41 replies to this topic

[Demoant]

Hello everyone! I am Demoant. I live in Hong Kong, China and have been keeping ants for nearly 2 years. This is my first ant keeping journal and I hope you enjoy it.

 

Ants I am keeping:

 

Camponotus parius 

Camponotus irriants 

Camponotus lianghuang 

Camponotus turkestanus

Camponotus nicobarensis

Ectomomyrmex astutus 

Harpegnathos venator 

Odontoponera denticulata 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 

Cataulacus granulatus

Paratopula bauhinia

Gnamptogenys bicolor 

Tetraponera allaborans 

Crematogaster cylindriceps

 

Ants that I have kept and died:

 

Carebara affinis

Carebara castanea

 

Buniapone amblyops

Dilobocondyla fouqueti

Iridomyrmex anceps

Anochetus risii 

Oecophylla smaragdina

Anochetus sp.

Odontomachus sp.

Ectomomyrmex sp.

Euponera sharpi

Meranoplus bicolor

Colobopsis sp.

Camponotus vitiosus 

Pseudolasius sp.

Camponotus lasiselene

Colobopsis minus

Myrmoteras binghamii

Polyrhachis demangei 

 

27th December 2021 

 

Tetraponera allaborans (5mm workers, 7mm queens)

 

They are housed in a tube. I thought they would be inactive if I put them out of the warm box. I was wrong. Workers continued to climb on my hand when I feed them. They have a sting which does hurt so I have to be careful around them.

 

This is the queen, slightly bigger than workers.

 

 

 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (15mm workers, 19mm queens)

 

This queen was caught in 2021. Her first larva failed to spin a cocoon but her second larva managed to spin. I am waiting to see if it will become a worker or a male.

 

Her new cocoon and some eggs.

 

 

 

Camponotus lianghuang (7mm workers, 11mm queens)

 

The bright yellow Camponotus. There are only small larvae now as winter sets in.

 

Workers guarding small larvae.

 

 

 

Camponotus lasiselene (3mm workers, 7mm queens)

 

This is a small arboreal ant species. The queen has stopped laying eggs and she current has 2 workers. I haven't been able to find out what sugar item they like as they don't seem interested in any sugar foods.

 

 

 

Camponotus vitiosus (3mm workers, 7mm queens)

 

Another small sized arboreal Camponotus here in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, I noticed a queen had 2 of her legs bitten off. It seems that this weaker queens might be killed soon. They would stick their brood on the glass scattered instead of piling them up.

 

 

Gnamptogenys bicolor (4mm to 6mm workers)

 

I traded some cataulacus queens to a friend of mine for this colony. They have exploded in numbers from May to now. They now give off a unique smell that isn't too bad to say the least.

 

Their setup is a test tube with trash, a lot of trash.

 

 

 

Myrmoteras binghamii (5mm workers, 6mm queens)

 

This colony started producing alates when they are only at 10 workers, and they still are. Now in winter, the larvae seemed to have stopped growing. 

 

Macro pic of a worker.

 

As the current temperature continues to stay low, I doubt there will be much development of my ants. The ones in the warm box might develop a bit more so I might update my Odontoponera and other ponerines next time.

Edited by Demoant, August 10 2022 - 8:28 PM.

[antsriondel]

Hello everyone! I am Demoant. I live in Hong Kong, China and have been keeping ants for nearly 2 years. This is my first ant keeping journal and I hope you enjoy it.

