50 replies to this topic

[ArmansAnts]

I've been making "journal" videos on YouTube for a while and have been suggested to start a Formiculture journal, so here I am. I'm going to start off with some information on the colonies I've been making updates on, and the most recent video for each as of posting this. I'll add more to the replies as I make updates. 

 

Crematogaster cerasi

I caught the queen of this colony last year, and she laid eggs this year in Spring. The colony has been growing really quickly as I've been told Crematogaster do, which is really cool. They're definitely my favorite colony for now, as I love how active they are and their overall aesthetic.

Latest video: https://youtu.be/nF0pQ9OjnR8

 

Lasius aphidicola

I collected the queen of this colony after winter passed, as they're practically everywhere under rocks when they're hibernating. Since I don't have Lasius americanus to use as hosts for parasitic Lasius, I used Lasius neoniger. The introduction was rough, but I managed to get the queen accepted. They still don't have any biological workers, however one did eclose and was killed shortly after. From what I know, future biological workers probably won't be killed.

Latest video: https://youtu.be/YEHSc5WpsdU

 

Tetramorium immigrans
I caught the queen of this colony last year along with plenty of others when they had their flights. I somewhat abandoned the colony due to a lack of interest, so their growth was stunted during their first year. I also was unaware that they don't need hibernation, so I hibernated them. This year, I boosted them with some wild Tetramorium immigrans brood, which really got them going. I now have them set up in a naturalistic formicarium/vivarium, where I hope to keep them until they become hard to manage. I've heard that Tetramorium immigrans are practically impossible to contain once they reach large numbers, so I will probably kill the colony at that point to protect my other ants and animals.

Latest video: https://youtu.be/xgeruzHEFcs

 

Camponotus chromaiodes

The queen of this colony was sold to me by a friend who lives a bit out of the city since I struggle to catch Camponotus here. She's finally gotten all 4 of her nanitics, and has begun laying more eggs. I expect them to get at least 15 workers or so by the end of the year. Camponotus is probably my favorite native genus, so I hope they succeed.

Latest video: https://youtu.be/cZsjrM_2I0A

 

Pheidole bicarinata

The queen of this colony was sold to me by a different friend who was visiting upstate and caught a few. I've only seen Pheidole maybe once before in my life besides while visiting other countries, so this is a first experience that I'm very excited for. They're already growing at a good rate and I'm expecting to start seeing majors within the next few weeks or so.

Latest video: https://youtu.be/gl1kKwWfc14

 

That's all for now! All future updates will be down below instead of in this message.

Edited by ArmansAnts, June 3 2021 - 6:47 PM.

[Antkid12]

Nice!

[ANTdrew]

You have a lot of the same ants I do. Good luck!

[ArmansAnts]

Lasius aphidicola

I haven't made a video yet, but my first worker that probably won't be killed has eclosed. I'm planning on changing their setup to something a bit nicer than what I have them in so far since the colony should start growing now.

 

Crematogaster cerasi

I'm working on a new nest for this colony, as they're growing without any sign of stopping and they're running out of room. When it's complete, I'll move them over and take some footage of them.

 

As an overall note, I'm planning on getting a macro lens for my phone at some point, or getting used to using a DSLR with one for taking photos of ants in their setups. 

[ArmansAnts]

Crematogaster cerasi

The colony has moved into their new nest. Because of me being a bit of an idiot and adding way too much water, it's absolutely soaked with condensation. Once the condensation clears out, I'll get some footage of them in it. For now, I made a video showcasing them in their outworld eating.

https://www.youtube....h?v=gbxqsFpqIjc

[Kaelwizard]

Yeah Crematogaster like it dry so that could be dangerous for them. Condensation is dangerous for all ants.

[ArmansAnts]

Camponotus chromaiodes
They're up to 6 workers, and probably 7 tomorrow. I was worried about the queen not laying before, but the brood pile is looking pretty healthy now.

https://youtu.be/FPMELNYnYgM

[ArmansAnts]

Lasius aphidicola

These guys have somewhere around 5 biological workers, and the queen seems to be doing quite well as she is physogastric.

https://youtu.be/hHYvvBRe0KI

[Antkid12]

Awesome!

[ArmansAnts]

Camponotus chromaiodes
This colony is still doing really well. They're finally taking in more protein, so I'm hoping to see a few more workers before hibernation.

https://youtu.be/nox_U1EoN0M

 

Crematogaster cerasi

No video yet, but I got them to move into their nest. They might move back out into the tubing, so I'll see.

Edited by ArmansAnts, August 19 2020 - 5:42 PM.

