69 replies to this topic

[Lillyrose]

Yesterday I noticed one of the girls came out of the tube. She didn't make a beeline for the liquid feeder but started wandering around. She was exploring! This is the first time any of them have been brave enough to explore!

Super excited I laid out a cricket (cut) and a mealworm (cut) but she showed no interest at all. I think they really prefer soft bugs.

I happened to go down to petco and noticed they have flightless fruit flies. Why hadn't I thought of that? I dropped a few dead ones in the ordourous ants (they hate me and aren't eating anything..) but they haven't touched them.

I put a single dead one as close to the test tube as I could for the Tetramorium caespitum and left it there.

My one brave girl came out and freaked out. She ran back in. I think seeing something there or touching it startled her. After a while though she came back out and started biting it. Once she decided it was dead enough she grabbed it!!!!

I felt really bad because she had to work really hard to drag him in. Not only is this tiny fly slightly larger than her, but it kept getting *stuck* on the cotton I used to block their tube. After a very long fight she got it into the tube though!

Today I gave them two more and both got pulled in.

About an hour ago 3 girls came out! They're getting braver!!!

I have a little foam cover over the tube because the queen seemed to hate when I turned on a light and everytime I handle anything my big Ole clumsy self seems to break or kill them .. so I don't dare check.. but if they are dragging in meat then they must have larva I think?

I really wanna see lol.

So excited.

Edited by Lillyrose, April 5 2021 - 11:00 AM.

[Lillyrose]

http://imgur.com/a/3AG5UKN
http://imgur.com/a/SDKnAqi
http://imgur.com/a/1d28oYY
They didn't want the mealworm.

[Kaelwizard]

Congrats on the possible larvae? Also are you in Europe? Sorry I’m on mobile so I can’t see your location, but if not then these probably aren’t T. caespitum.

[Lillyrose]

Congrats on the possible larvae? Also are you in Europe? Sorry I’m on mobile so I can’t see your location, but if not then these probably aren’t T. caespitum.

I'm not in Europe.. they're pavement ants .. the common sidewalk ones ... aren't they called Tetramorium caespitum? That's what Wikipedia calls em lol but I know Wikipedia can be wrong.

[Lillyrose]

Is it Tetramorium immigrans?

All this Latin confuses me so badly

[Kaelwizard]

Congrats on the possible larvae? Also are you in Europe? Sorry I’m on mobile so I can’t see your location, but if not then these probably aren’t T. caespitum.

I'm not in Europe.. they're pavement ants .. the common sidewalk ones ... aren't they called Tetramorium caespitum? That's what Wikipedia calls em lol but I know Wikipedia can be wrong.

That’s outdated or someone is just wrong lol. Tetramorium immigrans is the species prevalent in the US.

[Lillyrose]

Poop ... can I edit the title?

[Kaelwizard]

Is it Tetramorium immigrans?

All this Latin confuses me so badly

Don’t sweat it. I only really have local species names memorized so you could probably stick with that too.

[Kaelwizard]

Poop ... can I edit the title?

Edit the first post with full editor if you aren’t in mobile. I don’t remember if you can on mobile for sure.

[Lillyrose]

Poop ... can I edit the title?

Edit the first post with full editor if you aren’t in mobile. I don’t remember if you can on mobile for sure.

Thank you!

[MsTesaAnt]

I'm excited for you.  Nice video and pictures.  Good luck.

[Wegmier]

Nice! I've read that this species can grow pretty fast once they take off
Looking forward to more updates

[Kaelwizard]

Nice! I've read that this species can grow pretty fast once they take off
Looking forward to more updates

Some people say almost too fast.

[Lillyrose]

Nice! I've read that this species can grow pretty fast once they take off
Looking forward to more updates

Some people say almost too fast.

I hope so .. lol.

I fed them about 6 flies yesterday .. hoping for a big boom lol

[Lillyrose]

http://imgur.com/a/TgjWpDL

Nothing new going on. There is only one ant who seems to enjoy exploring but the silly girl keeps trying to drink from the wrong spot on the feeder.

Maybe she's just curious

[Lillyrose]

Good morning!

The girls have taken to camping over near the end of the tube where the heat is. The queen is not though, she's still pressed back against the cotton where I can only dream of seeing her.

A couple of the girls have been being brave and coming out a little farther. They get spooked easily and take off.

I use the red light to check them out at night and I think maybe they can see it more than the other colony. They don't scatter, but they do return to the tube. It could just be that they sense me and my vibrations though.

I might take the post it note off today and look, I'm dying to see if we have eggs or larva at all. I'm also curious if I should give them more fruit flies. But I don't want them to hoard them in the tube and get a moldy mess in there. I've given them about 7, thinking I'd stop when they stopped grabbing them, buy it seems they may be storing them in the tube.

I offered some sugar and some corn muffin, both of which were ignored and taken out. I've cut up a meal worm and put that inside a little dish right outside the tube. Same place I drop the fruit flies.
While the flies are removed quickly the cut up mealworm is turning into an icky black mess. I will remove it soon.

If none of my ants will eat these things the birds outside might get a special treat soon.

Curiosity killed the cat.. I must leave them alone.

[Lillyrose]

So I love how the tube insert gives them something other than a glass tube to rest on.. and how I can use it to move their tube without the worry that they'll refuse to move .. but I can't see anything!!!

I'm going insane.

I thought they had a pile of eggs near the front, but jts just white sand they've brought in to cover their trash (under the insert)
http://imgur.com/a/IztjZ9E

How many are there?
Are there larvae? Eggs?
Is the queen still alive?

Who knows? I can't see.

http://imgur.com/a/fZ7Q4tC

[Lillyrose]

These girls seem to have some growth and I have to tell you .. they are going to lose their tube plug soon. I'm so tired of not being able to see in.

Well they went through their first batch of sundew stuff. They won't seem to accept any foods right now except flightless fruit flies.

I'm sure there are other things they'll like, but for now that's all they'll touch. They drink their dew and munch on fruit flies.

They never send more than one girl at a time. New fruit flies? One girl comes out and painstakingly drags the flies back up and in all alone.

I wonder what they're doing with the bodies. I suspect they're putting them under their tube insert which isn't the worst place for it.

All in all these girls have not yet begun to really party.

I have a new home for them from AntDrew, but they need to grow before moving in. They have time still.

I'm playing around with ways to add heat .. so hopefully they'll start really moving and growing soon.

[Kaelwizard]

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

[Lillyrose]

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.

Edited by Lillyrose, March 31 2021 - 6:18 AM.