 

Ants I am keeping:

 

Camponotus parius (1Q, 200W)

Camponotus irriants (1Q, 100W)

Camponotus vitiosus (2Q, 100W)

Camponotus lianghuang (1Q, 100W)

Camponotus lasiselene (1Q, 2W)

Camponotus turkestanus (1Q, 50W)

Colobopsis minus (1Q, 30W)

Colobopsis sp. (1Q, 20W)

Myrmoteras binghamii (2Q, 10W)

Polyrhachis demangei (1Q)

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 10W)

Ectomomyrmex sp. (1Q, 30W)

Euponera pilosior (1Q, 15W)

Harpegnathos venator (1Q, 25W)

Odontoponera denticulata 2020 (1Q, 40W)

Odontoponera denticulata 2021 (1Q, 35W)

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2020 (1Q, 40W)

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (1Q)

Cataulacus granulatus (1Q, 7W)

Meranoplus bicolor (1Q, 40W)

Gnamptogenys bicolor (100W)

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 30W)

 

Ants that I have kept and died:

 

Camponotus nicobarensis

Carebara affinis

Carebara castanea

Buniapone amblyops

Iridomyrmex anceps

Oecophylla smaragdina

Dilobocondyla fouqueti

Anochetus sp.

Odontomachus sp.

Paratopula bauhinia

 

 

 

27th December 2021 

 

Tetraponera allaborans (5mm workers, 7mm queens)

 

They are housed in a tube. I thought they would be inactive if I put them out of the warm box. I was wrong. Workers continued to climb on my hand when I feed them. They have a sting which does hurt so I have to be careful around them.

tpone.jpg

 

This is the queen, slightly bigger than workers.

tetraqueen1.jpg

 

 

 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (15mm workers, 19mm queens)

 

This queen was caught in 2021. Her first larva failed to spin a cocoon but her second larva managed to spin. I am waiting to see if it will become a worker or a male.

pseudo2021.jpg

 

Her new cocoon and some eggs.

pseudoeggandcoon.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus lianghuang (7mm workers, 11mm queens)

 

The bright yellow Camponotus. There are only small larvae now as winter sets in.

lianghuang1.jpg

 

Workers guarding small larvae.

liang brood.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus lasiselene (3mm workers, 7mm queens)

 

This is a small arboreal ant species. The queen has stopped laying eggs and she current has 2 workers. I haven't been able to find out what sugar item they like as they don't seem interested in any sugar foods.

Camponotus lasi.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus vitiosus (3mm workers, 7mm queens)

 

Another small sized arboreal Camponotus here in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, I noticed a queen had 2 of her legs bitten off. It seems that this weaker queens might be killed soon. They would stick their brood on the glass scattered instead of piling them up.

vitiobroodonwall.jpg

 

 

Gnamptogenys bicolor (4mm to 6mm workers)

 

I traded some cataulacus queens to a friend of mine for this colony. They have exploded in numbers from May to now. They now give off a unique smell that isn't too bad to say the least.

gmaptobrood1.jpg

 

Their setup is a test tube with trash, a lot of trash.

badgmaptosetup.jpg

 

 

 

Myrmoteras binghamii (5mm workers, 6mm queens)

 

This colony started producing alates when they are only at 10 workers, and they still are. Now in winter, the larvae seemed to have stopped growing. 

myrmoeggandbrood.jpg

 

Macro pic of a worker.

myrmo1.jpg

 

As the current temperature continues to stay low, I doubt there will be much development of my ants. The ones in the warm box might develop a bit more so I might update my Odontoponera and other ponerines next time.

nice colonies

[Demoant]

31st December 2021 

 

 

Cataulacus granulatus (5mm workers, 8mm queens)

 

New worker eclosed today. Meaning they now have 8 workers.

 

Here are workers eating a dubia roach leg. 

 

I am really glad that I could find a queen that continues to lay eggs and won't eat them.

 

 

Polyrhachis demangei (7mm workers, 9mm queens)

 

A fully blacked coloured Polyrhachis which also weave nests with their larvae's silk. Currently she has 1 pupa and 2 big larvae as well as some small larvae and eggs.

 

 

 

Colobopsis sp. (2mm workers, 5mm queens)

 

These are the smallest ants in my collection. Their tube is out of water but they refused to move. I probably will try to move them again soon.

