12 replies to this topic

[Ferox_Formicae]

So at this point I currently own 5 colonies of Strumigenys, and since I'm constantly collecting more and plan on eventually getting colonies of tropical species (cordovensis, tigris, etc.), I should probably just make one journal for all of my colonies so I don't have to make tons more journals. Here's a list of my current colonies with links to older journals to catch you up:

 

• Strumigenys brevisetosa
• Strumigenys clypeata
• Strumigenys louisianae (x2)
• Strumigenys membranifera
• Strumigenys reflexa
• Strumigenys rostrata

 

Strumigenys rostrata

 

So I did manage to collect that Strumigenys rostrata colony from the same rot hole I found the S. clypeata in. I believe I only got a portion of the colony, as colonies of rostrata are some of the largest among native Strumigenys, with upwards of around 200 workers and 3-5 queens. I only got 1 queen and around 10 workers, so there's almost certainly more to collect, which I will try and do tonight. In the meantime, here's some pictures of one of the workers. I'll try and get some of the colony itself later on.

 

 

 

The large, dark individual on the left.

Edited by Ferox_Formicae, May 25 2021 - 4:12 AM.

[yibsi]

Definitely a pretty cool species, love the head shape.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Strumigenys louisianae Colony 2

 

This slightly smaller colony was collected in the same forest remnant as the Strumigenys clypeata and rostrata. They were found nesting in a hollow twig in the deep needle bed at the base of a quite large, mature loblolly pine. Also found with them were some Solenopsis molesta group sp., a single Proceratium cf. silaceum queen, and some odd-looking Ponerines that I don't believe I've ever seen before. This colony contains around 50 workers, tons of brood, mostly alate larvae and some eggs (S. louisianae produces alates earlier than most other species), and a single queen. I'm just keeping them in a 5 mL vial with a dampened cotton ball at the bottom until I can make a proper formicarium for them, the design for which can be seen in my shop linked in my signature.

 

Strumigenys General Update

 

Most of the colony's queens have been laying eggs at a pretty good rate. They've also been accepting the springtails I've been offering them, including ones much larger than they are.

[NPLT]

Do you think the Proceratium queen was fertile, and if yes, are you going to make a journal on them?

[Ferox_Formicae]

Do you think the Proceratium queen was fertile, and if yes, are you going to make a journal on them?

She probably is, and I'll try and keep her alive and make a journal on her.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Strumigenys louisianae Colony 2

 

Lots of new eggs from these gals. They've been pretty readily accepting springtails, as well.

 

Strumigenys brevisetosa

 

These have also been going for any springtails I give them. I'll go ahead and look up the exact family of springtails later on, as my other Strumigenys seem to not accept all of the springtails offered to them, so I'll have to try different families.

 

Strumigenys rostrata Colony 2?

 

I'm working on collecting another colony of rostrata, and I only stopped because it was night and I had forgotten to charge my headlamp the night before, so it had begun to dim and was fading out. The workers I've collected thus-far have been associated with a colony of Aphaenogaster fulva in a deep needle bed at the base of a large loblolly pine. The location was the lot beside my house, which I had previously not collected S. rostrata in. I will go ahead and look for the rest of the colony tonight, and I'll try and do it without the Davis sifter at first, as I want to try and see the colony itself without having to destroy it and loose all data on the nest itself. I'll take some photos and videos when I find it too, so look out for those.

[Ferox_Formicae]

General Update

 

Supplies have arrived for the nests I've been designing to house them in. The plaster I got actually sets extremely fast, fully cured within 30 minutes, so I should be able to make multiple of these within a short amount of time, first pouring a 0.5 cm base layer, letting it set for a few minutes, placing a plastic box over where the outworld will be, putting soil into the outworld and pushing it in, then filling up the nest the rest of the way (1 cm). I'll post an image of the first nest once it's done. I'll see how that nest looks and adjust it from there.

