23 replies to this topic

[Chickalo]

Are you heating the colonies? Seems kind of late to start hibernating to me, but I suppose you could.

They're probably already in diapause, since they've been less active the past month and I only recently cleaned the glass to see they've stopped laying eggs.  Also, yes I was heating them.  I feel really stupid right now because they're so sluggish right now, they're almost certainly in diapause, so I took them off heat for now.  I guess I'll wait a few weeks to see if their activity increases.

[Chickalo]

I lied in my little status update.

 

This is likely going to turn into a Tetramorium journal since Pogonomyrmex just tends to Pogonomyrmex and nothing else.

 

Tetramorium, on the other hand.  I haven't any photos, but they've grown a reasonable amount, 200ish workers I think.  So, as your average person would do, I said, "Hey, that's cool!  Let me move them into something that won't have them escape every time I feed them!"  And thus, I moved them into the THA Fallen Fortress, previously owned by Myrmica rubra, which died after all their queens just...  Died.  Somehow, and the wild M. rubra weren't out yet to revive them, bummer. 

 

The move went great.  I think.  I didn't realize just how many of them there were until I dumped their test tube.  I also spent an uncomfortable amount of time after school at CVS looking for rubbing alcohol for a barrier until I caved in and asked someone.  So everything is going great.  Until it didn't. 

 

Of course it didn't, it's Tetramorium, what was I supposed to guess, that everything would work out well?  Not after that Biology test, no.

 

First off, they already were able to climb between the glass, but no worries because I can just glue the sides.  That's fine and I already accounted for that based on past messages.

 

However they've also gone ahead and decided to be little imbeciles, and started digging next to the water tower.  I got told this before but decided I shouldn't worry about it because, "Oh!  They'll have enough space!  Oh!  They'll be well fed and won't want to do it!"  When I said that I forgot that it's Tetramorium immigrans goddammit. 

 

So yeah.

 

I don't know if I should be absolutely worried about this...?  I'm sure it'll be fine.  Hopefully.

[Chickalo]

Them in the new nest:

[ANTdrew]

If it’s type three material, then you don’t need to worry about it.