 

I am waiting for that major to eclose. (the one where a worker is holding on the left)

 

 

 

Colobopsis minus (4mm workers, 10mm queens)

 

"Small cork-head ant" as they are called in Chinese. The queen doesn't seem to stop laying eggs which I suppose is a good thing.

 

They have this orange colour which makes them quite pretty.

 

 

 

Odontoponera denticulata (10 mm workers, 12mm queens)

 

This is the 2020 colony. A lot of larvae, no cocoons, a few alates and a queen which went through a lot of trouble because I was very inexperience.

 

As you can see on the left of the queen there is a starving larva. This keeps happening and I still don't know the real reason of this.

 

 

 

This is the 2021 colony. Larvae, cocoons are present. No signs of dying larvae which is great.

 

This queen had a much better start as I had the knowledge of what I actually should do.

 

 

 

Ectomomyrmex astutus (10mm workers, 13mm queens)

I saw one egg from them, but they are not developing at this point.

 

 

 

Ectomomyrmex sp. (5mm workers, 7mm queens)

Basically doing the same as their larger cousins which is not developing. 

 

It is already the end of 2021. I wish everyone a Happy New Year and good luck on catching the ants you want!

 

[ANTdrew]

Awesome collection!

[PaigeX]

Man! I love the looks of them, they are so cute!

[Demoant]

14th January 2022

Sorry I haven't been updating. I had exams after the last update and was quite busy. Today I finally got some time for an update. Something unfortunate happened is that the small Ectomomyrmex sp. colony died. I kept the queen's and a worker's body as a specimen.

 

 

Cataulacus granulatus (1Q, 8W)

Good news and bad news of them. Bad news is I accidentally killed a worker because they were escaping. Good news is they got another new worker. That means they continue to sit at 8 workers. However I do see a pupa that has a darker colour so expecting a new worker soon.

The slightly lighter colour worker is the newest addition.

 

 

 

Polyrhachis demangei (1Q, 2W)

After the last post, the first worker came out about a week later. Today another worker arrived and they now have 2 workers.

 

 

Harpegnathos venator (Workers 14mm, Queens 16mm. 1Q, 25W)

The iconic Asian Jumping Ants. I am quite surprised that they have so much pupae even in winter. They are quickly outgrowing this nest and I will have to give them a new one very soon.

 

This is peak performance for sure.

 

 

 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2020 (1Q, 40W)

One of my oldest colonies. A few workers died recently which is sad. They are living in this plaster nest and I have to clean the gross top lid.

 

This is the queen. Still distinguishable with her larger thorax is interestingly a really extended gaster.

 

 

 

Colobopsis sp. (1Q, 25W)

The major finally eclosed and isn't as shy as I expected it. I thought it would stay near the queen but she is patrolling around the tube.

 

 

 

Camponotus parius (8mm Workers, 13mm Queens, 1Q, 200W)

These are extremely fast moving and fast growing ants. They are black with a golden shine on them. They moved into this ytong nest I made a dew days ago.

 

One of their brood chambers.

 

 

 

Camponotus turkestanus (9mm Workers, 11mm Majors, 12mm Queens, 1Q, 40W)

I paid the least attention to these Camponotus and it seemed to work out for them. I didn't expect them to grow at all but they did grew quite a bit. 

 

They have huge majors which sometime may even beat the queen in size!

 

 

 

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 6W)

I was very surprised that they only have 6 workers yet have a lot of alates. Last time when I put them in the warm box, they had a die off of larvae. This time a cocoon was formed. It seems that putting them in the warm box during winter can benefit them.

Edited by Demoant, January 23 2022 - 11:13 PM.

[Demoant]

24th January 2022

Bad things struck my ants.

 

Colobopsis minus (1Q, 20W)

They suffered quite a die off from 40 dropping to 20 workers. I suspect it was because I put them in the fridge for a few minutes as they were hyper active during their feeding period.

 

They should recover fine from the die off. The queen seems to be fine so no need to worry too much for them. A little sweet from all the bitterness is that a new major eclosed.

