61 replies to this topic

[Swirlysnowflake]

Ooh sounds cool! I’m planning to order some p. Calis, so we‘lol see how that turns out

[OhNoNotAgain]

2020.8.1

 

GAH just found the P. cali queen dead. Nanitics are fine. Queen is dead. GrrrrrrrRRRRRRR. I seem to not have much success with P. cali. 

 

P. subs are doing fine though.

[ANTdrew]

Sorry, man. Dang.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2020.8.12
P subnit three queen doing okay. Reasonable brood pile, busy nanitics.

Oddly the two P cali orphan nanitics are also okay. Still no idea why the queen died 😖

[OhNoNotAgain]

2020.8.14

 

I did a possibly bad thing. Yesterday I saw the P. cali nanitics were dead [EDIT: turns out only one was dead - the other had escaped and met a really sad end... see following post] - possibly from me forgetting to refill their water nestmate.

Today I took the orphan brood (including one pupa) and dropped them in the P. subnitidus outworld. I then decided the risk of passing on pathogens was too high, and went to remove them. Too late. Someone had found the cali brood and I presume they are all mixed in with the P. subnitidus brood now.

 

We'll see what happens.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 14 2020 - 9:17 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2020.8.14

 

Oh. my. gosh.

So I found another stray ant in the kitchen. This time, it was a pretty red Pogonomyrmex (last time it was Vero andrei ... actually LAST thing I found in the kitchen was a wingless TERMITE ALATE grrrrrrrr).

It was either an escaped P. cali orphan survivor or a P. subnit that slipped out through a loose nest/outworld connection.

Having nowhere else to put it, I put it into the P. subnit mini-hearth, JUST in case it was a P. subnit (and if it was a P. cali kinda curious, because last time I accidentally put the wrong Camponotus in with the wrong species, she took one whiff and ran screaming out of the nest).

 

WHOA.

 

I just checked. The lost ant had made it into the nest, and was being attacked mercilessly by a queen and a worker. However, she was not dead. Even after momentarily escaping the others' clutches, despite being bitten and chewed on, she went back and PICKED UP A LARVA. Clearly she recognized her own (expired) queen's brood.

Wow, I've rarely felt sadder for an ant. She was an orphan, doomed, no home to go back to, fighting on despite impossible odds to rescue her sibling larva, not knowing that the only hope for her sibling was to stay with the other ants.

 

Wow. Epic tragedy.

 

It would be even more epically tragic if it did turn out that a pathogen had killed off her family and was now going to kill off my P. subnits.... Because now I understand why what I had thought was the last dead P. cali was neatly in the trash pile ... there WAS a survivor who then escaped the P. cali mini-hearth ... but if it was a water shortage, shouldn't she have died too? Is she an Infected?

 

And post script... yup, she's dead. What a valiant, doomed, tragic ant.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 14 2020 - 9:16 PM.

[TechAnt]

THIS. IS. THEATER!

Jokes aside, sorry about your orphan, it lived through a very traumatic experience and was confused and sad. Hopefully it escaped before any disease occurred so it could not spread.

[Antkid12]

2020.8.14

 

Oh. my. gosh.

So I found another stray ant in the kitchen. This time, it was a pretty red Pogonomyrmex (last time it was Vero andrei ... actually LAST thing I found in the kitchen was a wingless TERMITE ALATE grrrrrrrr).

It was either an escaped P. cali orphan survivor or a P. subnit that slipped out through a loose nest/outworld connection.

Having nowhere else to put it, I put it into the P. subnit mini-hearth, JUST in case it was a P. subnit (and if it was a P. cali kinda curious, because last time I accidentally put the wrong Camponotus in with the wrong species, she took one whiff and ran screaming out of the nest).

 

WHOA.

 

I just checked. The lost ant had made it into the nest, and was being attacked mercilessly by a queen and a worker. However, she was not dead. Even after momentarily escaping the others' clutches, despite being bitten and chewed on, she went back and PICKED UP A LARVA. Clearly she recognized her own (expired) queen's brood.

Wow, I've rarely felt sadder for an ant. She was an orphan, doomed, no home to go back to, fighting on despite impossible odds to rescue her sibling larva, not knowing that the only hope for her sibling was to stay with the other ants.

 

Wow. Epic tragedy.

