61 replies to this topic

[OhNoNotAgain]

2021/2/4

 

I set up a new Fallen Fortress (rinsed out and dried) and the first mini-hearth of Pogonomyrmex subnits, the one whose glass is SO DIRTY YOU CAN'T SEE INSIDE, and hooked them up.

The Fallen Fortress has a flat nest with a glass ceiling, which hopefully Pogonomyrmex won't be able to climb onto and soil.

Maybe it's because they aren't warm and heated, but the Pogonomyrmex are the SLOWEST to explore the new place I've ever seen. Like ... one worker kind of went down the tube, thought about turning around, hesitated, kind of wandered down the tube a bit more.... UGH SO SLOW.

A couple hours later I saw just one worker bringing a seed back from the Fallen Fortress (I had put some seeds in as a welcome gift) back to the mini-hearth.

I was frustrated and drained their mini-hearth nestmate of its water. Tomorrow I might get off my duff and put the Fallen Fortress on heat ... the main problem being the connecting tube needs to be mostly flat or else Pogonomyrmex probably won't be able to climb it.

 

I guess Pogonomyrmex like it dirty, cramped, and gross.

 

Anyway just had to note this down for myself if nothing else.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, February 4 2021 - 8:43 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2021/2/5
Did a better job draining their water today. Removed the outworld. Tilted their old nest. Really ticked them off.
Put heat mat under Fallen Fortress. FINALLY movement! The workers are going back and forth to the Fallen Fortress.



It’s been a while since I have been able to see these guys. They cute. And they really do suck at climbing.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, February 5 2021 - 2:25 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Sooooo disturbing sight today. The workers were dragging a dead queen down the tube. Trying to encourage her to move, I guess. I suppose she had just died.

Ughhhhh I hope the other queens in there are still alive. This horribly dirty glass is exactly why I'm trying to move them.

 

EDIT: Weird thing just happened. I watched a worker haul what looked like a curled-up dead worker from mini-hearth to the Fallen Fortress. She took it into the new nest. It lay there curled up. Then she hauled it out. Then she wandered around as if looking for somewhere to dump it. I took the ant from her with tweezers, because I was all, "Yay! M. mexicanus eat dead Pogonomyrmex! Finally a dead Pogonomyrmex!" I noticed the "dead" Pogonomyrmex was moving. I figured it was almost dead. Then I dropped the almost-dead Pogonomyrmex into the orphan M. mexicanus mini-hearth.

 

Next thing I know there's a healthy-looking Pogonomyrmex running around the M. mexicanus mini-hearth. So weird. I got her out and put her back in with the Pogonomyrmex. I guess she wasn't dead or even mostly dead??? I guess she was just crumpled up for no apparent reason??

 

Still hoping to see two living queens leave the mini-hearth.

 

EDIT: Didn't update but I'm pretty sure I saw two living queens. So that's good.... They are still moving/going back and forth the next day, and have plastered sand on some condensation already. These subnits apparently like their privacy. 

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, February 7 2021 - 3:16 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2021/2/10:
Kicked all the last few Pogonomyrmex out of mini hearth. Hilarious when I was removing the last connecting tubing and seeing they really do suck at climbing. At least they are getting exercise.



They were also throwing out a mangled corpse of the one dead queen so I fished it out and gave it to M. mexicanus motley crew. We'll see if they figure out it's edible. M. mexicanus are supposed to enjoy eating dead Pogonomyrmex.

 

And there are still two living queens in this colony! Here’s one that I can see again for the first time in ages.



And boy are they dirty ants. Their old mini-hearth is filthy. Like FILTHY.

 

The other colony of P. subnitidus isn't this dirty. But then, it's smaller. They also flew late in the season and are slightly different in color.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, February 10 2021 - 10:05 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2021.5.10

 

Quick update:

Both colonies are still alive. In fact they seem to be kicking up brood production. I see pupae. As they don't seem enthusiastic about the seeds I'm giving them (their seed stockpiles are tiny compared to the Veromessor), I resorted to trying dandelion and grass seeds from the yard.

 

P1 has 2 queens and is in the fallen fortress. They didn't grow much over the winter. I just put them on heat today. Somehow they still managed to get their top glass dirty - mostly by sticking sand on the condensation.

P2 has 2 queens is still in a mini-hearth. They likewise didn't grow much. I turned up their heat today when I moved P1 next to P2.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

do u have any tips for my Pogonomyrmex subnitidus? 

[OhNoNotAgain]

do u have any tips for my Pogonomyrmex subnitidus? 

General tips: They like it pretty warm. Offer a large variety of small seeds. I've also been told they also like humidity for their brood. What's your set up and what issues are you having?

