231 replies to this topic

[antsriondel]

OMG I had no clue that so many Ant keepers read Wings Of Fire

Yeah, it surprised me as well!

[antsriondel]

Decided to keep them in hibernation.

Edited by antsriondel, December 19 2022 - 12:58 PM.

[Ant-nig321]

Good luck

Edited by Ant-nig321, December 21 2022 - 1:21 PM.

[antsriondel]

Update 22/12/2022

 

Update time! 

 

Liometopum colony one: I moved this colony to a Esthetic Ants small mesh nest, which they have loved. Anyways, they have two hundred plus workers with a and Queen Abigail has a staggering brood pile.

 

Liometopum colony two: This colony has started to grow and have ninety-five plus workers.

 

Liometopum colony three: Queen Sierra Has just played a new batch of eggs and should have fifty-plus workers at the end of the year.

 

Aphaenogaster occidentalis colony: This colony has a nice pile of eggs and larvae, but are still at two workers.

 

Hope everyone has a great holidays!

Edited by antsriondel, December 22 2022 - 8:28 AM.

[Ant-nig321]

You didn't put them in hibernation?

Edited by Ant-nig321, December 22 2022 - 10:44 AM.

[antsriondel]

You didn't put them in hibernation?

I kept the Darkwings and the Night Runners plus my colony of Camponotus hurculeanus, which need hibernation. Meanwhile my Liometopum do not need hibernation, and can go all year without hibernating.

Edited by antsriondel, December 22 2022 - 12:25 PM.

[antsriondel]

This is my first update of 2023, in which I will update all my colonies and when I will bring them out of hibernation.

 

Liometopum colony one: They love their Esthetic ants small mesh nest, and should be in the two hundred and twenty's. Queen Abigail is as good as ever and has laid close to two hundred eggs in her new nest. This colony should easily be in the thousands by the end of this next year.

 

Liometopum colony two: I gave this colony a chunk of rotting wood to see if they wood make it their home, so I watered it and left it overnight. The next day the colony had dissappeared and sure enough they had moved in. They have over ninety workers and should also be in the thousands by the end of the year.

 

Liometopum colony three:  This colony has a big pile of brood mainly consisting of eggs and small larvae. If Queen Sierra pumps out the brood I believe this colony can get into the five-to-eight hundreds by the end of this year.

 

Aphaenogaster colony: This colony is strong yet they are still yet to have a pupae but I believe they will have some soon. I believe this colony can get into the hundreds by the end of the year.

 

The Darkwings: My favourite colony of all time. This colony should be out of hibernation in late February to early March. I believe that this colony can reach the hundreds this next year.

 

The Night Runners: This colony should be in the fifties by the end of the year. I should be bringing this colony out of hibernation in mid-to-late March.

 

Camponotus hurculeanus: Same as the Night Runners, this colony should be out of hibernation in mid-to-late March. This colony should be in the fifties-to-sixty's by the end of the year.

 

Thanks to everyone who has tooken the time to read this far and a Happy New Year to you, hoping that 2023 is a great year for the ant keeping community!

Edited by antsriondel, January 1 2023 - 12:15 PM.

[Ant-nig321]

Glad they are increasing in size.

[antsriondel]

I will update tomorrow with pictures of all the colonies, not including the colonies in hibernation.

[Ant-nig321]

Ok then....looking forward to it!

[antsriondel]

Here we are, this is all of the colonies I have that are not in hibernation.

 

Liometopum colony one: This colony is doing amazing, but for some reason the one time I decide to take a picture of them, fifty percent of the colony (not including Queen Abigail) are inside their tubing. Anyways this colony colony is insane and are a really awesome species to keep.

 

 

Liometopum colony two: I gave this colony a piece of wood to see if they would move in, and sure enough they did, which is cool when I see them but other than the little crack that I took photos of they are all underneath it. But they are doing excellent, and they are meeting all expectations.

 

 

Liometopum colony three: This colony is bouncing back from their big die-off and this effort is being boosted by Queen Sierra finally deciding to pump out the brood.

