85 replies to this topic

[Antcatcherpro3]

May I ask where in massachusetts you live in? I live in massachusetts, and I really like pheidole too, so I was thinking of trying to catch some this year, but where I live there are none.

[Chickalo]

Antcatcherpro's question but also, where did you find the queen?  I dunno, but I'm pretty sure they like sandy areas.  I just really want me some Pheidole lol

[Antcatcherpro3]

When I'm more west in MA, I did see this huge colony of crematogaster, and ponera, and formica, but no pheidole. 

[Antkeeper014]

May I ask where in massachusetts you live in? I live in massachusetts, and I really like pheidole too, so I was thinking of trying to catch some this year, but where I live there are none.

I'm from Central Massachusetts, Southern Worcester County area. Pilifera are dispersed consistently throughout the warmer parts of MA, and I've found that they are actually relative common, just very hard to spot. As long as you don't live in some of the Northwestern areas of the state, you should be able to find them. Where are you from? I'm sure you have the potential for pheidole in your area, unless you live in the western highlands.

[Antcatcherpro3]

I live near boston. In Jamica plain.

[Antkeeper014]

I live near boston. In Jamica plain.

There will be pilifera in you area, but definitely not in the city. Try looking near state parks for them.

[Antcatcherpro3]

Oh really? I didn't think any pheidole could live near where I live, I have some parks near me... I could search there.

[Antkeeper014]

UPDATE 03/14/21

Aaaand we're back!

They are doing great, as per usual . Primarily on a diet of fruit flies and poppy/almonds seeds for protein, and sugar water as a carbohydrate supplement. They continue to grow at a rapid rate, and I fear the inception chamber won't be holding them contently for much longer...

Anyhow, they are approaching 300 strong, with over a dozen majors as of now. I've begun to wonder if they will end up producing reproductives this spring, seeing as they are only a couple months away from a mature colony size. Wild Pheidole pilifera colonies often produce alates in June (in my area, at least), and end up flying sometime in July, although occasionally they have been seen to fly in early August, and the last few days of June. Although wild colonies tend to produce alates in June, captive colonies apparently produce reproductives whenever they want, and fly whenever they want, as seen with Cheetolord's" colony.

link to his video displaying this:

So given that, I'm not entirely sure if mine will follow a similar schedule to their wild counterparts, or simply make alates when they reach colony maturity, whenever that may be. I suppose only time will tell.

I was also daring enough to take the lid of the inception chamber off to get usable pictures for ya'll, so enjoy.

Inside the nest:








Chonky major

Edited by Antkeeper014, April 16 2021 - 4:25 PM.

[ANTdrew]

That’s one swole major!

[Antcatcherpro3]

I know this is a little late to post this, and I forgot to post this, but last September I saw a dead Pheidole pilifera queen while visiting Norton, MA. So next summer, I'm heading down there and hopefully I can find some Pheidole

[ANTdrew]

Try a blacklight, and I bet you’ll have luck finding P. bicarinata.

[Antcatcherpro3]

In april?

[ANTdrew]

In april?

No, June-July.

[Antkeeper014]

Unfortunately, bicarinata is not found in most parts of Massachusetts. The only widespread species we have here is pilifera, with the potential for 1-2 other species in select southern areas. Albeit Otterfailz has actually found bicarinata in southeastern Massachusetts, they are thought to be restricted to a couple of towns at most.

Also, I’d recommend joining the MA anting discord server. A great place to learn and talk with like minded people.

Link: https://discord.gg/qEfSUMbX

[Antcatcherpro3]

I'm not lookin for Bicarinata I'm looking for Pilifera.

[Antkeeper014]

05/26/21
A very disappointing update. As of last night, my main Pheidole pilifera colony's queen kicked the bucket. She was found lying in the death curl, with workers still tending to her dead body  . Her cause of death was unclear, but as of last week I noticed there were no eggs, or any young brood for that matter, which signified that she hadn't been laying for a week or two.

My concern grew at this point, when I realized she wasn't laying, but I figured she may just be taking a break. I truly started to freak out 3 days ago when I realized she looked in extremely poor condition, and could barely walk without tipping over. A day later, she couldn't move at all and simply had the workers tugging her around as she gingerly moved her antennae and mandibles. And finally, as of yesterday, she died. 
But this is all part of the antkeeping experience. Things don't always go to plan, colonies die, unexpected challenges arise, and sometimes these forces of nature are completely out of our control.

 

BUT

Y'all remember the backup colony I have? It's just a queen and a couple workers, but It's all I need to jumpstart a new pilifera colony. My main was at about 320-360 workers, with around 120-140 pupae I can use to boost my backup. I plan on doing the boost tonight, I'll update you guys in the near future  . Hopefully, all goes well and we'll be seeing some lovely dark morph majors in a bit

(my backup happens to be the darkest queen I caught last year, with a predominantly black body and maroon head. In contrast, this colony had the brightest queen I got. I find that majors of the dark morph have similar color variation to the queens, with a black body, and a crimson-maroon head.)

Edited by Antkeeper014, May 26 2021 - 8:02 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Dang, sorry. These pilifera group queens seem to have a knack for just randomly kicking the bucket. The same happened to both of the davisi queens I found last year.

[Antkeeper014]

Dang, sorry. These pilifera group queens seem to have a knack for just randomly kicking the bucket. The same happened to both of the davisi queens I found last year.

True, I'm not sure what is with the pili group, but they do seem to be exceptionally fragile.

[Antkeeper014]

UPDATE 06/07/21

 

So to change things up, I have some good news to share. The brood boost was successful, and the queen is now being accompanied by 100-120 workers. She has already started laying, and since then we already have small larvae! Pilifera to develop extremely fast, so I have no doubt they'll be back to normal within a month or so. High hopes for this colony, I'll get you guys some pics ASAP. See you in the next update!

[Antkeeper014]

The introduced queen has mysteriously died. This will likely be the end of this thread. Thanks for tuning in, that's all folks.

My only other hope at this point was to catch more, but due to being on vacation for most of July, I missed the vast majority of their flights. They have occasionally been known to fly into early august, so there is a small hope for resurrection. I fear their flights have long since passed though.