 

 

 

Gnamptogenys bicolor (30W)

After I have moved them to a new ytong nest, I didn't notice the water tower was leaking. This made the water leak out and made the nest very dry. Around 60% of the colony died and I don't even know if the gamergate survived.

 

Now they are back in a tube setup and workers have became a lot more active after I made the setup very humid.

 

 

 

Camponotus lianghuang (1Q, 80W)

Following the trend of dying, my Camponotus lianghuang also did a similar thing. Instead of dying within a day, workers slowly died in the span of months. After talking about it with my friend which had similar experiences, I decided to move them back into a tube which they did in very well before.

 

I am surprised how long it for me to actually know something is going wrong, even when there were plenty of dead workers. Lets hope the colony can get back to their former size and continue to grow.

 

 

 

Euponera sharpi (Queens 6mm, Workers 5mm, 1Q, 15W)

I don't know why I keep forgetting to show these guys, so here they are. I had to starve them for a good while as they somehow keep having a ton of eggs and larvae which they will never be able to care for. After this period, I have begun to feed them more as the larvae are more manageable.

 

 

 

Odontoponera denticulata (1Q, 80W)

I present to you, the Greater Odontoponera Colony (yes that is their name). I was successful in merging the 2020 and 2021 colony together. However, the 2021 queen didn't want to coexist with the 2020 queen. At the end, the 2021 queen was taken out and leaving the colony with 1 queen only.

 

Odontoponera have a special way of carrying sugar water back to the nest. They would make a little ball of sugar water and bring it back home. You can say they have the secondary stomach on the outside.

 

 

 

Camponotus irritans (Queens 14mm, Workers 9mm, 1Q, 100W)

One of the most commonly kept ant in Asia. A very beginner friendly ant too. My colony is quite shy and mostly stays in their nest.

 

 

The queen was caught in the elevator lobby of my home building. She stayed there for 2 days before I picked her up and allowed her to found her colony.

 

 

 

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 30W)

I upgraded their home. Featuring a nest within their outworld.

 

The nest consists of a plaster base and a cork pad.  They nest in small sticks in the wild and they have taken advantage of a small gap between the cork and the plastic to store their brood.

 

 

 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (1Q)

She refuses to feed her larva for no reason. I gave her dubia roaches and red runner roaches but she still refuses to feed it. You clearly see it starving but the queen still doesn't feed it.

 

[Ants853]

Hope your colonies can bounce back from these minor set backs!

I know as far as it depends on your skills, they will!

Cheers and keep us posted! 

[Demoant]

31st January 2022

The rehousing continues...

 

Harpegnathos venator (1Q, 30W)

Moved them from their old plaster nest into a new petri dish nest (or a round plaster nest actually). The foraging area remains the same although it can do with some cleaning.

 

They seemed to have understand that what I give them is food and now don't quite use their vision to hunt. Here they are eating some dubia roach pieces I threw in.

 

 

 

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 6W)

Rehoused them into a plaster base nest which contains a nest part and a foraging area. 

 

The cocoon last time died and I have switched the substrate back into clay+dirt instead of just clay. Lets hope they get more workers when the temperature gets warmer.

 

 

 

Polyrhachis demangei (1Q, 4W)

Two new workers arrived since the last update of them. Moved them into a bigger tube for future development.

 

 

 

Cataulacus granulatus (1Q, 10W)

They finally hit the 10 worker mark, horray! I moved them to a glass test tube and the quality is so much better.

 

 

 

Camponotus turkestanus (1Q, 30W)

The images from the last update didn't show they were actually moving to a new setup. Here it is. Nest with sideview and foraging area at the back.

 

The water tower is working fine for this nest so I don't think the tragedy that happen to Gnamptogenys will happen to them. But if that really happens, these desert ants should stay alive longer than tropical ants like Gnamptogenys.