 

 

Aphaenogaster: This colony is somehow deciding they do not want pupae. It is astounding how long it is taking for their larvae to pupate, but other than that they have a decent egg pile and are eating nicely.

 

 

Do any of you remember when I introduced a new Formica species colony a few months ago? Well I moved them into a Por amor art Ant Apartment nest, and they have been doing ok in this nest.

 

 

Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this post, and I hope that everyone can have a great day! 

[ANTdrew]

I think you need more Liometupum.

[antsriondel]

I think you need more Liometupum.

Oh yeah! 

[Flu1d]

Really cool colonies you have there!

[antsriondel]

Really cool colonies you have there!

Thanks!

[antsriondel]

Yes! Finally! I just checked on my Aphaenogaster colony, and they had a pupae!

[antsriondel]

I have done some research and I have decided that I will be bringing the Darkwings out of hibernation tonight.

[antsriondel]

Well, so... I went to town today and I left my ants believing that everything would be fine. When I come home, I look at my ant colonies and... Colony three is totally fine and doing well. Colony two... They are fine.   Colony three.... Oh no. They have finally done it. My Ant colony has escaped. I quickly check the nest to make sure the Queen is still there. She was. So I buckled up and spent the next half an hour catching all the escaped ants. Over one hundred workers escaped.    I finally put all of the ants back in the setup. The reason this happened was because I forgot to re-apply the Olive oil barrier.

Edited by antsriondel, January 26 2023 - 7:07 AM.

[antsriondel]

Okay this is an entire update on all of my colonies ( besides my two Camponotus colonies). I hope that you enjoy! 

The Darkwings: This colony has a history of taking forever to lay eggs, but when I checked on them today I saw one of the workers holding a small clutch of eggs! I am really excited for this colonies future, and they continue to be my favourite colony I have ever kept.

 

 

Can you see their eggs?

 

Aphaenogaster occidentalis: This colony should have a new worker soon, but for now they are doing good and have a nice sized brood pile.

 

 

Formica sp: This colony is doing well, although like the Darkwings they tend to not lay a lot of eggs at a time deciding to lay only a few, each multiple months.

 

 

Also here is what happens when your Liometopum colony escapes and search for water. They INVADE! 

 

 

Liometopum colony one: this colony is doing great and they are on the brink of an explosion in workers, but for now they have a really nice egg pile, but all of their pupae are in the entrance to their nest which makes it impossible to take photos of them. 

 

 

Here you can see the different worker castes, and look at that major! she is just gorgeous. Actually this colony has quite a few majors. Try to spot them.

 

 

Liometopum colony two: This colony is doing great, but a few days ago they decided to move their colony into their sand substrate outworld. I actually thought this was cool as it simulated their natural environment. The one problem: it looked ugly. So I decided to spruce it up, and make it an ecosystem for all types of creatures, which I plan to eventually put in a five gallon tank and restart my old terrarium journal. Here is a before and after of their terrarium.

 

Before:

 

And after:

 

Liometopum colony three: This colony is doing great and they have a very nice egg pile. Queen Sierra is really pumping out eggs!        Jokes aside this colony is doing good, and I love to watch them forage for food.

 

I hope everyone liked this update and I wish you and all your colonies a good day! 

 

Attached Images

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[antsriondel]

Okay, update time. 

 

Liometopum colony one: Queen Abigail is thriving and this colony has a egg pile that would rival any Tetramorium egg pile. They should have a major explosion in population, as I have decided to power feed them.

 

Liometopum colony two: This is the last time I will update them on this journal, as they are now a part of my Vivariums terrariums and aquariums journal. Anyways, they have a decent sized brood pile for a young Liometopum colony.

 

Liometopum colony three: Queen Sierra has continued to lay eggs and keep her colony a contender for food ( they are the only living creatures the eye can see  ). I hope this colony can start to produce majors as they would seriously help them take down prey.

 

The Darkwings: Queen Glory has played a new batch of eggs to add to their brood pile, and their larvae are about one week away from pupating. 

 

Aphaenogaster: Nothing new 

 

The Formica: Nothing new 

 

Colonies in hibernation: I will be bringing these gals out of hibernation later today. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and I wish you and your colonies a happy Valentines!