115 replies to this topic

[Demoant]

Can't wait for Lung man to get some epic ant species this year! and good luck with the Odontomachus!

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Saturday (9/4/2022)
I went to my grand-aunts house and saw a Meranoplus bicolor queen. Besides that, I didn't see anything of interest so I called it a day.

Sunday (10/4/2022)
I went to a restaurant to eat with my family, and a Camponotus male flew onto my shirt. I looked out the glass door and witnessed a huge swarm of multiple ant species flying around the lights outside. I caught 2 Camponotus parius dealates. Later on, I went to my grand-aunts house again and spotted lots of ants as well. I captured an Odontomachus rixosus dealate and a Camponotus sp. dealate. At home, I set up the Camponotus queens and put my 2 O. rixosus queens together. The O. rixosus queens accepted each other as if they were from the same colony. I'm hoping I will be able to succeed with all these new queens. 

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Wednesday (13/4/2022)
One of the Odontomachus rixosus queens has sadly passed away. It seems the other queen is forced to attempt founding a colony alone. However, there is also very good news. All 3 of my new Camponotus spp. (parius and irritans) queens, Meranoplus bicolor and Solenopsis geminata have brood. Currently, the only ants that do not have brood are the Odontomachus rixosus, Paratopula sp. and Camponotus sp. (again, Paratopula and Camponotus sp. are very likely unmated). As for the Iridomyrmex anceps, they are very slowly recovering with one worker and a queen. I intend to upload images after the Camponotus parius and irritans have workers, as to reduce the chances of them consuming their brood.
 

[SYUTEO]

Is the place where you caught the parius close to a forest? If so then there's a chance that it might actually be C. auriventris.

[ANTS_KL]

Is the place where you caught the parius close to a forest? If so then there's a chance that it might actually be C. auriventris.

Yes. However, C. auriventris from what I've read, is similar to C. singularis but golden (They are also in the same subgenus, Myrmosaulus. Camponotus parius is in the subgenus Myrmosericus). I doubt that these are C. auriventris since everyone misidentifies C. parius for C. auriventris, resulting in an evident lack of info on the actual C. auriventris.
Edit: I don't think C. auriventris has ever been kept in captivity either. It seems all images of "C. auriventris" are just C. parius.

Edited by ANTS_KL, April 13 2022 - 6:15 AM.

[Demoant]

 

Is the place where you caught the parius close to a forest? If so then there's a chance that it might actually be C. auriventris.

Yes. However, C. auriventris from what I've read, is similar to C. singularis but golden (They are also in the same subgenus, Myrmosaulus. Camponotus parius is in the subgenus Myrmosericus). I doubt that these are C. auriventris since everyone misidentifies C. parius for C. auriventris, resulting in an evident lack of info on the actual C. auriventris.
Edit: I don't think C. auriventris has ever been kept in captivity either. It seems all images of "C. auriventris" are just C. parius.

 

Taobao sellers actually label Camponotus holosericeus as Camponotus chinensis while using Camponotus auriventris photos

 

Here are the two photos. Top shows queen, worker and major. Bottom shows a singularis major with an auriventris major.

 

Meanwhile holosericeus is actually smaller than both auri and singularis and chinensis is not even a real species name.

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Saturday (23/7/2022)
It's been a long time, and my collection has definitely become smaller. I did say there would be pictures this update, but at the moment I am not able to provide. All 3 of my Camponotus queens have successfully raised their workers and are all doing great as of now. Now for what I personally find the most exciting, I have finally raised a colony of Oecophylla smaragdina that is on the road to success. While I was offline on this forum, I was certainly busy with these girls. Currently they reside in a terrarium and have already made a nest using the leaves of the plant inside. I plan for this terrarium to house multiple ant species, with the Oecophylla colony being the center of attraction. Currently there is a colony of Pheidole parva in the terrarium as well, who I actually raised from a single queen and moved them in. I hope that I can keep some Strumigenys sp. in there as well, because there are a lot of springtails inside. And for the last ants I have to update you guys on, the Odontomachus rixosus have died out, but I did obtain 2 Odontomachus simillimus from a farm area. Both of these queens have 1 pupa each, and the second queen has 2 larvae as well. There's also something I would like to add, which is the time (same day I got the Odontomachus simillimus) that I lost track of a Euponera sp. queen in the grass. I'm still very frustrated but at least I've got some other more interesting ants.

