Captured two queens 4 weeks ago and a third one 2 weeks ago.
Captured near Guadalajara, Jalisco. They are smaller than the roasted Atta mexicana that are sold as snacks, so maybe they are Atta cephalotes? Those are the two most common in the area.
I could not find a lot of information, except for 25C and 80% humidity, so I improvised a two chamber formicarium. On one chamber the plaster is kept moist, the other side is not. They seem to prefer the drier side.
For the first week there was no sign of fungus, but then there was explosive growth for the first 2 queens, and today I noticed larva. I only check on them once every 5 days, with a very dim deep red light. I broke the rule to take the pics, but still used a dim light, sorry for bad quality pictures.
The third queen still has her wings, and did not show signs of fungus, so I took a tiny sample of fungus from another queen and gave it to her, her fungus is now growing great.
Any advice on how to survive this founding stage is appreciated.