 

 

Today's update: The brood piles are indeed doing well and there are plenty of pupae in both colonies. The mini-hearth (P2) colony has taken in more seeds, and divided them into two piles, and both queens are still alive. So probably we'll see an explosion in the number of workers soon. I think the heat is helping.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, May 18 2021 - 10:33 AM.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

Well, the plastic in their formicarium is kinda thick so my heating cable might not be hot enough to really keep them at a good heat. Also idk what seeds to feed. Everyone is saying dandilion seeds but they aren't working, or walnuts, or thistle or... anything else I try They are in a tubs and tubes setup, I know I should probably upgrade to like a mini hearth but I can't really buy it rn. I could make a nest for them, though. (Out of firebrick)

[OhNoNotAgain]

Well, the plastic in their formicarium is kinda thick so my heating cable might not be hot enough to really keep them at a good heat. Also idk what seeds to feed. Everyone is saying dandilion seeds but they aren't working, or walnuts, or thistle or... anything else I try They are in a tubs and tubes setup, I know I should probably upgrade to like a mini hearth but I can't really buy it rn. I could make a nest for them, though. (Out of firebrick)

 

Is part of the cable going under part of the test tube?

You could try clean, unsprayed grass seed if you have a yard. Kentucky bluegrass and dandelion are the go-tos - where did you get your dandelion seeds? I splurged on some THA seeds. Mine seem to really like organic amaranth and poppy seeds I bought at the store (pre-pandemic).

[NoveltyAntsYT]

 

Well, the plastic in their formicarium is kinda thick so my heating cable might not be hot enough to really keep them at a good heat. Also idk what seeds to feed. Everyone is saying dandilion seeds but they aren't working, or walnuts, or thistle or... anything else I try They are in a tubs and tubes setup, I know I should probably upgrade to like a mini hearth but I can't really buy it rn. I could make a nest for them, though. (Out of firebrick)

 

Is part of the cable going under part of the test tube?

You could try clean, unsprayed grass seed if you have a yard. Kentucky bluegrass and dandelion are the go-tos - where did you get your dandelion seeds? I splurged on some THA seeds. Mine seem to really like organic amaranth and poppy seeds I bought at the store (pre-pandemic).

 

uhhh well the heating cable is going under the entrance of the test tube but I feel like the heat can't really reach that far. I honestly got my dandilion seeds from a park that I know doesn't use pesticides.

[OhNoNotAgain]

 

uhhh well the heating cable is going under the entrance of the test tube but I feel like the heat can't really reach that far. I honestly got my dandilion seeds from a park that I know doesn't use pesticides.

 

 

 

Just my opinion here, but if the cable has to go through two surfaces with an air gap (e.g. outworld, small air gap, then test tube), I would definitely bring it further along so it's more in the middle of the tube - just not near the water reservoir. You might move it and see if the brood gets moved to above it.

Yeah I've gotten dandelions from my yard, too. I'm sure you can find some unsprayed mature grass seeds as well - smaller the better probably. And you could try the amaranth. And organic poppy seeds are in the spice section of grocery stores.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, May 18 2021 - 1:56 PM.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

 

 

uhhh well the heating cable is going under the entrance of the test tube but I feel like the heat can't really reach that far. I honestly got my dandilion seeds from a park that I know doesn't use pesticides.

 

 

 

Just my opinion here, but if the cable has to go through two surfaces with an air gap (e.g. outworld, small air gap, then test tube), I would definitely bring it further along so it's more in the middle of the tube - just not near the water reservoir. You might move it and see if the brood gets moved to above it.

Yeah I've gotten dandelions from my yard, too. I'm sure you can find some unsprayed mature grass seeds as well - smaller the better probably. And you could try the amaranth. And organic poppy seeds are in the spice section of grocery stores.

 

tysm

[OhNoNotAgain]

Yesterday I found what looks like a decapitated dead queen in P. cali 2's mini-hearth. They are down to 1 queen in there.

So overall down to 3 P. cali queens. 

[ANTdrew]

Dang

[OhNoNotAgain]

Just a note that today I received another colony of Pogonomyrmex subnits.

So it’s:
2 queen colony from 2020 (all other queens died) - in Fallen Fortress
1 queen colony from 2020 (all other queens died) - in a mini-hearth
4 queen colony from 2021 (down 1 queen I think) - in a test tube

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 26 2021 - 7:46 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Mini update:

 

2 queen colony from 2020 (all other queens died) - in Fallen Fortress
1 queen colony from 2020 (all other queens died) - in a mini-hearth
4 queen colony from 2021 (down 1 queen I think) - in a test tube --> Moved to a Fallen Fortress.

[sL0wNsteady]

Any updates?


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[United-Ants]

Update?

[OhNoNotAgain]

Hey surprise update July 31, 2022. The biggest Pogonomyrmex spp (“subnitidus”?!) that founded in 2020 has at least one gyne / female alate!!! She’s callow colored but… wow. I’m shocked. These poor Pogonomyrmex have been pretty neglected. They keep running out of water and only recently did I give them some new seeds (non-roasted sesame) that they got excited about. And now I have a gyne!

Attached Images

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[OhNoNotAgain]

To show you how neglected Pogonomyrmex have been, here is a video I took June 28th to showcase the sound of verrryyyy thirsty Pogonomyrmex drinking water (they sound like crickets). I understand they don’t do trophallaxis exactly, so the poor queen has to fend for herself: