137 replies to this topic

[TennesseeAnts]

 

 

I was thinking of keeping solitary velvet ants. And maybe trying to mimic their reproduction in the wild by finding a colony to set up. Hopefully I don't die.... just kidding but their sting really hurts from my experience and others.

Velvet ants are the bane of my existence. I swear out here in Colorado I find more velvet ants than actual queens, and they always fool me before I take a closer look.

 

i have seen 2 velvet ant queens one in my grandparents backyard and one in my back yard.

 

Velvet ants don't have queens. They're solitary.

[Antkeeper01]

yes lol i meant females as males don't have stingers or al least very painful stings and males can fly

[ZTYguy]

Lol when I saw velvet ant queen I thought "Are they still talking about the wasps or something else".

[Swirlysnowflake]

Nothing new, the wasps have been in the kritter keeper in the larger tank with the lids open for a few days

they still haven’t noticed it is open 

i don't want to poke them out so i’ll just let them sit in the kks if they want

[MinigunL5]

Please take pictures

[Swirlysnowflake]

Please take pictures

i tried, you actually can’t see them. they are in little crevices in their kritter keepers. in a few months, i’ll have tons of pics of them founding their nests if all goes well

[AleeGuy]

Cewl wasp journal

[TennesseeAnts]

Yas, kewl waspy notebook.

[ZTYguy]

Very KEWL

[Swirlysnowflake]

~kewl~

[M_Ants]

kiwl. wisp jernal. There. I win the spelling B. ha ha 

[KitsAntVa]

kiwl. wisp jernal. There. I win the spelling B. ha ha 

n0 far dod u cheted

[Swirlysnowflake]

so today it warmed up a little, and both wasps came out of their hibernation boxes into the bigger tank. they were sooo cute! i added some branches into their tank (and wow they literally didn't notice i had the tank wide open) and a dish of honey so that they could drink some if they wanted. 

bad pics:

[Swirlysnowflake]

I haven't seen them at all for the past week. Not sure if they escaped, or worse, died. I know they are in hibernation, but I used to be able to see them huddling behind a piece of cardboard. Should I bring their tank inside the house where it is warm, to see if they will sense the warm weather and come out of hiding? I hope they haven't died  

[Swirlysnowflake]

Also, if they are still in there, ill be bringing them out of hibernation around Christmas time! Most likely January 1st.

[Dmaculata]

nice journal! make sure you give em lots of light after hibernation, keeps them stimulated   

Edited by Dmaculata, December 9 2020 - 10:07 AM.

[Manitobant]

A little off topic but i wonder if you could have an ant vivarium with a polistes colony in it. That'd be super cool if possible.

Edited by Manitobant, December 9 2020 - 10:58 AM.

[Swirlysnowflake]

nice journal! make sure you give em lots of light after hibernation, keeps them stimulated

Ooh, ok. Would a UVB lamb hung over their tank work? Or a heat lamp?

[Swirlysnowflake]

A little off topic but i wonder if you could have an ant vivarium with a polistes colony in it. That'd be super cool if possible.

Whoa, does sound cool. It would probably require a large tank to keep the ants away from the wasps, and to ensure that the wasps don’t eat the ants food before the ants get to it lol

[Dmaculata]

nice journal! make sure you give em lots of light after hibernation, keeps them stimulated

Ooh, ok. Would a UVB lamb hung over their tank work? Or a heat lamp?

I was recommended a 400 watt grow light kit, or a mercury vapor bulb

Edited by Dmaculata, December 9 2020 - 11:42 AM.