49 replies to this topic

[azzaaazzzz00]

yup, and if you have any camponotus that too.

[NicholasP]

Polyergus actually will invade a Formica nest and kill the queen if I'm not mistaken and she'll have the workers serve for her and once the workers start serving her the queen will lay and the workers will forage and get food for her. For Camponotus they don't need to have formica hosts since most if not all Camponotus are not parasitic once they get nanitics all they need is mainly for their first meal some sugars like sugar water and then you can start feeding protein.

[azzaaazzzz00]

Ok, and by protien, do you mean like superworms?

[ReignofRage]

Ok, and by protien, do you mean like superworms?

Protein such as any insect that is used as feeders.

[azzaaazzzz00]

Ok, noice, just being my curious little self.

[NicholasP]

We are getting very close to getting biological workers now! But if they don't arrive by tomorrow or Monday then I'm in big trouble since I'm going on a small trip on Wednesday.

[NicholasP]

ughhhhhh! The Formica slaves opened up another cocoon too early again! I hope the next one they open is right on time!

[NicholasP]

Valentina is hard at work though since she now has around 12 new laid eggs!

[NicholasP]

A LOT of time has passed since I started this journal and I'm sorry to say the Polyergus mexicanus queen is dead... But yesterday... After two whole years since last find a slave making queen... I have finally found it! The perfect specimen... It's perfect. Yesterday as I was visiting some of my family, I found something walking around on the concrete right when I was leaving. Something so gorgeous, I thought I was hallucinating. It was fairly big. It was a beautiful red with a black gaster. It was moving like crazy... and it oddly looked like a Formica queen but very skinny. And that's when I realized... That's no ordinary Formica queen... It was a slave making Formica queen! I had been looking so hard for any type of Formica since last year and I finally found the best type of Formica! I quickly snatched it up and left. I couldn't get over how pretty the colors were. As I got home, I knew it would be 2 days until I could go and harvest some Formica subsericea pupae and larvae from the wild, so I gave her some sugar water. My friends were quick to tell me that from looking at her clypeus between her mandibles she had a small divot which would indicate Formica sanguinea group meaning I could just give her some pupae and no workers, and she'd unravel them herself. I was overjoyed. I will be posting pictures when I give her some pupae! And until then... the queen will be plotting her takeover of all Formica.

[NicholasP]

Please forgive me guys for not posting. Rain has been delaying my journey to find pupae but today hopefully I'll be going.