15 replies to this topic

[Chickalo]

Hey people of Formiculture,

 

It seems you have found my wonderful journal about Prenolepis imparis!  Congratulations, you win absolutely nothing except the knowledge that I haven't managed to kill them yet!

 

You see, this mask break (in school they let us have a break, it's like having recess again but only 5 minutes and we don't play), I decided to kill a root.  Now, you might be thinking "Chickalo, you fool, why would you kill a root?"  And you see, I have a perfectly logical explanation:  It curved into the air and I didn't like how it looked.  Anyways, getting a bit off topic. 

 

So there I was, kicking into the root trying to make it die, when I accidentally flipped over a rock.  Now, mind you, here in "Forever-winterland", it likes to stay below 70 degrees, and no offering to the sun god is going to change that.  But I saw something run out from it, something red.  "Now what could this be?" you may be asking yourself (probably not considering you most likely read the title before clicking), and if you were, I was thinking the same thing (oh boy, what a coincidence.)

 

Upon closer inspection, this red blob had wings!  And it was more of a brown!  And it looked like Prenolepis imparis!  No, I thought, It hasn't reached 70 yet!  But to my utter surprise, it was!  Now, me being a fool, I didn't think I'd find a queen so I didn't bring any vials, so I ran around asking people for containers, until a really nice kid (seriously dude, he's like Mr. Generosity), let me take his bag which used to contain popcorn. 

 

Luckily, I had science after that, and me and my science teacher, I guess you could call us friends (a few minutes ago we actually had a conversation about ants via email, so there you go, waiting for her to reply).  So she let me borrow a vial there while the helper teacher looked at the queen with what seemed to be a mix of fear, anger, and disgust.  I guess telling the class that she could lay eggs wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had. 

 

So here we are, with one Prenolepis queen in a test tube right now.  She already ripped off one wing, it appears the other is stuck to her abdomen with water, hopefully it'll dry and she get get it off.  One antenna is also bent and she seems to be unable to move it.  At least she still has her other.  I'm going back (maybe, if I'm not feeling lazy) soon to check for more queens, then I'll wait a week or so and check for eggs.  Until then, appreciate my pogchamp, mediocre to the last degree, photos.  (I'm begging my mom to buy macro lens so expect somewhat better quality photos soon.)

 

 

 

Edited by Chickalo, April 9 2021 - 11:27 AM.

[ZTYguy]

Nice! Looks like the darker color form.

[Lillyrose]

Lovely! I'm glad you are friends with the science teacher! That's wad lucky lol ... I have been keeping vials on me just in case .. but it hasn't happened yet. It'll happen when I don't have one.

[Chickalo]

Why hello again!

 

Today I was actually nuptial flights, I'm going to have to record that.  So at first I saw a bunch of males, then I went into the forest and found Camponotus pennsylvanicus and castaneus (castaneus is a new species for my town!), and Formica fusca and sanguinea group (also new species!). 

 

But this isn't a post for that.

 

You see, before I gave up on queens and was about to go home, this red blob flew into my face, and flew away.  It landed a few feet away near a road sign (slow for children?).  I caught it, and it turned out to be a Prenolepis queen!  Another flew near my face, but it disappeared into the shadow.  I stayed there for a couple of minutes, and she was the only one I managed to catch, but I'll go back tomorrow to check for more.  I hope they survive the Tetramorium immigrans and Camponotus pennsylvanicus there...

 

 

I put her with my other queen.  At first they seemed scared of each other, but after checking (smelling?) each other out, they seemed to decide they could tolerate each other enough to create a colony.  The new one seems to be the "lighter variant."

 

In this one, the other queen is hidden beneath the first one.

 

Edited by Chickalo, April 10 2021 - 12:19 PM.

[Antcatcherpro3]

Good luck with your queens! I also had a big nuptial flight today. I found a colony of Nylanderia deceptrix (Everything about their queen matched the descrpitions on antwiki), and I saw a half alive mated male on the ground. Def signs of a mated queen nearby, and a nuptial flight.

But I already have 5 queens that have eggs so far, so I don't think I will be getting more. Hope we both get colonies.

[Chickalo]

Alright, small update post:

 

1.  No eggs yet

None of the queens have laid eggs yet.  That's all there is to this bit.

 

2.  None shed wings

Not counting the one wing already shed by queen one.  Queen 1's other wing dried and is straight, but I guess she doesn't care.  Now this is just another difference to tell the two apart.  Queen 1 is darker in colour, has one wing, and a bent antenna.  Queen 2 has both wings, lighter in colour. and both antennae are fine.  "Queen 1 and Queen 2" is kind of bland, so I might give them names to better differentiate them and so the boring name doesn't get really repetitive.