 

The Strumigenys queens have been pumping out eggs, particularly the queens of the louisianae colonies, which have laid around 20 eggs over the past day or so.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Nest Update

 

Progress has been slow, and so far I've had to discard 3 nests. The first one set before I was able to add the soil and poor the second layer (I realize now that I could've kept that one), with the second one the first layer set fine, but the second set before it was able to level out (I added too little water), and the third had a large piece broken off while I was trying to make the connector tunnel. I've had to come up with a way to make the nest more efficiently with only a single pour, so I'm using clay in order to pull that off, using two pieces of acrylic, sculpting clay onto that, and using silicone to secure it to the pouring chamber. I'll see how that works and go from there.

 

Strumigenys membranifera

 

I collected a small colony of these near to a colony of Cyphomyrmex rimosus in a suburban yard. I was finding workers at the base of a brick wall dividing two different soil elevation with my Davis sifter, and I figured I'd be able to find the colony under one of said bricks. Low and behold, upon flipping some of them over, I was able to find the colony. So far I've seen that I've collected a single queen, around 30 workers, and some brood in all stages, but there's still more of the colony in a soil sample I'm running through a Berlese funnel to extract them. I found these in the same area that population of Strumigenys silvestrii was found which, unfortunately, was not present this time around.

 

Strumigenys louisianae Colony 2

 

Alate brood has appeared! All of them appear to be females. Upon collection of a colony with male alate brood, I'll try and breed these, which I've done in the past.

[Ferox_Formicae]

I just realized that I never posted images of the nest design. Here it is in case you have yet to see it on my shop:

 

There are a few things I've had to modify in this design.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Nest Update

 

I tried to make a 4th nest, using the methods described above, but it didn't work, as the components shifted around. It seemed to work sort of okay though, though everything was crocked, so next time I'll have to use silicone to secure everything in place and see how that works. I'm considering making molds out of silicone rubber, but we'll see what happens. I probably will though, as it seems like the logical next step, as I can make multiple molds and make many nests at a time that are all identical. It just seems so much more practical, and I'll be able to role them out quicker. Until then though, I'm moving the Strumigenys into petri dish setups so that they'll have a bit more space.

 

Strumigenys membranifera

 

They've begun to settle down and pile up their brood in a singular location. Lots of new pupae are appearing, along with some new eggs too.

[yibsi]

Nest Update

 

I tried to make a 4th nest, using the methods described above, but it didn't work, as the components shifted around. It seemed to work sort of okay though, though everything was crocked, so next time I'll have to use silicone to secure everything in place and see how that works. I'm considering making molds out of silicone rubber, but we'll see what happens. I probably will though, as it seems like the logical next step, as I can make multiple molds and make many nests at a time that are all identical. It just seems so much more practical, and I'll be able to role them out quicker. Until then though, I'm moving the Strumigenys into petri dish setups so that they'll have a bit more space.

 

Strumigenys membranifera

 

They've begun to settle down and pile up their brood in a singular location. Lots of new pupae are appearing, along with some new eggs too.

Yeah, making custom nests can be tricky sometimes, I remember last year I tried to make a plaster nest 3 times and ended up just buying a mini-hearth. Congrats on the new pupae and eggs with the S. membranifera as well!

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

Nest Update

 

I tried to make a 4th nest, using the methods described above, but it didn't work, as the components shifted around. It seemed to work sort of okay though, though everything was crocked, so next time I'll have to use silicone to secure everything in place and see how that works. I'm considering making molds out of silicone rubber, but we'll see what happens. I probably will though, as it seems like the logical next step, as I can make multiple molds and make many nests at a time that are all identical. It just seems so much more practical, and I'll be able to role them out quicker. Until then though, I'm moving the Strumigenys into petri dish setups so that they'll have a bit more space.

 

Strumigenys membranifera

 

They've begun to settle down and pile up their brood in a singular location. Lots of new pupae are appearing, along with some new eggs too.

Yeah, making custom nests can be tricky sometimes, I remember last year I tried to make a plaster nest 3 times and ended up just buying a mini-hearth. Congrats on the new pupae and eggs with the S. membranifera as well!

 

This was my fourth time trying it. Well, fifth time's the charm!!!

[Lillyrose]

This is awesome ..
The strumi pics are amazing ..

I hope to hear more!