228 replies to this topic

[antsriondel]

Okay so, today I checked on my Liometopum Luctuosum queens and one of them had workers!  Pictures coming tomorrow hopefully.

[antsriondel]

All Lio colonies now have workers, biggest colony at around 10-14 workers strong.

Edited by antsriondel, August 2 2022 - 3:22 PM.

[antsriondel]

Yes! Finally! Queen Glory finally layed some eggs after a five month break. Is this normal for formica 

As for my other colonies, Lio colony one has 18-22 workers, Lio colony two has 6-9 workers with plenty more coming, and Lio colony three has 12-14 workers. The Night Runners have just been in a kind of mid-year hibernation and have not developed at all.

Edited by antsriondel, August 2 2022 - 3:35 PM.

[antsriondel]

Yes! Finally! I have pictures!

 

Liometopum luctuosum colony #1. They have plenty of brood, and are eating very nicely.

 

Liometopum luctuosum colony #2. this colony moved into the entrance of their outworld so there is no use trying to take pictures of their queen and brood.

 

Liometopum luctuosum colony #3. This colony has been doing the best of all my Liometopum colonies. They have an ever increasing brood pile and an insane appetite.

 

The Night Runners. Nothing to update.... Except for pictures.

 

The Darkwings. They have pupae! This colony is finally starting to get in their groove.

 

And then my unnamed camponotus Modoc colony. This colony is growing nicely, with plenty of brood.

 

And finally my Aphaenogaster. This colony had a huge die off mainly due to me not hydrating their setup. so now they are down to two queens, one worker, and a pile of eggs.

 

Any name suggestions for the Camponotus and Liometopum colonies are welcome!

 

[antsriondel]

Sorry for the late update, had family over for the past week.

 

Liometopum colony no.1: wait, did I say Lio colony 3 was doing the best? I have to restate that: this colony is 100% doing the best of all my Liometopum colonies. They are at a nice amount workers (30-35) and have a brood pile I would estimate has well over one hundred eggs.

 

Lio colony 2: this colony is the smallest of all my Liometopum colonies yet they still have a very nice brood pile and 15-20 workers.

 

Lio colony 3: This colony is growing very nicely and have an estimated population of 20-25 workers.

 

The Darkwings: They have two pupae, around five larvae and two eggs. This colony also has around nineteen workers.

 

The Night runners: Queen moon watcher has been kind of absent on laying eggs, nevertheless, they have two workers and one small larvae.

 

And with their first introduction, ladies and gentlemen it is the unique.......... Camponotus herculeanus! This queen I caught this year unsure if she would found a colony but here we are! She has four workers, one pupae and three larvae.

 

And that is all I have to update.

Edited by antsriondel, August 27 2022 - 7:15 PM.

[antsriondel]

Wow, it has been a long time since the last update, so here we go, and I have photos!

 

Liometopum colony 1: Their brood pile has increased exponentially, and they have started to produce larger than normal workers! This colony is a joy to keep, and they remind me why this is my favourite species 

to keep. They are at 40-45 workers a massive brood pile and a healthy queen.

 

Lio colony 2: They have finally started to act like Liometopum. They have 30-35 workers and are not stopping anytime soon.

 

Liometopum colony 3: This colony is doing good and are currently moving to a new test tube as I write. They have 40-45 workers and an average brood pile for this species.

 

The Darkwings: This colony is doing amazing! They have around 7-9 pupae and have to many larvae to count. This colony is about to explode in numbers.

 

The Night Runners: Queen Moonwatcher has stopped egg production and I might put this colony in early hibernation.

 

The Aphaenogaster: They have finally started to speed things up and have a nice brood pile, but no pupae yet.

 

The Camponotus herculeanus: They have four larvae and 5 workers and are doing good. I would like to give them a new home, any suggestions?

 

[antsriondel]

The Darkwings have a new worker!

[antsriondel]

I just decided to check on Liometopum colony 1 and I saw a newly hatched major!

that's all for today! Hope everyone has a good day!

[antsriondel]

Wow it has been a long time since the last update and, things have changed a lot, sorry for the late update, I have been busy the past couple of weeks.

 

Liometopum colony one: Pretty much all of my Liometopum colonies have doubled in size since the last update and are now at 90-100 workers strong. They have a very nice brood pile and do you think I should or should not hibernate all of my Liometopum colonies.

 

Liometopum colony two: This colony has a nice 65-70 workers and is continually getting workers every time I check up on them. Their queen is very healthy witch is one of the reasons they have had such a big population boom.