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Saturday (6/8/2022)
Alright everyone, I've finally gotten some images. I've taken a photo of the Camponotus irritans colony, one of the Camponotus parius colonies, my new Pheidole parva and Crematogaster sp. queens, my Oecophylla colony, as well as one of my Odontomachus simillimus queens which has finally gotten a nanitic. 

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Saturday (13/8/2022)
Small update, but Oecophylla made a new leaf nest by rolling up a larger leaf and abandoned their old nest.

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Saturday (19/10/2022)
Hey! It's been a while. Not much has happened besides my ants dying off at a rapid pace. Around a month ago, my Camponotus irritans had a huge die off and left only a few workers and the queen. Well, those are all dead now. My favorite colony, Oecophylla smaragdina, have also died. Their cause of death was a wild colony of Pheidole parva, which raided and killed all the workers and queen. However, I do have some decent news. My Odontomachus simillimus queens have both finally gotten their first generation of workers. I know one of them had a nanitic in the previous post, but I thought I would mention it anyway, since they did grow to a worker count of 4. that's all I've got to share, and my next post will probably be far later into the year or the start of next year, when I've finally gotten some more colonies and queens. 

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Sunday (20/11/2022)
Hello, I'm back. Similar to the previous update, not much has happened. My existing colonies (1x Camponotus parius, 2x Odontomachus simillimus), have been pretty stable. I do have some interesting news, though. Recently while I was taking a walk at a place known as the Bukit Kiara Federal Park, I found some interesting ant species there including Gesomyrmex howardi, Camponotus bedoti, Buniopone amblyops, Tetraponera nitida, and a few others that I do not recall. I did manage to get a dealate of the species Dilobocondyla yamanei, and am currently attempting to raise a colony. If all goes well, the batch of eggs she currently has will have grown into adult workers in a few months' time. I will be returning to that spot in a couple weeks on an outing with some friends, and I hope I'll be able to find some other cool species to observe and maybe keep. That's all for now, goodbye. 

[SYUTEO]

 

UPDATE
Sunday (20/11/2022)
Hello, I'm back. Similar to the previous update, not much has happened. My existing colonies (1x Camponotus parius, 2x Odontomachus simillimus), have been pretty stable. I do have some interesting news, though. Recently while I was taking a walk at a place known as the Bukit Kiara Federal Park, I found some interesting ant species there including Gesomyrmex howardi, Camponotus bedoti, Buniopone amblyops, Tetraponera nitida, and a few others that I do not recall. I did manage to get a dealate of the species Dilobocondyla yamanei, and am currently attempting to raise a colony. If all goes well, the batch of eggs she currently has will have grown into adult workers in a few months' time. I will be returning to that spot in a couple weeks on an outing with some friends, and I hope I'll be able to find some other cool species to observe and maybe keep. That's all for now, goodbye. 

 

I once found an alate queen of Dilobocondyla but I didn't catch her because I don't have enough test tubes. Also in school I saw a Tetraponera rufonigra queen get killed right in front of me.

 

Edit: Oops, forgot scientific names in Italics because that's apperently how you're supposed to right them.

Edited by SYUTEO, November 20 2022 - 2:22 AM.

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Wednesday (7/12/2022)
I have returned with excellent news. Yesterday while I was searching for Schizomids (Short-tailed Whip Scorpions) at the park near my house, I found some very cool and interesting ants. Usually, the park is very dry in terms of ant biodiversity, due to a high concentration of invasive species there, but I found one invasive species that has managed to elude me for a long time. Ooceraea biroi, the Clonal Raider Ant. The image I have here is poor in quality since I took it right after I got home, ants still in the collection container. They were tiny, around 2-3 mm, so when I flipped the rock they were under, I almost mistook them for a small Hypoponera colony. I collected about half the colony to allow the rest of them to continue growing in the wild, since they have no queens. Although they are invasive, they make no impact on the biodiversity of all of the countries they were introduced to. They are closely related to the old-world army ants and have a diet consisting of ant pupae. They will also eat small cut or crushed up insect parts if provided, so no need to worry on that if you keep them. They reproduce via thelythokous parthogenesis, meaning workers are complete clones of their mother. Males and ergatoid queens are very rarely found, and reproduction is almost entirely performed by workers. I recommend reading about them on antwiki if you want to know more. As for my other colonies, they are doing fine. That's all I have to share for now.

