306 replies to this topic

[CheetoLord02]

 

Amazing...and where did you get those containers?

I think they are from target:

https://www.target.c...145#lnk=sametab

i might be wrong though, lol

 

That's exactly the ones. I absolutely love em. The acrylic is super high quality, takes well to drilling, and the containers are relatively cheap.

[M_Ants]

How do you hydrate the setup?

[CheetoLord02]

Update 12/16

Today is the day I'll be leaving for 2 weeks. The fungus has grown a ton, and the colony is absolutely thriving in the new setup. In just 4 days it has grown significantly taller and the colony has been nearly constantly taking in food. I'm very excited to see how they look in 2 weeks when I come back, hopefully they'll be absolutely huge! By then the giant workers will have almost definitely eclosed as well, which is going to be very exciting to see.
 

[Ants_Dakota]

yes! this is awesome! i can't wait to see how big the fungus gets as well! and that major! that will be awesome!

[CheetoLord02]

Thankfully while I was gone this colony continued to thrive. It's getting difficult to get a true sense of scale here, but keep in mind the queen is an inch long. I'd say the top of their new spire is probably close to 6 inches tall. These guys really never learn, do they.
 

 

 

The large pupae from before should have eclosed just days after I left, but I haven't seen any of the workers yet. They're likely just hiding in the fungus or on the other side, which is difficult for me to see well. There was this large callow, but I believe the pupae from before were larger than this worker. I'll just have to wait and see if I notice any larger workers popping up.
 

[Ants_Dakota]

it is king of the mountain!

[CheetoLord02]

Ever since I got back I've been powerfeeding this colony, and it's really seeming to pay off. The spire continues to grow taller, and once again is covered in lovely green speckles. 
 

 

 

They've currently got 2 large open brood chambers, and while they're hard to see well considering the workers body-block them, I'm pretty sure there's some pretty large pupae hanging out in there.
 

 

 

Speaking of large pupae, those ones from before have absolutely eclosed. I turned the setup around to get a glimpse of the queen, and one giant worker came lazily walking out from somewhere inside the fungus to see what was up.

 

Check out her size next to the queen!
 

 

 

You can even see a few tiny minims in the area and really appreciate the insane polymorphism. It's crazy to think that this worker is still significantly smaller than their largest soldiers will eventually get.
 

Most of the food items are still brought straight to the top, where the youngest fungus is. It seems to just take to the food better and is more "willing" to grow. Why they always choose to grow straight up from a single point is beyond me.
 

[SleepyAsianAnter]

Maybe in the wild, their chamber heights are shorter, and they believe growing the fungus like a pillar from floor to ceiling is the strongest and safest method

[ANTdrew]

Maybe in the wild, their chamber heights are shorter, and they believe growing the fungus like a pillar from floor to ceiling is the strongest and safest method

I think that’s exactly it.
It looks like Castle Grayskull.

[ParadoxAnts]

I love how much larger the queen is than most of the workers! Really cool colony. 

[mmcguffi]

Looking good! Just curious, when you were away what did your dad do for the colony? You mentioned that Atta are low-care level, so I'm trying to get a sense of what that really looks like

[CheetoLord02]

Looking good! Just curious, when you were away what did your dad do for the colony? You mentioned that Atta are low-care level, so I'm trying to get a sense of what that really looks like

In the span of the 2 weeks I was gone I'm pretty sure he just threw leaves in occasionally. I soaked the setup before leaving so it was fine with water the whole time. I mean Atta care, at least mexicana, is pretty much as simple as just "give ant leaf." The big mistake I see is either overheating or people experimenting with setups too much and having it go wrong. It's really just as easy as it looks; a container with some plaster at the bottom.

On another note, it's important to consider that mexicana are arguably the hardiest/least sensitive Atta species, so other species may have a bit more specific care requirements like humidity and temperature.

[CheetoLord02]

Update 1/10

Over the last several days I've been going pretty crazy with the feeding, primarily clover and orange. I still think it's absolutely hilarious how they will chop up oranges and put it on the fungus. I can see myself just throwing whole oranges into their outworld when the colony eventually gets large enough to go through that much food.

 

While it hasn't gotten too much taller, the fungus has been getting significantly wider. It's still not very sturdy, and wobbles like crazy whenever I so much as breathe on the setup, but as we've seen before a collapse really isn't a huge deal for them.
 

 

 

They'll even store excess food right near the tube to their outworld, just waiting to process it. They're bringing in so much food they don't even have the workload to process it all. Pretty awesome stuff.

 

 

I also managed to capture the queen getting a nice back massage from one of her tiniest children. So cute.

 

 

 

Finally, my buddy Ants_AZ came over today and got some insane pictures of some of my colonies. Check out these Atta pictures! Truly gorgeous ants, and it's only fitting for them to finally get some photography that fits them so well.
 

 

[BADANT]

Thank you for this journal, I caught sight of it just before your trip and love seeing updates. It is very informative and entertaining. I wish you much more future success, and appreciate just how well this puts keeping leaf cutters into perspective

[Ants_Dakota]

love the new pics!

[Antkeeper01]

love the new pics!

yeh they are so vivid

[Chickalo]

i want ur atta and i want them now

[CheetoLord02]

Update 1/17

Quite a bit has happened in the last week with this colony.

A few days ago the fungus was getting to the point where every time I so much as breathed on the container it would wobble furiously. I really wasn't comfortable with this, so I simply pushed it against the back wall of the container with my hand. It went over without any issues, and now the fungus is far more stable- and since then far larger too! It's around 6 inches tall now.
 

 

 

I've also noticed quite a lot of the larger sized workers popping up here and there. They've gotten surprisingly dark in coloration as they mature, but I kinda like it. Their head is still a bit lighter and shiny, which is cool. Only a matter of time before I start getting some ~19mm true soldiers!

 

 

One curious thing as well is that they seem to be doing something with the underside of the fungus. Not sure if they're killing it, or if it's just gotten old and is dying, but they're removing it. Not at an alarming rate, but it's definitely peaked my curiosity.

 

[Spazmops]

I love the fungus architecture, it looks like something from an exoplanet.

[Amatty76]

El fungi es grande.