though there are more. You can't tell in this picture, but she appears to be quite physogastric.

[RushmoreAnts]

Looks like larvae to me.

[TheMicroPlanet]

She's lived to see another week. Her brood pile is noticably bigger, but her water supply is getting low. Might have to move her into a new test tube soon. Pictures should be coming soon.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Bad News

Queen #2 (not IDed yet) died. Although, I did get some nice pictures of her afterwards...

She's about 5 mm long, orangeish legs, brown-black body. In all honesty, i'm not 100% sure she's even a queen...

 

Good News

Since queen #2 died, I now have a new test tube to give my P. imparis!

 

More Good News

My P. Imparis doesn't need a new test tube! I greatly overestimated the time it would take for her water supply to run dry.

 

EVEN MORE GOOD NEWS

Her brood pile is growing quite impressive. I could definitely make out some larvae, and there may even be some nanitic pupae! This is the best picture I could get of her...

 

All in all, she's doing incredibly well. I'll be working on preparations for her nanitics soon; provided all goes well, that is.

 

Distressing News

Queen #3, which i'm pretty sure is actually C. pennsylvanicus, is doing.... ok? I really don't know about her. She's been tearing at the cotton to her water reservior, and there's little cotton bits all over the floor. On the flip side, the metal cap seems to be very effective at keeping her in. I almost freaked out at first because I couldn't see her; turns out she was hiding at the entrance inside the metal cap. I don't have very high hopes for her.

 

Not very interesting news

I also changed the name of the journal; it just wouldn't make sense to make a separate one when I only have 2 queens.

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, May 29 2020 - 11:00 AM.

[CheetoLord02]

your "queen #2" is a Lasius social parasite queen. 

[TheMicroPlanet]

your "queen #2" is a Lasius social parasite queen. 

Well that explains a lot

[RushmoreAnts]

Looks like umbratus species group from the photo.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Wasn't able to get an update today; it'll be here tomorrow. I can make some predictions though: at best, the Prenolepis queen's pupae have grown coniderably, and the Camponotus queen is dead (i was never optimistic about her). At worst, both queens will be dead. 

[Ants_Dakota]

Wasn't able to get an update today; it'll be here tomorrow. I can make some predictions though: at best, the Prenolepis queen's pupae have grown coniderably, and the Camponotus queen is dead (i was never optimistic about her). At worst, both queens will be dead.

Camponotus, whether mated or not, have a tendancy to tear at the cotton, although the unmated ones do it more often.

[TheMicroPlanet]

GREAT news for this update! My predictions for this week about my Camponotus queen were WAY off, and I'm happy they were!

 

P. imparis

No drastic changes this update. She's still doing perfectly fine, and her brood pile looks slightly larger.

 

Camponotus (now i'm 100% sure it's pennsylvanicus)

I'm stunned, dumbfounded, amazed, surprised, and absolutely flabbergasted.

 

She's alive!

 

She's cleaned up her test tube! All the bits of cotton she left lying around are now completely gone!

 

She has eggs!

 

All her eggs are in a neat little pile! I often hear this could be a sign that she's able to produce workers.

 

The metal cap seems to be working. She also isn't cowering under it anymore. She lives near the water reservior now.

 

Here's the best picture I managed to get...

You can see her eggs directly to the left of her. They're the little tan-colored pile.

 

I'm amazed at both of these queen's development so far. Let's hope they stick around!

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, June 6 2020 - 3:39 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Excellent! I’m really happy for you. Seems like you’re out of the woods now. You can check Camponotus without them stressing; they’re super chill.

Edited by ANTdrew, June 6 2020 - 3:49 PM.

[TheMicroPlanet]

You can check Camponotus without them stressing; they’re super chill.

I guess you're right, because I once pulled up a small log and there was a C. pennsylvanicus queen under it, and she didn't move a muscle. 

[TheMicroPlanet]

This week's update isn't as eventful as the last one, but I did manage to get some better pictures!

 

P. imparis

Her brood pile is slightly larger, but other than that, nothing's really changed.

 

 

Here's her brood pile up close... do you guys see anything interesting?

 

C. pennsylvanicus

Her brood pile has practically doubled since last week. Other than that, she's doing pretty much the same.

 

 

I also came across a bunch of new test tubes, which is always good.

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, June 13 2020 - 12:13 PM.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Caught two Tetramorium queens today! I'll include their life history on this journal as well.

[Antkid12]

I still haven't caught any tetras yet. 

[TheMicroPlanet]

Wow, looks like I missed the last two updates... but fear not! I still checked on my ants.

 

Missed Week 1 - Everyone's still going strong. No brood from the Tetramorium yet.

 

Missed Week 2 - NANITICS!!!!!! My P. imparis queen officially has nanitics, plus lots of brood (including more pupae!). I gave the colony (I can call it a colony now  ) some peanut butter mixed with honey, which I hope will hold them over until I can get more preferable food (speaking of which, any thoughts on what I can feed them?). I'm not going to try feeding them through the test tube (though I did do that with the peanut butter), so i'm going to procure a small outworld for them.

 

In other news, at least one of the Tetras has eggs in a little pile. The Camponotus's brood pile is growing as well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any good pictures (insufficient lighting and whatnot).

 

I'll be open to any suggestions you guys have to offer!

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, June 28 2020 - 2:55 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Dubia roaches, crickets, mealworms, and fruit flies are good feeders. Fruit flies are good for small colonies.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Was it ok to feed them peanut butter/honey? I wasn't entirely sure about it, but it's all I could come up with at the time (it was pretty late too).