69 replies to this topic

[Kaelwizard]

 

Most people will probably tell you that their ants also love fruit flies.

It's so funny to see them drag them back. Cause I get the smallest flies and they are tiny .. then I watch this ant just slightly smaller than that come over and just .... yank this other creature around.

I can't wait to get some bigger ants to watch grab them, it's funny to see the differences in sizes.

20210317_142750.jpg

 

THA has some videos on how his Formica and Camponotus hunt them. The Formica are extremely efficient, but the Camponotus are pretty clumsy and struggle a lot more. It can be pretty funny to watch.

[Lillyrose]

These guys are so small and still so timid. Feeding them is funny cause they send one girl out to drag the flies in. I never really see them out yet. I know that should change.

Edited by Lillyrose, April 5 2021 - 11:03 AM.

[Lillyrose]

I attempted the mealworm again but these girls are just not ready for it. I feel like I'm giving them too many fruit flies lol .. especially because I am not sure where they keep their trash yet.

I love the Genesis tube insert thing, but my goodness I can't stand it lol .. I can't see anything.

It doesn't help that these girls are tiny. These are the girls you step on outside when they're swarming cause it is so hard to see them... even at several hundred.

I'm going to get in there with the macro lens ... sadly it won't connect to my phone. It does connect on my computer so I'll have to do it that way.

These guys are just kinda chugging along .. I will have more information once I see the camera.

[Tyr_Ants]

can you please not spam the forum.

[ANTdrew]

can you please not spam the forum.

How is it spamming if she is posting in her own journal?

I don’t understand why your colony is being picky about food. They should eat anything with even a hint of protein in it. These are literally the least picky ants ever.

[Kaelwizard]

can you please not spam the forum.

Just because she posted on a decent amount of journals doesn’t mean she is spamming. I have seen other members do this and no one comments on them.

Edited by Kaelwizard, April 10 2021 - 11:31 AM.

[Mdrogun]

What temperature are you keeping them at? Also, what is the brood situation looking like? 

It sounds to me like your colony is progressing very slowly from, I'm guessing, being kept at room temperature 68-72F. If you are okay with them progressing slowly, carry on. But if you want to speed things up you can get a heating cable or heat mat for them which will probably increase growth rate by roughly 2 or 3 fold. Tetramorium immigrans are thermophiles. They do best at higher temperatures but are adapted to be able to survive the cold of a temperate climate 

Edited by Mdrogun, April 10 2021 - 3:31 PM.

[ANTS_KL]

hmmm... My ants like fruit flies, especially my Nylanderia. This is kinda weird cuz Tetramorium aren't supposed to be picky.

[Lillyrose]

Well, it may be less them picky and more shy. I think they just don't rush food the way I picture it. Like, there is always just one girl who comes out and grabs some food and brings it back. There is very few of them.

There is some news on that actually.



Their water is going pink, so I have to change them. They are in an insert so I think the move should be *easy*...

I'll try to set up my phone and record and maybe see how many girls are in there... but I'll mostly panic and try not to murder anyone.

[Lillyrose]

A quick pull and the insert was out, and in the new tube ... except .. I didn't leave enough room so half of it is hanging out.



That was a mistake... but I guess not the worst mistake. I tried to figure out how to put their top back, but I couldn't cause I didn't leave enough space for the insert.

I decided I didn't care as I imagine the next time they move it won't matter.



The queen is running around for the first time since I got her. She and her girls were panicked.

Not sure how many girls there are . .at least a dozen though. They seem rather clumsy.

Also, I took out the meal worm and was surprised to find it was mostly just shell.... so I guess they are eating it.

I can't believe I went through an entire pack of fruit flies. I need to buy more.

I'm going to leave the girls to calm down as they explore their slight life changes.

[ANTdrew]

So, are you heating them?

[Lillyrose]

So, are you heating them?

Yes the same way I'm doing the Crematogaster... I'm using pads rather than the wires... she's at close to 80 degrees.

[ANTS_KL]

yeah i guess shy makes sense too. the queen looks healthy

[Lillyrose]

Brand new ant keeping experience .. looking into their nest and wondering

A. What is THAT?
B. Where did they get THAT?
C. Will THAT hurt them?

Lol

I feel like a new mom that just spotted her kiddo sucking on a rock at the playground.