 

3.  Queen 1 doesn't like to stray too far from Queen 2

It's cute, really.  If Queen 2 decides it's time to go to the other side of the test tube, give her a few seconds and Queen 1 will make her way there, too.  This is just a theory, but maybe it's since Queen 1's antenna doesn't work as well as Queen 2's, so she feels safer in a way?  She will do things such as touch her, as if making sure she's still there with her.  I'll try to get a video of this soon.

 

4.  They aren't disturbed by light changes

I'm seeing if I can get them used to my bedrooms light-dark schedule, and so far it seems to be working.  They don't seem startled at all.  Maybe they'll (more or less Queen 2) wave their antennae in the air, possible trying to smell anything that might harm them nearby.  It's almost like they know that their test tube is their safe space (maybe they do, I don't know.)

 

5.  They got thiccer ;D

Both of their abdomens expanded quite a bit over the last few days, so even though they didn't rip of their wings, I still have a good feeling that they will lay eggs.

[Antcatcherpro3]

Awsome! If the queens gasters are expanding than you might get eggs soon 

[mantisgal]

I am on the veriest edge of my seat! So happy for you!

 

Science Teacher friends are the best teacher friends. Having English faculty on-side is also beneficial. Mr, Sebastian, Ms. Kee, I'll never forget you!

 

Best of luck!

[Chickalo]

Not really an update, rather a question and a statement.

Statement first.

Checking up on the queens, no eggs, but Queen 2 was doing some "wiggle butt dance" on the top of the test tube, making her way to the entrance while Queen 1 was watching near the moist side.  Dunno what that's all about.

Second, does Prenolepis like the cold, or do they just tolerate it better than other ants?  In short, should or should I not give them a heating cable.

[ZTYguy]

I wouldn’t heat them but don’t take my word.

[Chickalo]

Queen 2 is tugging at the cotton, Queen 1 is (again) just watching.  Not too concerned, but I've heard that Pogonomyrmex queens do this to get more comfortable.  Not sure if I should give them medium, probably not.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Not really an update, rather a question and a statement.

Statement first.

Checking up on the queens, no eggs, but Queen 2 was doing some "wiggle butt dance" on the top of the test tube, making her way to the entrance while Queen 1 was watching near the moist side.  Dunno what that's all about.

Second, does Prenolepis like the cold, or do they just tolerate it better than other ants?  In short, should or should I not give them a heating cable.

 

I know they do that dance when they have light on them. Mack from THA talks about it in one of his videos. I have mine on a heating cable with a temp controller and them seem happy. One has already laid two eggs. 

 

Also, you should only check on them about once a week.

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, April 12 2021 - 12:07 PM.

[Antcatcherpro3]

I have mine without heating cables and they have a lot more than 2 eggs. Also mine never do a wiggle dance.

[Chickalo]

 

Not really an update, rather a question and a statement.

Statement first.

Checking up on the queens, no eggs, but Queen 2 was doing some "wiggle butt dance" on the top of the test tube, making her way to the entrance while Queen 1 was watching near the moist side.  Dunno what that's all about.

Second, does Prenolepis like the cold, or do they just tolerate it better than other ants?  In short, should or should I not give them a heating cable.

 

I know they do that dance when they have light on them. Mack from THA talks about it in one of his videos. I have mine on a heating cable with a temp controller and them seem happy. One has already laid two eggs. 

 

Also, you should only check on them about once a week.

 

I tried to get them to adjust to the light but one of the queens was pulling the cotton so back in the dark they go >

[Chickalo]

Update:

This is the moment you've been waiting for.

It's been two weeks.

Time to take of the cover and find eggs, right?

 

"How about no?" the queens said

 

"What do you mean no?" I replied

 

So the queens decided instead of laying eggs, making a nice cotton home was a good idea.  Uh huh.  Queen 2 chills out under it while Queen 1 is next to her.  She seems a lot more calm now though, so...  Not sure whether or no they'll lay eggs, but I mean they're still pretty thick, and maybe they were just uncomfortable?  I don't know, hopefully though.

[Antcatcherpro3]

Hopefully you get eggs. Mine didn't lay for a while but it didn't take 2 weeks. Prenolepis flights are over for me and and the colonies in my yard. Mine have been disturbed my the cleaners that come to our house twice. Me and my family go for walks when the cleaners come to clean the house (due to covid reasons) and when I got back the tubes in which the Prenolepis queens were in were upside down and, well, lets just say the queens had a little snack of eggs. But they always lay again. One of my queens right now has at least 16 eggs.