[T.C.]

You should use an image host like imgur and embed the images into your posts. Too interesting of a journal not too. 

[ANTS_KL]

You should use an image host like imgur and embed the images into your posts. Too interesting of a journal not too. 

Alright, I'll try to keep updates on a weekly schedule if I can and upload any images I take there.

[ANTS_KL]

Hello, not an update on my ants, but an update on my condition. I won't be able to update on this journal for the next 2 weeks. This is because I've gotten COVID, so I have to quarantine myself. 

[Ant-nig321]

....
WHAT!,seriously?

Edited by Ant-nig321, December 17 2022 - 5:41 AM.

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Tuesday (17/1/2023)
It's been a month, and I'm back. Nothing much to update on at the moment, but my Ooceraea colony has gotten their second generation. It was very interesting watching the development process, and now the third gen is on the way with a new batch of hungry larvae. My Dilobocondyla queen has sadly passed, but right after her death, I found one of the most sought-after ants, though painful to keep and heavily overrated, Carebara diversa. She was found with wings, but when placed into a founding setup she drank some water and shed those wings. It's been around 1.5 weeks since her capture, and I'm hoping I'll see foraging workers soon. That's all for now. 

Edited by ANTS_KL, May 25 2023 - 10:02 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Good luck with the Carebara! I hope you’re feeling better.

[ANTS_KL]

UPDATE
Saturday (25/3/2023)

It's been 2 whole months, and I'm sorry if anybody was anticipating any updates. I've just been busy playing video games and never really made time to update the journal. Still keeping ants though!

New Catches
Since the last time I updated, I have gotten quite a few more amazing ant species. Over those two months, I was raising an Oecophylla smaragdina queen. She now has 21 workers, and the colony is growing at a rapid pace. Glad to be a weaver keeper again.
Next up on the list, I've gotten 3 unique and somewhat odd arboreal ant species.
Polyrhachis cf. abdominalis, whose brood has been developing slowly. However, one of her larvae has just pupated 2 days ago. Fingers crossed; it all works out.
Tetraponera nigra (some people say it sounds somewhat inappropriate), whose larvae have been growing quickly. I had her for almost a month without her laying any eggs, but ever since she laid her first egg, everything went very smoothly. She currently has one pupa, a large larva and a batch of eggs.
Tapinoma sp., now I know many of you upon seeing the genus name may think, 'Aw dang it, one of THOSE annoying ants.' That is not the case with this species. She is one of the multiple unique Tapinoma with a soldier (according to antwiki, not major) caste. Formerly associated with the defunct genus Zatapinoma, they basically look like Gesomyrmex but on a smaller scale (And Gesomyrmex are already really small).

Now that we have the arboreal ants out of the way, I have also caught a pretty rare queen. I have talked about trying to keep these before, and they are a genus of ants on my bucket list. Lophomyrmex sp. The queens look like Carebara (formerly Carebara. Carebara used to be 3 separate genera, i.e., Carebara, Oligomyrmex, Pheidolegeton.) queens, and I was not expecting them to look this bulky. I am hoping she will do well, and that she will start a colony. Can't wait to (hopefully) be one of the first people to keep Lophomyrmex.
And lastly, a bit on the smaller side, a Cardiocondyla sp. I collected this colony from a piece of tree bark, and they are doing amazingly in captivity. Their colony size is pretty small, and they already have alates. I suspect this to be one of the species that does inbreeding, so looking foward to having more queens, I guess. 

Updates On the Other Colonies
There aren't many ants I initially had before the rainy season, but here's an update on them anyway. I know that a few of you may be eager to hear about the O. biroi, but I don't have very pleasing news on them. They did a stupid and ate their larvae, so now I hope they can still raise up the next generation of workers, or the colony is doomed (I could just collect another small colony, but I really don't feel like going out nowadays). The C. diversa queens (got one more after the first one) may be infertile. I'm not seeing very good progress, as they both have had only eggs for a whole two months already. As for my two Odontomachus colonies and my one C. parius colony, all is well with them. All 3 colonies have been growing steadily and showing small signs of improvement. Like most previous updates on my ants, I don't have any images to share. I'm not really fond of imaging my colonies since it can be quite a hassle. That's all for now. 

Edited by ANTS_KL, May 25 2023 - 10:01 PM.