8 replies to this topic

[SleepyAsianAnter]

Went anting with a couple other californians on August 15th and caught a bunch of these M. mexicanus queens. I'm currently waiting for the tubes I ordered from LCM to get here so I can tube them all up. Most of them are in their collection containers with a moist cotton ball. I have high hopes, I have a bunch, so hopefully I can get several strong colonies going. 

 

[FSTP]

that's a great photo

[SleepyAsianAnter]

that's a great photo

Thanks!

[Devi]

Yes, that is a great picture.  I will be following this journal!  M. mexicanus is one of my favorite species.

[SleepyAsianAnter]

Starting to get workers now. I have 1 set of polygenous/pleometric double queens that succeeded, and now have 7 workers, these I moved into a minihearth xl, another set was both dead (I'm assuming one died and the second died after trying to eat her molded corpse), the other 2 poly sets have only larvae, as do the about 40% of my pots, I will likely be housing all my single queen pots with workers in home made nests. pictures coming soon. 

[SleepyAsianAnter]

I realize it's been a while since I updated this.

 

All my poly sets have culled or died, but my sample size was only 5, so I still can't say for sure the mexicanus from this spot are pleometric. I have around 35-40 colonies now, most of which are in tubes. I have 3 in hearths, and 1 in a random slope nest that I made, though she doesn't seem to like it very much, I'll move them out soon. As of now, all of them have between 10 and 30 workers, with my very best one having well over 40 and at least 5 repletes. I am a bit behind the others, due to my slowness in tubing them several months ago. Their second generation has pupated, and I expect them to eclose in about a week or so. I can try to get pics over winter break, when I will be designing nests and figuring out the best way to house and heat all 40 of them lol.

[SleepyAsianAnter]

Woman teaches infant sister how to swim

[Jakerobs]

Wow 40! that's a lot of Myrmies!

[TechAnt]

Woman teaches infant sister how to swim[/size]
[/size]

So kind to teach her sister how to swim near the end of her li- I mean, early in life!

Edited by TechAnt, December 14 2020 - 6:45 AM.