[Lillyrose]

So, between the insert, the tiny size, and the lack of a good macro camera.. I wasn't sure if I should post these pics .. but I'm so excited.



See the worker kinda floating there? She's on a massive pile of eggs and brood!

[ANTdrew]

That’s more like it.

[RushmoreAnts]

Well, it may be less them picky and more shy. 

I agree. Small colonies are almost always picky about how they spend their nanitics, as in the wild they are vital to the colony's survival. Losing even one worker has an effect on the colony if it only has 5-10 in total. So their shyness is partly due to their limited amount of workers, and partly due to them not needing excessive amounts of food, also due to their small size. Once they begin growing larger, they will become less and less timid. I have observed they begin forming small, primitive trails at 30-50 workers, which should only take a couple months to achieve from their current state.

Edited by AntsDakota, April 18 2021 - 9:43 AM.

[Lillyrose]

Well, it may be less them picky and more shy.

I agree. Small colonies are almost always picky about how they spend their nanitics, as in the wild they are vital to the colony's survival. Losing even one worker has an effect on the colony if it only has 5-10 in total. So their shyness is partly due to their limited amount of workers, and partly due to them not needing excessive amounts of food, also due to their small size. Once they begin growing larger, they will become less and less timid. I have observed they begin forming small, primitive trails at 30-50 workers, which should only take a couple months to achieve from their current state.

Good post!

I think that covers it perfectly! Why take risks when their numbers are so low.

Today I found termite nymphs and I think I know my girls new favorite food is

[Lillyrose]

Who is sitting on a fat stack of brood? She is!

So out of nowhere this colony woke up.

They have been moving sand none stop to make sure the insert is blocked and no one can sneak up on them. They had me worried as they keep putting sand between the insert and the wet cotton. A flood seems inevitable if they keep it up. However, once they started filling other areas they seem to have relaxed. They built like a little hood over the insert to the cotton and mostly leave it alone now.



The difference in the workers compared to the nanitic is amazing. Not just in size but in overall behaviors. They're not nearly as timid and they love food a lot more now.

Termites? Love em
Mealworm? Not their favorite, but they'll snack
Fruit flies? Yes please!
Ham? Yummy
Grape? Ummm no thanks

Today I was eating a muffin and chewing a walnut. I've tried nut before but they showed no interest. (This is gross, sorry) I kinda choked on a walnut and coughed it out. It was a chewed up mess and out of some kinda gross curiosity I put a small bit in.

They swarmed.

For the first time ever my girls swarmed something. I was tickled pink and told my husband I need to pre-chew for my ants. He gave me the nastiest look. I realized he only knows about the flies and worms and was quick to explain lol.

[Lillyrose]

If you saw my question then you know that the insert these girls were in brought over the red bacteria.

Between the inability to see, and the transfer of bacteria I will not use these inserts again ... even though I think the ants themselves really like them. I'm not sure, I might use them for founding when I don't care about seeing them so much ... but with my first queen I feel like I missed out a lot by having her in the insert.

Anyway..


The new tube was turning red so I took the insert out (shout out to the girls... they had so much sand there I almost couldn't get it out. It was a real effort) I put the insert in their outworld and a new tube. I couldn't dump them because they just held the inserts fake sand bottom.

I checked on them after 12 hours and the little stubborn ladies were building a sand wall to try and hide the insert. Once I realized they weren't going to move I took Antdrews advice and blew on them.

They took off and I did my best to shake and such any eggs. I'll be honest... I didn't see many but I have a really hard time seeing such tiny things. I used a paint brush to brush it off in case.

They took off and tried to hide under the tube. Luckily the sand is shallow and they realized it wasn't going to work.

I went ahead and covered the tube to make it more appealing and left them for the day.

This evening I unceremoniously removed the cover to find them inside. I think I'll keep them as stress free as I can for a few days now cause that was a lot... but I didn't want to leave them covered because I've already missed so much of their lives and I want to see.

And Oh My Goodness

They had way more eggs and stuff than I thought!


Sadly... either due to my clumsy nature, stress, or something else some workers have died. Hopefully not too many... but if these eggs and such are still good (not sure if I might have damaged any) then she should be fine.