21 replies to this topic

[Pulliamj]

Finally moved into there new home.


Sorry about the out of focus section.

Edited by Pulliamj, April 17 2015 - 3:42 PM.

[Pulliamj]

They don't seem to eat any insects...is this normal for Formica? I have seen them spray their formic acid and bite. But they seem to want to get away for the most part. It's only defensive and not trying to eat the food.

[Crystals]

From their behavior, I am guessing they have not been in the nest long, correct?

 

It can take them several days to a week or so to settle in and start foraging properly.

[Pulliamj]

Only a few days yes.

[Pulliamj]

Make sure you mute the sound. I can't figure out how to mute it.

Edited by Pulliamj, April 19 2015 - 5:23 PM.

[Pulliamj]

I found out they really like plums.

[Pulliamj]

I caught 10 workers close within 100 yds of the colony I caught. I introduced them to the others and so far they seem to have accepted them. Is this normal and or okay for me to do? It's easy to catch them as they run across my driveway every few minutes.

[Pulliamj]

One of the Formica ants I caught had a fire ant attached to his leg.

[Pulliamj]

I haven't lost any ants since they moved in to their new enclosure. There must be 100 eggs. I'll have to get a video uploaded. They still don't forage. I open up the enclosure and replace food in a bottle cap every couple of days.

[Pulliamj]

[Pulliamj]

Bad picture but this colony is doing very well. I have them in a 10 gallon aquarium in a shed. I apply olive oil as needed to keep them in the aquarium.

[BrittonLS]

Ugh, there's a few nests of these a few blocks away in a park. I want them badly! They look very nice. 

[Pulliamj]

7/27/15

[Pulliamj]

60 workers estimate

That's a peach in there.

[LC3]

Haha nice, amazing how they don't even have a formicarium and they're thriving.

[drtrmiller]

Must be good genes.  It's this species that turned me off to Formica.

 

Years ago when I kept them, they would freak out if you so much as turned on a lamp across the room, and I could never get them to eat anything.

[Pulliamj]

That big ball is a paper towel. They actually nest in it as it dries out. Then I add just enough to wet it up slightly every couple days. Then when and if it gets nasty I provide another one. They love water and move within hours every time. They are a bit panicky if disturbed. The hotter it is the more they freak. I also have had problems feeding them. These like spiders, flies, certain fruits, and sugar water. They do better when going a day or 2 and then providing food. They seem to not respond as well when given food daily or always accessible. Right now they are my favorite species. My Camponotus are doing okay but they just huddle around the queen mainly.

[Pulliamj]

August 3, 2015

I fed them a "gusher" it's a kids candy maybe some of you have even eaten before. Anyway they love it. I've never seen this reaction from them before. 20-30 ants are all over it; looks like what you would see in the wild. Kind of cool to watch. I think the population is around 70 now. It's really hard to count them. It looks like I still have 5 queens alive so that's good. Will they all eventually just die and then the colony die as well? Or will they try and make more queens?

[LC3]

Depends some ants like L.humile and Myrmica may interbreed and carry on many queens for generations others like Camponotus generally only have one queen and will remain one queen. So if the queen dies in a Camponotus colony than the colony fades away and dies too, If a L.humile queen dies than no ant would notice a thing.

[Ants4fun]

But that won't happen for a few years at the least with proper care. Some ant queens can live nearly 30 years!

Edited by Ants4fun, August 3 2015 - 4:28 PM.