76 replies to this topic

[CheetoLord02]

This journal is like Pheidole 101. I love it.
How do you recommend handling diapause for my P. bicarinata colony? I live in a decently cold area, but I’ve heard some people recommend not hibernating them. Thoughts?

Personally I wouldn't hibernate them unless they try to slow down on their own. So long as the queen keeps laying and the larvae keep developing, you'll be good to keep them going throughout the winter. Alternatively, if you want them to slow down and hibernate, you could be able to encourage them to do so by slowly lowering the temperature over time, as would happen in the wild. Once they realize winter is coming, they'll slow down. Unlike most Formicinae, most Myrmicinae tend not to have a strong biological clock, and instead they wait for physical cues for when to go into hibernation. Without those physical cues, they'll never slow down and keep developing like nothing is wrong. Personally I like keeping ants active in the winter, so I never slow my temperate Myrmicinae down, but it's up to you in the long run.

[ANTdrew]

Cool! That’s what I think I’ll do, but they’ll need a formicarium upgrade soon.
Nylanderia vividula are Formicine, but I almost feel like doing the same thing. How about them?

[NickAnter]

I would keep them going if it was me. That way you have some active ant colonies during the winter months.

[TechAnt]

I hope the P. obtusospinosa make it, it would be awesome to have two tri-morphic Pheidole colonies.

[CheetoLord02]

Update 10/8

Pheidole furtiva

We have a major! She's still really small, but it's nice to have her at least. For being flavens-group these guys are actually not too bad to keep. I was disappointed at first when I saw they were flavens-group, as they tend to be the worst Pheidole to keep, but so far all is going well with them, so here's hoping it stays that way.
 

 

 

Pheidole vallicola

These guys so far are doing the best of any Pheidole I've gotten this season. They're up to 3 majors, with at least 2 more pupae in the pile and a few more larvae on the way. I'll be needing a formicarium for them soon, so next update will probably be when I end up moving them.
 

 

 

Pheidole spadonia

This colony of mine is doing exceedingly well also, although so far I don't see any signs of majors at all, even though they have around 30 workers. I gave them a bunch of seeds to see if that'd encourage them to start producing majors, so we'll see. I'm excited for when they do, because these guys get absolutely huge majors similar to P. pilifera.

 

 

 

Pheidole xerophila

Of the two "colonies" I have, both are doing well, with now brood of all stages of their own, however funnily enough the queen with fewer pilifera workers seems to have far more brood. Either way by the next update these guys will have their own workers finally!

 

Pheidole perpilosa

These guys got their first major a few days ago, and she's actually not bad at all! Typically Pheidole's first majors are pretty small compared to how they'll turn out, but this one's actually a good size. I'm not sure if this means they just get huge majors as a mature colony or if this is just a good first major, so we'll have to see. I'm doubtful their majors get too large, as fallax-group tend to have slimmer majors than pilifera-group.
 

 

 

Pheidole gilvescens

Sooner than later I'll be able to see if my ID for these guys is correct, as they've just now got a major larva in premolt! Gilvescens have very distinct majors, so it'll be an easy ID once she ecloses. I was surprised to see them with a major larva a few days ago, as they only have around 5 workers. My P. spadonia need to take notes!
 

 

 

Pheidole obtusospinosa

Unfortunately this queen didn't make it. I'll hopefully be able to get more next year, as I know exactly where to look, but it's still a little annoying that I need to wait until then.

Pheidole micula

The fallen fortress is pretty much full. I'm honestly not even sure why I keep assuming this colony will stay relatively small. At this point I bet they'll get over 100000 workers and I need a Nucleus 360 for them. Seriously though, it's actually looking like I'll need yet a larger nest for these guys. Mini labyrinth maybe? I really don't know. It's gotten to the point where finding the queen is a challenge. The other day I spent at least 5 minutes looking before I found her. As I've said in previous updates it's just a matter of time before I start seeing alates, and honestly I can't wait. They'll actually be the first colony I've raised from nanitics to alates!

 

Edited by CheetoLord02, October 8 2020 - 4:29 AM.

[11.11.00]

Might not be related to this thread, but are there any native pheidole that display intranidal mating like P. megacephala?

[CheetoLord02]

Update 11/3

Since the last update a decent amount has happened, particularly with my larger colonies.

Pheidole bicarinata

I put this colony into hibernation a few weeks ago. They were naturally slowing down since I wasn't heating them and I was purposefully reducing their feedings. I'll probably sell them next year, since I'm trying to downsize my collection a bit so I can put more effort into my cooler species/colonies.

Pheidole pilifera

This colony has continued to do absolutely amazing. Yesterday I moved them into a Mini Labyrinth from THA since they were practically exploding out of their Inception Chamber. The new nest gives them a ton of much-needed growing room, as they're currently in the process of exploding in population. Just look at the massive pile of brood they have!
 

 

 

 

Pheidole micula

My pride and joy. Shortly after the last update I moved this colony into a Labyrinth from Tarheel Ants. At the time they still took up a surprising amount of it, but now they've grown to take up even more space. Practically every chamber has a pile of brood, and those that don't are full of seed reserves. The queen is hard to find most days, even with this being the nest with probably the best visibility in my whole collection. She just blends in so well with her tiny size. The photo here is from today, but the video is older, for reference of their growth. At this point I'm just waiting for alates!
 

