29 replies to this topic

[Mdrogun]

only that that they aren’t good starters, which I also stand by.

But why? I constantly hear from people "They'll overwhelm you! They grow so fast!" If you restrict their food intake, they physically cannot. Outside of those arguments, Solenopsis invicta is a good starter species. They are common, relatively hardy, accepting of almost all foods, and can very easily bounce-back from a population decline if given the opportunity.

[steam_funk]

6/2/2020

The second colonies workers are just coming out. The red gained new ones overnight. I will probably move the red test tube to an out-world connected to a new nest soon. They have some mold and dead bodies in their test tube. Ill try to get better photos ,but the test tube makes it hard.

 

 

[steam_funk]

Nice! There's tons of the S. invicta in my area. They've taken over the majority of the area in fact that it's actually rare for me to find any species other than fire ants. Even though they're invasive and should be removed, they're a really good starter for anyone getting into the hobby. They're abundant, prolific, hardy and disposable if you can find them locally. I've raised a few for fun and man do they grow fast! They've always grown so out of hand I end up freezing them within a year or less.

From my personal experience, polygyny in S. invicta is very random, but they're all polygynous during the founding stage. Usually once they're around 10-15 workers the queens will start picking each other off. The workers soon follow with decapitation and dismemberment until only 1 queen remains. Sometimes the queens will start killing off the more subordinate queens during the founding stage. Sometimes they just all live happily ever after. I've had one colony kill all but 2 queens up until they had about 200-300 workers then they decided to kill off 1 queen, I don't know why they waited to do that.

 

One word of advice is that they're very susceptible to drought, they love humidity and moisture. One time I went away for 3 days and came back to a colony of 100+ workers dead, brood shriveled, and the queen barely alive. It turned out that there was an air bubble that blocked water from flowing out of the tube of their water reservoir and it only took them 3 days to dehydrate to death.

 

I imagine that the queens have a chance of having genetic defects or being injured and that by waiting they can kill of the less healthy ones since the chance of the queen being injured goes down exponentially. It also seems they need only one to facilitate their monstrous growth rate.

[Mdrogun]

Sorry for semi-hijacking the journal lol. I'll stop, didn't even realize I was doing it.

 

The colony looks nice. Can't wait to see how big they are in a few months 

 

On a semi-related note, I've been told the polygynous variety has distinct physiological differences. If what I've been told is true, which I wouldn't assume it is, then yours would be the monogynous variety through and through. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though. Iirc, the monogynous ones get larger majors.

Edited by Mdrogun, June 2 2020 - 7:20 AM.

[Canadant]

I'm aware they'll kill each other

I believe some S. invicta are polygynous.

I looked it up and found this

3-s2.0-B9780080453378001716-gr5.jpg



I believe it says that the polygnous gene is reccessive and is a mutation from the invasive population. The poly gene is suppossed to be rare because it only is passed on when the queen is with other poly queens( Link is https://www.scienced...enopsis-invicta)

BB? bb?

Does anyone know what this refers too? I bet its obvious as heck, but the only dumb questions are the ones not asked.

[Studio]

S. invicta being a good or bad starter species is honestly a matter of opinion really... I can see where some people are coming from when they think that they can be too much to handle. The reasons for why I like them personally is because they grow so fast and are exceptionally bullet proof as long as they remain hydrated. A newbie can watch them grow at an exponential rate, rationing their food source can slow down their growth rate if need be, its not that difficult. They don't actually need as much food as you think. If you can't afford to give up a piece of chicken, eggs, chips, nuts, some insects, pieces of bread, cheese, dog food, scraps, your left overs etc... then you have bigger problems that you need to take care of first before getting into any hobbies. They'll eat almost anything, it's not like they need to eat an entire cow. The little amount of food that I do offer them ends up being rejected a lot of the times because they've had their fill. There's even really cheap recipes out there where you can create a nutritious paste that has all the essentials.

If they get to a point where they're too much to handle or you just don't feel like keeping them anymore, you can always freeze them and dispose of them guilt-free since they are an invasive species. There will always be an over-abundant supply until someone finds a cure all for invasive fire ants. Honestly the only counter argument I've really seen is, "they grow too fast" which honestly sounds more like a plus than a minus to me, but to each their own.

 

A newbie will be able to experience the thrill of seeing a queen lay her first clutch of eggs to having up to 10k+ within less than a year. I've limited a S. invicta colony to around 300-500 within a year by rationing. They can learn the ins and outs of what it's like to care and struggle through all stages of raising a colony. They're a forgiving and adaptable species that provide a good learning experience especially since they have their nuptial flights almost year round, you can just try and try again. I understand that every species of ants are different, but S. invicta can give newbies a rough idea of what it's like to take care of ants in general.

 

I'm mainly making this post for newbies coming across this forum who happen to find this thread about fire ants. They can then take this experience to prepare for a species that needs a little more care. S. invicta was how I started in the ant keeping hobby and I stand by them as a good beginner species. At the end of the day you're not me, this is all a matter of opinion and everyone is entitled to disagree. 

Edited by Studio, June 3 2020 - 2:37 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

I'm aware they'll kill each other

I believe some S. invicta are polygynous.

I looked it up and found this 3-s2.0-B9780080453378001716-gr5.jpg
I believe it says that the polygnous gene is reccessive and is a mutation from the invasive population. The poly gene is suppossed to be rare because it only is passed on when the queen is with other poly queens( Link is https://www.scienced...enopsis-invicta)

BB? bb?
Does anyone know what this refers too? I bet its obvious as heck, but the only dumb questions are the ones not asked.

This is referring to their genetics. In basic genetics, a dominant gene is represented by a capital letter, while a recessive gene is represented by a lower case letter. Dominant genes always determine what trait an organism will have. So basically, the egg and sperm both carry one gene for given trait, either dominant or recessive. This then makes a pair in the new organism, in this case BB (monogynous), Bb, or bb (polygynous).

Edited by AntsDakota, June 3 2020 - 5:55 AM.

[steam_funk]

6/4/2020

 

I fed both colonies today. I gave them two halves of a small killed meal worm. Red test tube colony has significantly more workers then clear colony. Their foundation and medium modules arrived in the mail and their out worlds are coming. The red test tube is an unconventional diameter. I am unsure if I want to do a loose connection with tubing to their out world/nest aided by blue tack. I might dump the test tube into the outworld after covering the tube in fluon.

[steam_funk]

6/10/2020
 
Due to the mold I felt it necessary to move both colonies to out worlds connected to foundation formicaria. The red colony still has significantly more workers then the clear colony. I am unsure whether or not clear colony is going to survive I think the mold is taking a heavier toll on them. The red colony's test tube is running out of water which worries me. I fed red colony one live ,but injured meal worm which they stung to death. They haven't fed it to their brood though. I gave both colonies access to byformica liquid. Should I do something to encourage red colony to move to their new formicaria before their test tube runs out of water? I estimate they have about a week before its completely gone. 
 
 

Edited by steam_funk, June 10 2020 - 1:03 PM.

[steam_funk]

6/10/2020

 

Due to the mold I felt it necessary to move both colonies to out worlds connected to foundation formicaria. The red colony still has significantly more workers then the clear colony. I am unsure whether or not clear colony is going to survive I think the mold is taking a heavier toll on them. The red colony's test tube is running out of water which worries me. I fed red colony one live ,but injured meal worm which they stung to death. They haven't fed it to their brood though. I gave both colonies access to byformica liquid. Should I do something to encourage red colony to move to their new formicaria before their test tube runs out of water? I estimate they have about a week before its completely gone.