 

 

 

Camponotus lasiselene (1Q, 2W)

No development sadly. Moved them to a bigger tube and is actually probably a mistake. I could give them the small wood insert like the cataulacus as I have some spare. 

 

 

 

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 10W)

I mean they somehow got one larva going. I bet it will die however. Likely never pupate and get eaten with this colony's past record.

 

 

 

Camponotus vitiosus (2Q, 100W)

Need rehouse soon. They piled a huge piece of cotton at the back it is falling apart. They stuck some larvae on it so I will need to pick them out.

 

 

 

Meranoplus bicolor (1Q, 40W)

This colony is actually given to me by Leo, the really epic ant keeper. They are producing alates instead of workers which isn't good. They will need a rehouse soon with their really gross and grubby tube.

 

Happy Chinese New Year!

 

[PaigeX]

Beautiful! I love seeing fantastic over seas ants. Great diversity you have in your collection. 

[Demoant]

9th February 2022

Coming out of winter...

 

 

Camponotus parius (1Q, 200W)

Pupae are starting to appear as the winter in ending. Here you can see a larva spinning a cocoon and a lot of smaller larvae on top of it. This colony will explode in population as they around 200 larvae right now.

 

They still have a habit of putting brood in the foraging area. Probably because the plaster base offers better humidity than the brick nest they are in. I don't know when will they stop doing that.

 

 

 

Colobopsis minus (1Q, 25W)

Recovering well from the previous die off. Lots of brood and some new workers too.

 

I have offered them plenty of protein. Here I gave them a chopped up red runner roach. First time I see a major coming to help.

 

 

 

Colobopsis sp. (1Q, 30W)

Moved them to a glass tube with those hollow sticks. They don't seem to utilise it like the Cataulacus or Camponotus lasiselene(which is also given the hollow stick). They just stay at the sponge. 

 

The good thing is I can better monitor them now because they can't pull the sponge like they can with cotton.

 

 

Odontoponera denticulata (1Q, 80W)

They are not performing as well as I like them to be. Although some larvae have begun spinning cocoons. Workers have the great idea of pulling the larva out of it and causing it die. This has happened twice within this week and I am not happy about it.

 

Not only that, the long term problem of deformed larvae are still present. I counted 13 of these deformed ones in the nest and I have yet to identify the reason. The workers don't throw them away, just leave them in the nest. Workers also don't feed them too. So why leave them here?

 

I might take the deformed larvae out one day and feed them to other ants.

 

 

 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2020 (1Q, 30W)

Growing real quick for an ant this size. 12 larvae has hatched since last week and I needed to pump up the food I give them.

 

One larva has already begun spinning its cocoon as well. However I did went and put more substrate on it as the workers didn't really cover it well. If the larva fails to spin, it dies, and I don't want that to happen.

 

 

 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (1Q, 1W)

A worker came out of the cocoon which is great. The larva that has been there for a while got eaten (rip). They were moved to this test tube setup for better humidity. Queen still has some eggs so I hope I can get some more workers.

 

 

Gnamptogenys bicolor (30W)

They probably ate some brood but that's normal. Workers stopped dying after I moved them which is good. I might have seen the gamergate as I saw a worker with a large extended gaster. Hope this colony can get back in shape this year.

 

 

 

Camponotus lianghuang (1Q, 80W)

It seems test tubes fit these ants the best. There were some deaths right after I moved them but now the death rate is much lower. Brood has begun to develop too. Awesome!

 

They are perhaps the most meat loving Camponotus I have in my collection. While others show interest in both protein items and sugar items. These girls focus on protein a lot more and sometimes even ignore sugar. Here they are eating a ripped apart red runner roach.

 

 

 

As winter leaves and spring arrives, nuptial flights are going to happen soon. Here in Hong Kong, Camponotus nicobarensis fly the earliest. I already have some targets that I will go catch this year. To all the people in the northern hemisphere, good luck in catching the ants you want.

