85 replies to this topic

[123LordOfAnts123]

Those are male, not major larvae.

[Kaelwizard]

Those are male, not major larvae.

How can you tell? I am not doubting you, just trying to learn.

[Antkeeper014]

Those are male, not major larvae.

Most likely yes. Was talking on discord today and came to the conclusion that it was male, which would also explain why they were eating it.

[Antkeeper014]

My light morph is starting to pick up now, with around 20 workers and loads of brood.



Before they were relatively picky about what protein I gave them and now they eat anything I put in their tube. They have a major larvae in pre-pupal form as of now, I can’t wait.

My three other colonies aren’t doing great, for whatever reason.



They show no signs of slowing down so I will continue to heat them throughout winter.

Edited by Antkeeper014, October 14 2020 - 3:00 PM.

[Antkeeper014]

Ladies and gentlemen we have a major pupae! She’s a bit difficult to see in the massive pile of brood, but you can barely make out the shape of her massive head.



After the arrival of this soldier I plan to experiment with different types of seeds, and see what they enjoy.

Edited by Antkeeper014, October 21 2020 - 8:58 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Congratulations! That moment is always very exhilarating.

[Antkeeper014]

Congratulations! That moment is always very exhilarating.

I’m so excited, ever since I started keeping pilifera was my dream species. I think seeing majors in the wild was the most memorable moment of my ant-keeping career.

Edited by Antkeeper014, November 18 2020 - 8:31 AM.

[Antkeeper014]

Sorry for the lack of updates, but today something insane happened. But first, where we left off.

October 18th
I’d imagine the colony has 20-30 workers now, with callows eclosing every day.



First major encloses, and in general the colony is doing super well. On a diet of 2-3 fruit flies a day, and the occasional drop of sugar water.


Two days later the major is still darkening. The contrast in size to the minors is really impressive to me.


Another two days and the majors pigments have completely set in. I do like the lighter color on the majors, although the darker morph coloration in majors just looks more desirable to me.


November 10th

Lots of brood, queen is slowly starting to get fatter. Ordered a THA inception chamber for them.

Today, November 14th




Combined my duo with my main colony, expecting nothing more than fighting. Although checking on them this morning, all the queens have moved in the the main test tube. Surprisingly, the behavior has been relatively promising, workers are engaging in trophilaxis and frequently cleaning the new queens. Only time will tell if they stay together, but for now they live in peace.

Edited by Antkeeper014, November 18 2020 - 8:35 AM.

[Antkeeper014]

The three queen colony is still alive and well, although recently behaviors have suggested conflict between queens. One queen (I’m fairly certain it’s the OG mother) has begun showing aggressive body posture towards other queens, although the workers couldn’t care less. I’m planning on separating the queens into separate tubes and connecting them all with an outworld. Since the workers haven’t cared about the new queens, as long as the queens are separate from each other I think they will be alright. Hopefully this doesn’t cause the colony to bud into three separate colonies, but we’ll see what works out.

[Antkeeper01]

yay

[MinigunL5]

The three queen colony is still alive and well, although recently behaviors have suggested conflict between queens. One queen (I’m fairly certain it’s the OG mother) has begun showing aggressive body posture towards other queens, although the workers couldn’t care less. I’m planning on separating the queens into separate tubes and connecting them all with an outworld. Since the workers haven’t cared about the new queens, as long as the queens are separate from each other I think they will be alright. Hopefully this doesn’t cause the colony to bud into three separate colonies, but we’ll see what works out.

Could they be oligynous?

[Antkeeper014]

The three queen colony is still alive and well, although recently behaviors have suggested conflict between queens. One queen (I’m fairly certain it’s the OG mother) has begun showing aggressive body posture towards other queens, although the workers couldn’t care less. I’m planning on separating the queens into separate tubes and connecting them all with an outworld. Since the workers haven’t cared about the new queens, as long as the queens are separate from each other I think they will be alright. Hopefully this doesn’t cause the colony to bud into three separate colonies, but we’ll see what works out.

Could they be oligynous?

Yes is possible some populations could be polygenous, although they are very understudied in general and we do not know for certain.

[MinigunL5]

 

 

The three queen colony is still alive and well, although recently behaviors have suggested conflict between queens. One queen (I’m fairly certain it’s the OG mother) has begun showing aggressive body posture towards other queens, although the workers couldn’t care less. I’m planning on separating the queens into separate tubes and connecting them all with an outworld. Since the workers haven’t cared about the new queens, as long as the queens are separate from each other I think they will be alright. Hopefully this doesn’t cause the colony to bud into three separate colonies, but we’ll see what works out.

Could they be oligynous?

Yes is possible some populations could be polygenous, although they are very understudied in general and we do not know for certain.

 

oligynous means the queens don't like each other but the workers are fine with multiple queens

[Antkeeper014]

I’ve never heard that term before but if that’s the definition then yes.

[MinigunL5]

I’ve never heard that term before but if that’s the definition then yes.

Cheeto defined it in his Novo journal

[Antkeeper014]

I’ve never heard that term before but if that’s the definition then yes.

Cheeto defined it in his Novo journal

Interesting, well you learn something new every day I guess.

[Ants_Dakota]

 

 

I’ve never heard that term before but if that’s the definition then yes.

Cheeto defined it in his Novo journal

Interesting, well you learn something new every day I guess.

 

same here! i thought it had something to do with oil the first time i read it!

[Antkeeper014]

Apologies for the lack of updates, but I’m back.

The Inception chamber came yesterday, and they are currently in the process of moving. Unfortunately after talking with Cheeto It appears that inception chamber cannot be heated without condensation forming in large amounts on the glass, so I’m not sure how this will impact their growth.

Unfortunately while moving the test tube, one of the queens freaked out and grabbed onto another queens petiole, cutting right through it. This further prove my theory of oligyny, and hopefully as long as the queens stay away from each other, they should be alright. Workers continue to show no signs of aggression whatsoever.

Overall they are still healthy, with about 100 workers and another 2 majors on the way. They are currently eating about 5 fruit flies a day along with sugar water. I’d like to feed them more, but they rarely take over 5-6 flies. Hopefully with 2 queens popping out eggs I’ll be able to get alates next year, although the exact size that pilifera caps at is unknown, so maturity could occur later than I expect it to.

Overall I’m happy with this colony’s growth, and I will experiment with adding more queens next year given both my population is actually oligynous and given I catch more.

I’m currently editing a video showing the progression of this colony from when I captured the queen to where the colony is now. I’ll post the link when I’m finished.

[Antkeeper014]

Video documenting this colonies progression from queen to first major:

[TennesseeAnts]

Great work!