52 replies to this topic

[eea]

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Edited by eea, December 13 2021 - 8:23 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

A little update:

Queen has 4 cocoons, and 2 more plump larvae almost ready to pupate. I'm expecting her to have 2+ workers in the near future. I can't wait!
I'm planning on keeping her in the test tube until she has 10+ workers, then she's going into a THA Mini Hearth.

I'll get some pics of her brood pile tomorrow.

wazza mini hearth?

A Mini Hearth is a top-of-the-line formicarium from TarHeel ants, Which offers a variety of handmade formicaria all custom made. I strongly recommend their website.

why isn't it available here in mexico.
Its not available in mexico

It’s US based. That’s something you would have to ask the company.

[AntsLA-1]

Update?

[PetsNotPests]

Update?

Sure! She currently has 6 workers (7 by tomorrow) and a large brood pile. I've been feeding them honey and cricket legs. I was planing on stoping this journal when she got workers but I could keep updating it if you want.

[PetsNotPests]

Wow, in just over 2 weeks, another 4 workers have popped up, bringing the colony to 11 workers total. I'm happy to say the queen is doing great, and every time a cocoon hatches, another 2 take its place. I'm very exited to see how this colony matures. 

[PetsNotPests]

Update: Queen now has 14 workers, and showing no sign of slowing down. With a good 6 more cocoons becoming darker and darker every day, you wouldn't be surprised to hear that I am expecting a massive growth wave in the next few weeks. With this amount of growth, I think that they are finally ready to move into a proper formicarium. (Mini Hearth) What do you guys think? Are they ready to move?

[PetsNotPests]

Update 9-29

 

The colony is doing great, 17 workers total. These gals have insane appetites, and I feed them constantly. The newer workers are a lot larger than the first ones, close to double the size, with dark heads! Easily one of my favorite colonies, I just can't wait until they get bigger. 

[PetsNotPests]

Update 12-13

 

Lately, this colony hasn't been doing its best. The few larvae that they have are very small and not developing due to the cold, and workers are dying at a faster rate. The colony has been acting very lethargic, and they consume very little food and almost no protein. I've offered a mixed diet of foods, but they don't seem interested. Quite the opposite of their usual behavior. The workers barley ever go out to forage, and the queen is almost completely motionless. Should I be concerned? 

 

That's all for this update, thanks for reading. I'll post again if anything (exiting) happens. 

Edited by PetsNotPests, December 13 2021 - 6:59 PM.

[NancyZamora4991]

I have the exact same things are happening to mine. I think they are trying to hibernate. Mine also aren't accepting food at all. 

[eea]

that's normal also happening with mine, little foraging no growth just drinking nectar

[PetsNotPests]

Not much to update, so here's a cool pic of one of their workers. 

 

[Dumpling]

Are these still alive?

[PetsNotPests]

Are these still alive?

Funny you ask. Yes, they are still alive, but for some reason, they didn't do so well during the winter. There are only 4 workers left and very few larvae. The queen hasn't laid any eggs for a while, and they don't seem very interested in eating anything. I'm not giving up just yet though.