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Pheidole Floridana


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#1 Offline BitT - Posted June 3 2020 - 2:08 PM

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tinyred02 J.jpg

 

Genus: Pheidole
Species: Floridana

Common Name:

 

Colony Stage: Fresh Queen
Caught Date: 05-28-2020
Eggs: 05-30-2020
Larva:
Pupa: 06-28-2020

Nanitics: 06-29-2020

Diet:

Special Needs:

 

Do they Sting or bite?:

Escape Artists?:

 

Queen or colony count: 1 Queen

 

06-03-2020:

She seems pretty laid back and pretty quickly started laying eggs. Still doing good so far and hope she keeps up the chill and thriving vibe.

 

06-28-2020:

We have pupa that are dark and looking ready to pop! Eagerly waiting her first workers.

 

06-29-2020:

We got workers today! They are so tiny~

 

02-15-2022:

Having issues with them digging through cotton in their tube and drowning themselves. They have used some play-sand I gave them and plugged up their tube entrance. Since then I have seen very little activity. It makes me think they are hibernating? And maybe their digging in the cotton was trying to find a deeper place to hibernate in? Maybe in the near future I should try another housing method. Just they are so tiny there aren't many options I feel.

 

Link To My Journal Directory


Edited by BitT, February 15 2022 - 4:20 PM.


#2 Offline Antkid12 - Posted June 3 2020 - 2:17 PM

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Nice! Pheidole are so cool! Abosultely jealous of all your Pheidole.


Edited by Antkid12, June 3 2020 - 2:18 PM.

Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 


#3 Offline BitT - Posted June 3 2020 - 2:25 PM

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Nice! Pheidole are so cool! Abosultely jealous of all your Pheidole.

Thanks ! Everyone seems excited about my Pheidole! Since I was able to get 4 different species I figured they were pretty common. Are they not as common as I thought? They also seem the easiest to care for (with the exception of my Solenopsis Invicta which are super easy and hardy). Most my Pheidole seem to be eager layers too.



#4 Online ANTdrew - Posted June 3 2020 - 3:23 PM

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I think the further north you go, the less common they are. I’ve seen maybe 12 workers. Ever.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#5 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted June 3 2020 - 4:33 PM

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Pheidole live here, but I have never seen any Pheidole in my life until I went to Florida for a vacation. I live in Michigan, and that is way farther north than Florida so I can back Drew’s claim.
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#6 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted June 3 2020 - 4:36 PM

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Pheidole live here, but I have never seen any Pheidole in my life until I went to Florida for a vacation. I live in Michigan, and that is way farther north than Florida so I can back Drew’s claim.

I am shocked at how extremely similar our stories are.........
Except for the fact that I’ve never visited Florida. 🤣

Edited by AntsDakota, June 3 2020 - 4:36 PM.

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis


#7 Offline TechAnt - Posted June 3 2020 - 5:34 PM

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I have never seen any Pheidole down here in South CA..But I probably would not expect to see them as I’m a newbie ant keeper.

Edited by TechAnt, June 3 2020 - 5:34 PM.

My Ants:
(x1) Campontous semitstaceus ~20 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Camponotus vicinus ~10 workers, 1 Queen (all black variety)
(x1) Tetramorium immigrans ~100 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Myrmercocystus mexicanus -1 Queen
(x2) Mymercocystus mimcus -1 Queen
(x1) Mymercocystus testaceus ~45 workers, 1 Queen

#8 Offline Mdrogun - Posted June 3 2020 - 8:23 PM

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Nice! Pheidole are so cool! Abosultely jealous of all your Pheidole.

Thanks ! Everyone seems excited about my Pheidole! Since I was able to get 4 different species I figured they were pretty common. Are they not as common as I thought? They also seem the easiest to care for (with the exception of my Solenopsis Invicta which are super easy and hardy). Most my Pheidole seem to be eager layers too.

 

In most of the temperate United States Pheidole spp. seem to be much more sensitive to human disturbance as well as the presence of exotic or invasive species. I don't think I've ever seen Pheidole spp. in an area with Tetramorium immigrans, the temperate United States' most prevalent invasive. It also is, in part, likely because there are no exotic species of Pheidole spp. in the temperate United States, unlike Florida.

 

On a separate note, if you know where to look, Pheidole spp. can definitely be found up here. I've even been to places in Illinois where Pheidole spp. were so common that it almost became a disappointment  to find them, just because I wasn't looking to find my 757th colony of Pheidole sp.  :lol:


Edited by Mdrogun, June 3 2020 - 8:24 PM.

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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#9 Offline BitT - Posted June 5 2020 - 5:53 PM

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Thank you all for the information! And yah, Florida is pretty diverse and invasives have it easy in getting a foot hold. Plus my state is not the greatest at protecting our native wildlife or our natural world. I remember how clear the water was here when we first moved here when I was a kid and the beaches were pretty clean but now the water is a brown muck and there's trash every step. But we're a tourist state and business comes first. Sad for our native wildlife but I guess it benefits ant keeping since we get our fill of not native ants. I believe my Pheidole Megacephala are an invasive species here, if I remember right. But they're so easy and actually surprisingly curious I can't help but love them. Then I look at my native Colobopsis Impressa and how hard it is to get them settled and I understand why they might be having trouble because of human construction and invasive species.
 

But yah, I'll treasure my Pheidole and try to share them with you all who might not be able to get your own. If I can keep them thriving and happy that is. Wish me luck!


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