 

It would be even more epically tragic if it did turn out that a pathogen had killed off her family and was now going to kill off my P. subnits.... Because now I understand why what I had thought was the last dead P. cali was neatly in the trash pile ... there WAS a survivor who then escaped the P. cali mini-hearth ... but if it was a water shortage, shouldn't she have died too? Is she an Infected?

 

And post script... yup, she's dead. What a valiant, doomed, tragic ant.

[RushmoreAnts]

THIS. IS. THEATER!

Shakespeare himself couldn't've done better.   

 

Also, RIP cali orphan.....    

[OhNoNotAgain]

2020.8.27

 

Just a fast update.

1. P. subnit1, the original trio, are still alive with their brood and workers.

 

2. I just got three more P. subnits, survivors of an original group of 5 (I think #5 expired a while ago and #4 was in pieces in the tube). Their color isn't QUITE as nice red as the first group, but hey, more subnits. As usual they were really unhappy in a test tube so I put them in the mini-hearth that had last had the tragic P. californicus colony (whose brood might possibly be still alive in the P subnit1 mini-hearth ... ah, the adopted orphans who will never know their family's heroic, tragic story (which is above, if you haven't read it)....). I gave them some seeds and last I checked all three queens were down in the nest, two on the water tower and one off by herself.

 

Oh and recently I freaked myself out reading again about just how toxic and dangerous Pogonomyrmex venom is. I don't know how bad subnits are on that scale, but californicus are pretty high up there and I get a little weirded out thinking someone could have stepped on the loose last heroine worker and gotten a very nasty sting.

 

EDIT: 2020.8.28

One of the new P. subnits died, so the new group is down to 2. So I have 5 total. OTOH I think I see a small brood pile in the nest.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 28 2020 - 9:45 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2020.10.18ish update

 

P. subnit 1 doing fine, trucking along. I guess when they start dying of old age I can feed them to M. mexicanus. Apparently M. mexicanus eat dying Pogonomyrmex....

 

 

P. subnit 2 is ... slow. 1 queen and tiny brood. Other queen mostly runs around being useless. I think they are about to get a nanitic, finaaaallly. Maybe once they get a lot of workers the dud queen will get offed? Maybe?

 

A reference to honeypots eating Pogonomyrmex:

 

https://antwiki.org/...ystus_mexicanus

 

"Colonies observed in southern Arizona regularly picked up head capsules of Pogonomyrmex spp. from detritus piles around the nests of the harvester ants." 

 

and

 

"The protein component of the diet of M. mexicanus is almost exclusively dead or moribund workers of P. occidentalis. M. mexicanus appears to associate with one of its consistent food sources."

 

Well, not occidentalis but probably close enough?

 

[OhNoNotAgain]

2020.11.5 Pogonomyrmex subnitidus:

 

3 queen older colony: 

Window SO dirty I can hardly see a thing. I took this photo, though, right before the motion knocked the queens off the ceiling and everyone ran around panicking.

I guess it will be a while before any die of old age and I can try feeding them to the Myrmecocystus mexicanus (whose diet consists of lots of dead Pogonomyrmex).

 

 

 

2 queen younger colony:

 

They have TWO nanitics!! Finally. Not only that, but dud queen, who used to run around trying to find a way out, appears to be suddenly interested in taking care of brood.

I did notice there were two brood piles at opposite sides of the nest, and sometimes it looks like two separate colonies, but the nanitics seem to be okay moving back and forth between them and the queens are hanging out together.

So maybe ... things are okay?

 

[KitsAntVa]

2020.10.18ish update

 

P. subnit 1 doing fine, trucking along. I guess when they start dying of old age I can feed them to M. mexicanus. Apparently M. mexicanus eat dying Pogonomyrmex....

 

Pogonomyrmex.jpg

 

P. subnit 2 is ... slow. 1 queen and tiny brood. Other queen mostly runs around being useless. I think they are about to get a nanitic, finaaaallly. Maybe once they get a lot of workers the dud queen will get offed? Maybe?

 

A reference to honeypots eating Pogonomyrmex:

 

https://antwiki.org/...ystus_mexicanus

 

"Colonies observed in southern Arizona regularly picked up head capsules of Pogonomyrmex spp. from detritus piles around the nests of the harvester ants." 