 

Pheidole vallicola/sciophila

Still not sure which species this colony is, but what I do know is they grow like crazy. They definitely remind me of P. bicarinata. The size is similar and they grow insanely fast as well. I moved them into a THA Inception Chamber just over a week ago, and since then they've definitely thrived, having more brood than ever!

 

 

 

Pheidole bilimeki

A new addition to this journal, a colony which I received at the same time as my Atta and Odontomachus. Since getting them two-ish weeks ago they've gone insane, with their brood pile now taking up most of the useable space in their test tube. I think I'm going to move them into the now vacant Inception Chamber that I had my P. pilifera in.

 

[Ants_Dakota]

that is a ton of pheidole species! if only i had 1 of them!

i also think i see a common trend in pheidole. Queen logic: more space=more ants      more ants=more ants

Edited by Ants_Dakota, November 3 2020 - 10:02 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

that is a ton of pheidole species! if only i had 1 of them!

i also think i see a common trend in pheidole. Queen logic: more space=more ants      more ants=more ants

That is actually true. 

[Antkeeper01]

why did you call Pheidole bicarnata 'boring' i really want Pheidole

I would happily take the P. bicarnata but I'm in CO

[CheetoLord02]

Update 11/28 

Pheidole micula

Doing amazing as always. They're definitely starting to peak in size and/or growth rate, which is almost a relief considering I know that they'll be able to live in this nest forever and will hopefully make alates soon!
 

 

 

Pheidole pilifera

Loving their mini labyrinth. They've got a ton of brood all crammed on one water tower, with some spare larvae tossed on the other one. They also seem to be getting tons of their giant majors now that their population is more steady.
 

 

 

Pheidole xerophila

Recently dumped my best colony into an inception chamber. They're soooo pretty, and they've got a major pupa, as well as a bunch of minor brood of other stages.

Pheidole bilimeki

This colony has gone totally crazy. I moved them into a mini hearth XL and from there they've done amazing. They have around a dozen majors and a ton of brood. They're also insanely aggressive, which is ridiculous considering they're the 2nd smallest ants I've kept, behind Solenopsis ocellata.
 

 

[ANTdrew]

Phenomenal!

[Kaelwizard]

Phenomenal!

Not magisterial like usual. Interesting.

[Ants_Dakota]

how much $ do you have to support all of that! i am literally grimacing at thinking about buying one of those nests!

[CheetoLord02]

Update 1/21

All 5 of my remaining Pheidole colonies are still here and doing well.

Pheidole pilifera

Arguably doing the best of all my Pheidole. I've recently increased their feeding and put them on heat and they've been doing absolutely amazing. They've got hundreds of pupae and tons of eggs and larvae to boot.
 

 

 

Pheidole micula

This colony went into a state of reduced activity over the winter, however upon me coming back from IL earlier this month I put them on heat and they're going crazy again. They've got a decent pile of pupae, but more importantly they've got 2 entire walls of the nest covered in eggs and small larvae. It's pretty hard to see on photos since the eggs are so tiny.

 

Pheidole xerophila

This colony is probably doing the worst out of all my Pheidole, but they're still not doing bad by any metric. Moving them to an inception chamber was probably a mistake, and I've ordered an Atom nest for them as a replacement. Still, they've got quite a few pupae and a nice batch of eggs, so I think they're going to end up being alright in the end.

 

 

Pheidole bicarinata

This colony was recently brought out of hibernation, and now have eggs and small larvae. I think that hibernating them may increase their chances to produce alates. Unfortunately their bifuricated mini hearth has pretty horrible visibility, so I don't have any useable pictures of them


Pheidole bilimeki

This colony has been absolutely exploding, however thankfully do to their small size they're still sitting comfortably in their Mini Hearth XL, as they probably will be for the rest of their lives.
 

[NickAnter]

One day I'll get fallax group Pheidole...

[CheetoLord02]

One day I'll get fallax group Pheidole...

I don't even keep fallax-group at the moment. Out west especially Pilifera group is far superior.

[NickAnter]

Still like 5x larger than my Ph. navigans lol.

[CheetoLord02]

Pheidole micula

Nothing new with these guys. Still a ton of workers and no alates.


Pheidole pilifera

We've got alates, and a ton of them at that! Not sure if anybody else has gotten a captive colony to alates, but needless to say I'm very proud of myself and this colony. It looks like I'll be getting around 200+ males and 2 queen alates. Quite the ratio if you ask me.

Male alates
 

Queen alate
 

2nd queen alate pupa
 

and a video

Pheidole bicarinata

Out of hibernation they've gotten a good amount of brood, but nothing too special to see.


Pheidole bilimeki

This colony has decided to make a population of about 85% majors for some reason. Not sure why they decided that they don't need minors but hey, it looks neat.
 

 

Pheidole xerophila

This colony unfortunately died. All of the workers randomly died one day, and I'm not sure why. I tried using vinegar to introduce the queen to some P. pilifera workers, and after about an hour of it seemingly working and the queen being groomed, they just killed her. Not sure why that happened, but it's quite sad. I'll have to try this species again this year.


Pheidole hyatti

Just yesterday I collected this colony on Mt. Lemmon. I was able to get 8 majors, 20 minors, and 2 larvae, and the queen has already laid new eggs overnight. Pretty excited to keep these guys again.

 

Edited by CheetoLord02, March 21 2021 - 2:29 PM.

[NickAnter]

That bilimeki colony looks incredible! Like a colony of small topaz jewels!