[ANTdrew]

Thank you, and same to you!

[AntsCali098]

Wow you got some real nice colonies! Lots of exotic ones 👏

[ANTdrew]

Every ant is exotic to somebody that’s never seen it.

[Demoant]

17th February 2022

The temperature dropped... somehow

 

 

Meranoplus bicolor

The queen died.

 

I would probably continue to keep the rest of the workers until most workers dies. 

 

First time having a queen die and leaving the colony behind. I feel bad for the workers.

 

 

 

Euponera sharpi (1Q, 15W)

I kinda starved them too much. So I moved them to a new nest where they can dig.

 

Last time when they were in this sort of digging nest they did very well. Let's see if they can rebuild.

 

 

 

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 10W)

I was right, they did eat the larva. I moved them to the next where the Pseudoneoponera 2021 was housed in. They now have a few eggs so see if they can get some workers soon.

 

 

 

Camponotus turkestanus (1Q, 30W)

They actually ate some larvae during winter. Queen's gaster looks bigger now. Hope she would lay some eggs soon.

 

 

 

Camponotus lasiselene (1Q, 2W)

As I mentioned before they were given the hollow stick tube. They still only have 6 larvae but I have hope in them.

 

 

 

Camponotus vitiosus (2Q, 100W)

Gave them a larger stick that I hollowed out. They store 50% on the wood and 50% on the glass.

 

The two queens are still here which is nice. The larvae are also starting to spin so the colony is starting to grow again.

 

 

 

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 40W)

Doing extremely well. A lot of larvae is in the nest. They are going to explode in March or April.

 

 

 

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 6W and 6 alate "workers")

Most alates broke off their wings and became "workers". Not complaining tho. Larvae have stopped dying which is also nice. No idea when will they actually grow.

 

 

 

Last week's temperature was warm (up to 21C). It was said to drop back to 15C in a few days. After that I think Camponotus nicobarensis will start flying as in previous years people caught new queens on 26th February. 

[antsriondel]

17th February 2022

The temperature dropped... somehow

 

 

Meranoplus bicolor

The queen died.

IMG_20220217_132627.jpg

 

I would probably continue to keep the rest of the workers until most workers dies. 

IMG_20220217_132521.jpg

 

First time having a queen die and leaving the colony behind. I feel bad for the workers.

 

 

 

Euponera sharpi (1Q, 15W)

I kinda starved them too much. So I moved them to a new nest where they can dig.

IMG_20220217_132245.jpg

 

Last time when they were in this sort of digging nest they did very well. Let's see if they can rebuild.

IMG_20220217_132204.jpg

 

 

 

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 10W)

I was right, they did eat the larva. I moved them to the next where the Pseudoneoponera 2021 was housed in. They now have a few eggs so see if they can get some workers soon.

IMG_20220217_132351.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus turkestanus (1Q, 30W)

They actually ate some larvae during winter. Queen's gaster looks bigger now. Hope she would lay some eggs soon.

IMG_20220217_132444.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus lasiselene (1Q, 2W)

As I mentioned before they were given the hollow stick tube. They still only have 6 larvae but I have hope in them.

IMG_20220217_133028.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus vitiosus (2Q, 100W)

Gave them a larger stick that I hollowed out. They store 50% on the wood and 50% on the glass.

IMG_20220217_142927.jpg

 

The two queens are still here which is nice. The larvae are also starting to spin so the colony is starting to grow again.

IMG_20220217_132705.jpg

 

 

 

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 40W)

Doing extremely well. A lot of larvae is in the nest. They are going to explode in March or April.

IMG_20220217_132929.jpg

 

 

 

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 6W and 6 alate "workers")

Most alates broke off their wings and became "workers". Not complaining tho. Larvae have stopped dying which is also nice. No idea when will they actually grow.