[ArmansAnts]

Crematogaster cerasi

They're now in the nest permanently as I shortened their tubing. They were given two mealworms today.

https://youtu.be/47uc7jRDhrg

[ArmansAnts]

I'm probably not going to upload a video for a while since school started for me again, however I recently got some Pheidole morrisii. I caught some other stuff recently like 2 ponera queens, a small colony of Myrmecina americana I made with a queen and random workers, a Brachymyrmex depilis queen, a Lasius neoniger queen, and a new Crematogaster cerasi queen. Sadly my luck has been pretty bad with Lasius flights, so the L. neoniger queen is all I have. My original goal was to find Lasius latipes. If my L. neoniger queen lives, I'll probably keep the colony just to use as hosts for any parasites I get in the future which can use L. neoniger. I'd like to see more people trying parasitic Lasius and I have no shortage of Lasius aphidicola queens, meaning a colony of hosts is all I need to possibly sell/give away some eventually.

 

Pheidole morrisii

The queen didn't get a lot of nanitics, but there's a lot of brood so I don't think it's a problem. How they do will be pretty interesting since I've been reading through Aaron's journal and have heard a lot of good stuff about this species from others. Here's some photos (the second is compared to my P. bicarinata):

 

Pheidole bicarinata

This colony has been steadily growing and has a major pupa somewhat close to eclosing. I expect them to start growing a bit faster over the next few months as their brood pile seems to be expanding. Here's a photo of the major pupa from a few days ago:

 

Crematogaster cerasi
Growth has definitely slowed down, and they're near ready to hibernate.

 

Camponotus chromaiodes

There were two unexpected deaths, but none since. They're just about ready to hibernate as their last pupae are eclosing and the other brood has stopped growing.

 

Lasius aphidicola
I put them into hibernation slightly early since the queen stopped laying and they stopped foraging for the most part. I probably should've waited for the remaining one or two pupae to eclose, but I doubt it's a big problem.

[ArmansAnts]

Pheidole bicarinata
Finally made a video on them! Their tube flooded which forced me to move them a bit early. I've also noticed that they love eating pollen. My P. morrisii don't like it though. You can try adding normal pellets of bee pollen, or turning it into a dough by crushing it and adding a tiny bit of honey water. Mine take both. 

https://youtu.be/Hl0A1SZc6_k

[ANTdrew]

I should try the pollen.

[ArmansAnts]

I should try the pollen.

Yeah, it would be pretty neat if yours also take it. Only downside is I see is some staining on the plastic of their nest, which might be due to pollen. I'm not 100% sure.

[ArmansAnts]

Pheidole morrisii

I'm already astonished by how quickly these guys grow. They have their first major pupa, along with tons of larvae and minor pupae.

 

Camponotus chromaiodes

Their last pupa looks like it will eclose any day now, which will finally let me hibernate them along with the Crematogaster cerasi. I swear they had 11 workers, but only 10 are there. I either counted wrong, or another died/escaped. They'll have/be back to 11 once the pupa ecloses. (No photo because the queen is hiding it.)

[ArmansAnts]

All of my ants are in hibernation besides my Pheidole spp. The Crematogaster cerasi and going in for 2 months, and Camponotus chromaiodes for 3 months. So far both colonies are alive and well in the fridge.

 

Pheidole bicarinata

I managed to probe their nest with a thermometer, and found out that it's only ~81°F. That's okay for them, but higher is definitely better so I made the heating a bit stronger. They seem enjoy the extra heat, and are doing pretty well. They have a new major larva which should pupate sometime soon (it's the one being held by 3 workers).

 

Pheidole morrisii

Lots of new workers have eclosed, and the queen is still laying a bunch. I'm starting to see workers patrol their outworld, and I can easily get them to forage when they aren't already by tapping their tubing. At least 3 workers instantly rush out to see what happened. (Sorry for the bad photos, it's impossible to get a good angle with their current setup.)

Edited by ArmansAnts, October 6 2020 - 9:01 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Looking good. How did you manage to get the temp inside the nest?

[ArmansAnts]

Looking good. How did you manage to get the temp inside the nest?

It's some thermometer that uses a wire probe. It took around 10 minutes, but I managed to get it to the bottom of their nest without them freaking out too much. Imagine this but with a wire instead of a solid needle.

[Ants_Dakota]

 

Looking good. How did you manage to get the temp inside the nest?

It's some thermometer that uses a wire probe. It took around 10 minutes, but I managed to get it to the bottom of their nest without them freaking out too much. Imagine this but with a wire instead of a solid needle.

 

(the price of that thing)