 

Liometopum colony three: This colony has had a rather large die off due to them get trapped in puddles of sugar water that has leaked out of their liquid feeder. This has resulted in them having a mere 40-50 workers.

 

The Darkwings: The colony that best represents this journal and my entire ant keeping career, has around 20-23 workers with more on the way. Queen glory has stopped egg production for the year.

 

The Night Runners: Nothing new.

 

The Aphaenogaster : they have nothing to update except they have a pupae.

 

The Camponotus herculeanus: They have around four larvae and are ready to go into hibernation.

 

Also, wich colony is your favourite?

Edited by antsriondel, November 30 2022 - 5:39 PM.

[Ant-nig321]

Aphaenogaster

[antsriondel]

Ok, sorry for the long wait, I have been busy the past month.

 

Liometopum colony one: This colony has exploded in numbers, going from 80-90 workers, to 150-plus. They have a nice appetite, and they have an uncountable brood pile. Their queen is very healthy and this colony is going to need an upgrade soon.

 

Liometopum colony two: This colony is growing very nicely at a steady 85-95 workers and are very healthy.

 

Liometopum colony 3: This colony has had a huge die-off due to workers getting stuck in forms of condensation on the walls. ok so I am planning on moving them to a new outworld but I want to give it a theme. Vote on: desert theme, forest theme, prairie theme. Voting ends in one week.

 

The Darkwings: They had around 30 workers before entering hibernation. I am really excited for the next year of this colony.

 

The Night Runners: I decided to move this colony to a test tube setup, and they are right now in hibernation.

 

The Aphaenogaster: This colony is about to have a boom in population, but they have two workers right now.

 

The Camponotus Herculeanus: This colony had 6 workers before hibernation and are in my own nest and outworld designs.

 

That is all for today, hope everyone has an awesome holidays!

[antsriondel]

Here are some photos of the ants not in hibernation:

 

Liometopum luctuosum colony one:

 

The outlined worker is a major worker:

 

Liometopum colony two:

 

Liometopum colony three:

 

And here is a photo of all the dead worker body's because of liquid formations:

Also I need your help in choosing what outworld theme I should give these ants, please check my previous posts for what themes I can do.

 

Here is some photos of the Aphaenogaster:

 

Hope everyone has a good day!

[bmb1bee]

Here are some photos of the ants not in hibernation:

Love the L. luctuosum! I have a Lio occidentalis colony with a couple hundred workers that I'm currently struggling to keep. The workers are always trying to escape lol. They're also pretty polymorphic and get rather large.

[antsriondel]

 

Here are some photos of the ants not in hibernation:

Love the L. luctuosum! I have a Lio occidentalis colony with a couple hundred workers that I'm currently struggling to keep. The workers are always trying to escape lol. They're also pretty polymorphic and get rather large.

 

Thanks! Yeah, my colonies only try to escape when I forget to feed them. Only my biggest colony has majors, and they are twice the size of the workers, with is pretty cool to see. Also do you have any Wof name suggestions for the Lio Queens?

Edited by antsriondel, November 30 2022 - 5:17 PM.

[antsriondel]

Update on all my colonies that are not in hibernation:

 

Liometopum colony one: This colony is around 170 workers strong with the biggest brood pile I have ever seen one of my colonies have. Their queen is nice and fat, which is good to see. Also this colonies majors are all useless except for the smallest one which is very aggressive.

 

Liometopum colony two: This colony has a small brood pile which I am trying to increase by power feeding them. Overall they are doing okay with around 80-90 workers but should be in the hundreds at the end of the year.

 

Liometopum colony three: I have decided that I will move them to a desert themed outworld because it gets very dry up here in the summer. Anyways, this colony is having a bounce back and are around 50 workers with plenty more on the way.

 

Aphaenogaster: This colony has a nice brood pile, consisting of a few big larvae, and a batch of eggs. They still have only two workers, but they should have more by the end of the year.

 

Feel free to comment Wings of fire names for the queens. Hope everyone has a good day!

[Ant-nig321]

Siera,fyra.that's what i got.

[antsriondel]

Siera,fyra.that's what i got.

Nice ideas! I am going to name Liometopum colony three's Queen, Queen Sierra

[antsriondel]

I made Queen Sierra and her colony a desert themed outworld, which is very nice looking, and they seem to like it!

[Ant-nig321]

Any picture of the new outworld.

[antsriondel]

Any picture of the new outworld.

I will try to get one today.