 

and

 

"The protein component of the diet of M. mexicanus is almost exclusively dead or moribund workers of P. occidentalis. M. mexicanus appears to associate with one of its consistent food sources."

 

Well, not occidentalis but probably close enough?

I don't know why they eat Pogonomyrmex, but it is probably occidentalis because they live near mexicanus in a desert environment, other Pogonomyrmex do not do that so mexicanus probably will eat others but don't have the chance because they are not living close to them. Pogonomyrmex occidentalis is what they get in the wild which is all they have to offer, so maybe they like other Pogonomyrmex just havent had the chance to snack on them.

[OhNoNotAgain]

 

I don't know why they eat Pogonomyrmex, but it is probably occidentalis because they live near mexicanus in a desert environment, other Pogonomyrmex do not do that so mexicanus probably will eat others but don't have the chance because they are not living close to them. Pogonomyrmex occidentalis is what they get in the wild which is all they have to offer, so maybe they like other Pogonomyrmex just havent had the chance to snack on them.

 

 

Yes, it did sound like a proximity thing. I'm hoping subnitidus will be similar enough to occis that it could work out.

Poor Pogonomyrmex... they seem to be picked on by other ants a lot. Eaten by M. mexicanus, their nest entrances blocked by Novomessors.... Meanwhile their stings are calibrated to most hurt mammals, not insects.... 

[Swirlysnowflake]

 Meanwhile their stings are calibrated to most hurt mammals, not insects.... 

why?

[OhNoNotAgain]

 

 Meanwhile their stings are calibrated to most hurt mammals, not insects.... 

why?

 

 

Here's a good reference. http://www.davidloui...a_stingInfo.htm

Basically evolved to protect against raiding mammals, presumably historically rodents drawn to their seed caches and the like. So it works really well against mammals, including humans, and they latch on and sting repeatedly. According to that article, some species have barbed stings that detach, like with honeybees, which is good for harming mammals, and not so good when fighting other insects.

[OhNoNotAgain]

I mean, given the venom dangers of Pogonomyrmex, it's sorta surprising there haven't been more issues with Uncle Milton ant farms over the years. Thank goodness Pogonomyrmex suck at climbing... though that IS one reason they are used in Uncle Miltons, presumably. (Certainly Camponotus I've tried have not worked as well in an Uncle Milton).

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, November 6 2020 - 9:04 AM.

[Ants_Dakota]

I mean, given the venom dangers of Pogonomyrmex, it's sorta surprising there haven't been more issues with Uncle Milton ant farms over the years. Thank goodness Pogonomyrmex suck at climbing... though that IS one reason they are used in Uncle Miltons, presumably. (Certainly Camponotus I've tried have not worked as well in an Uncle Milton).

when i first kept pogonomyrmex in an uncle milton ant farm, i decided i wanted to let an ant crawl onto my finger. twice.  good thing it stung my fingernail both times, or i might not be keeping ants right now...

[OhNoNotAgain]

 

I mean, given the venom dangers of Pogonomyrmex, it's sorta surprising there haven't been more issues with Uncle Milton ant farms over the years. Thank goodness Pogonomyrmex suck at climbing... though that IS one reason they are used in Uncle Miltons, presumably. (Certainly Camponotus I've tried have not worked as well in an Uncle Milton).

when i first kept pogonomyrmex in an uncle milton ant farm, i decided i wanted to let an ant crawl onto my finger. twice.  good thing it stung my fingernail both times, or i might not be keeping ants right now...

 

REALLY makes me surprised they haven't had more problems over the years with complaints and lawsuits!

[Ants_Dakota]

 

 

I mean, given the venom dangers of Pogonomyrmex, it's sorta surprising there haven't been more issues with Uncle Milton ant farms over the years. Thank goodness Pogonomyrmex suck at climbing... though that IS one reason they are used in Uncle Miltons, presumably. (Certainly Camponotus I've tried have not worked as well in an Uncle Milton).

when i first kept pogonomyrmex in an uncle milton ant farm, i decided i wanted to let an ant crawl onto my finger. twice.  good thing it stung my fingernail both times, or i might not be keeping ants right now...

 

REALLY makes me surprised they haven't had more problems over the years with complaints and lawsuits!

 

same here!