178 replies to this topic

[Antkeeper01]

Hi, I am currently keeping Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis, Tetremorium Caispitum and unknown Queen (possibly Pheidole?) I have 5 test tubes of Tetremorium Caispitum with one queen in each one and one with 2 queens and four workers i am assuming that they are from the same colony because I caught at least 30 pavement queens this anting season. There will be a photo down at the bottom of the unknown Queen if you want to identify it.    

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Edited by Antkeeper01, September 7 2020 - 6:35 AM.

[Antkeeper01]

September 7th 2020

Today my P. Occidentalis Queen has been very active-the Queen Grabbing seeds and bringing them back to the nest to put in the seed stores for her and her larvae.

One of my Tetremorium Caispitum Colonies is refusing all of the food I give them a drop of honey they walkover it I give them a piece of meal-worm the ignore it. The weird thing is they have more nanitics than my other Tetremorium colony's. Open for suggestions.

Edited by Antkeeper01, September 7 2020 - 12:57 PM.

[Antkeeper014]

They are probably getting ready for diapause, or they may be sick of the same food. I switch up the diets of my colonies before they start refusing the same food

[Antkeeper01]

ok thank you i tried giving them a baby jumping spider and they ignored it.      .all of my other colonies are happily accepting food.

Edited by Antkeeper01, September 7 2020 - 1:15 PM.

[Antkeeper014]

Just now? Give them some time to notice it. You may be feeding them too frequently. How often do you give them mealworm pieces, and how large is the colony?

[Antkeeper01]

The colony is 8 nanitics and I feed them meal-worm every week, some times they taste the honey for a moment and then go back to whatever they were doing. I am currently trying to breed grasshoppers as a food source but am being unsuccessful.

[ANTdrew]

Make sure they are 80 degrees or warmer. An eight worker colony will forage very little at first. Just be patient.

[ponerinecat]

The colony is 8 nanitics and I feed them meal-worm every week, some times they taste the honey for a moment and then go back to whatever they were doing. I am currently trying to breed grasshoppers as a food source but am being unsuccessful.

Don't try it. Grasshoppers arent very good breeding feeders. Go for crickets, roaches, meal worms, or fruit flies instead.

[Antkeeper01]

But is it possible to breed grasshoppers?

[Spazmops]

But is it possible to breed grasshoppers?

Yes, it is. You might have more than one species in the same container, or you might not have waited long enough. Here’s a guide: https://www.keepingi...s/grasshoppers/

[Antkeeper01]

Apparently that colony will only eat dandeion seeds.

Edited by Antkeeper01, September 7 2020 - 6:41 PM.

[Spazmops]

Apparently that colony will only eat dandeion seeds.

Your tetramorium will eat dandelion seeds?

[Antkeeper01]

Weirdly yes but I have to break them open in order for them to eat, or at least so far.

Edited by Antkeeper01, September 8 2020 - 5:29 AM.

[Antkeeper01]

Started snowing last night that means no more nuptial flights, no more queen ants for the year.     Maybe next year I will catch something better?  

Harvester ant Queen doing well expecting a pupae soon, any suggestions on a name for the Queen?

Tetremorium colony 1 doing okay I just fed them honey(tried to) I got no response ,so far seeds are the only thing that they will eat.        

[Antkeeper01]

Last night fed T. immigrans colony 4, 2 grasshopper legs they ate them for 30 minutes.

P. occidentallis queen lost all larvae but 1 yesterday, still has eggs.

[Ants_Dakota]

wish you best of luck!

[Antkeeper01]

I'm thinking about not hibernating my Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis queens as they have no workers and only one has a larva. Do you think I will get a few workers before hibernation If I do, I will consider hibernating my P. occidentalis

[Ants_Dakota]

I don't hibernate all of my ants in a test tube because up here, the water will freeze and kill the ants, but it might not be so down there. Just my guess.

[Antkeeper01]

Also any name suggestions for the queen?

[Spazmops]

Also any name suggestions for the queen?

A few people on this forum tend to lean towards mythology when naming their queens... for instance, my personal harvester ant queen is named Demeter, after the Greek god of harvests. Some people also just name their queens with names they like, which is another good method.