305 replies to this topic

[AntsGodzilla]

Update 7-15-24
This colony is four years old now, and not showing any signs of slowing down. They have fully recovered their population, but I don’t see signs of alates just yet. They staged a massive jailbreak about a month ago when they managed to chew through a rubber plug. Several hundred were lost at that point, but they have since been replaced. Here are some photos of the adobe chambers in their UtahAnts nest.

imagehost

have they grown out of their nest yet?

[ANTdrew]

No, this colony has capped out at their max size basically, so they won’t be needing a new nest really.

[ANTdrew]

Update 9-19-24

This colony has had a successful fifth growing season. They got a few queen alates recently, but not as many as in year’s past. It’s almost like they realize it’s not worth the effort in captivity. Their UtahAnts nest continues to function perfectly, and I basically plan to keep them in there unless it becomes too dirty inside.
Full nest:

Close ups of brood piles:

[ANTdrew]

In other Pheidole news, a P. piifera queen I found back in July has raised a successful colony, which is getting it’s first majors. The heads on the majors are so massively huge! I may spin these off into their own journal, or else tack them onto this one.

[AntsGodzilla]

Wow that is huge!

[AntsGodzilla]

Update 9-19-24

This colony has had a successful fifth growing season. They got a few queen alates recently, but not as many as in year’s past. It’s almost like they realize it’s not worth the effort in captivity. Their UtahAnts nest continues to function perfectly, and I basically plan to keep them in there unless it becomes too dirty inside.
Full nest:

Close ups of brood piles:

They are massive!