 IMG_20220217_132820.jpg

 

 

Last week's temperature was warm (up to 21C). It was said to drop back to 15C in a few days. After that I think Camponotus nicobarensis will start flying as in previous years people caught new queens on 26th February. 

that sucks about your queen hope you catch another one!!!

[Demoant]

 

17th February 2022

The temperature dropped... somehow

 

 

Meranoplus bicolor

The queen died.

IMG_20220217_132627.jpg

 

I would probably continue to keep the rest of the workers until most workers dies. 

IMG_20220217_132521.jpg

 

First time having a queen die and leaving the colony behind. I feel bad for the workers.

 

 

 

Euponera sharpi (1Q, 15W)

I kinda starved them too much. So I moved them to a new nest where they can dig.

IMG_20220217_132245.jpg

 

Last time when they were in this sort of digging nest they did very well. Let's see if they can rebuild.

IMG_20220217_132204.jpg

 

 

 

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 10W)

I was right, they did eat the larva. I moved them to the next where the Pseudoneoponera 2021 was housed in. They now have a few eggs so see if they can get some workers soon.

IMG_20220217_132351.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus turkestanus (1Q, 30W)

They actually ate some larvae during winter. Queen's gaster looks bigger now. Hope she would lay some eggs soon.

IMG_20220217_132444.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus lasiselene (1Q, 2W)

As I mentioned before they were given the hollow stick tube. They still only have 6 larvae but I have hope in them.

IMG_20220217_133028.jpg

 

 

 

Camponotus vitiosus (2Q, 100W)

Gave them a larger stick that I hollowed out. They store 50% on the wood and 50% on the glass.

IMG_20220217_142927.jpg

 

The two queens are still here which is nice. The larvae are also starting to spin so the colony is starting to grow again.

IMG_20220217_132705.jpg

 

 

 

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 40W)

Doing extremely well. A lot of larvae is in the nest. They are going to explode in March or April.

IMG_20220217_132929.jpg

 

 

 

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 6W and 6 alate "workers")

Most alates broke off their wings and became "workers". Not complaining tho. Larvae have stopped dying which is also nice. No idea when will they actually grow.

 IMG_20220217_132820.jpg

 

 

Last week's temperature was warm (up to 21C). It was said to drop back to 15C in a few days. After that I think Camponotus nicobarensis will start flying as in previous years people caught new queens on 26th February. 

that sucks about your queen hope you catch another one!!!

 

not sure if I can, haven’t seen any meranoplus in the wild yet

[Demoant]

26th February 2022

It's warming up... nice

 

 

Polyrhachis demangei (1Q, 6W)

New worker came out yesterday. These (discount) weaver ants have weaved up most of their tube so it's impossible to take a good pic of them so here is a pic from the angle of the brood. They have a good bunch of eggs and small larvae but only a few bigger larvae and only one pupa.

 

 

 

Colobopsis minus (1Q, 30W)

Feeding directly from the tube got really difficult. As a result they get an outworld. 

 

They have taken well to the new arena. Feeding them is really easy now. If I had given them an outworld before they wouldn't have suffered the die off    

 

 

 

Colobopsis sp. (1Q, 30W)

Not sure what they were thinking when they made a toilet next to the brood... 

 

They are also doing well. Still waiting to get more majors. 

 

 

 

Cataulacus granulatus (1Q, 13W) 

The only founding colony that uses the wood insert correctly. They got 2 more workers which is brilliant.

 

 

 

 

Odontoponera denticulata (1Q, 80W)

Some new larvae hatched these days. The queen has been dumping eggs like crazy. I need to feed them more food so the new larvae don't end up starved.

 

They would hopefully be moving into a new gypsum nest when I receive the materials needed. Should be easier to feed the larvae if there is only 1 chamber to go to. 

 

 

 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2020 (1Q, 30W)

Cocoon production sped up but they are making some males. I actually removed all the male cocoons yesterday because their nest had mites. Note that the larva from the last update failed to spin and got eaten. 

 

Male cocoons look smaller and more slender than worker cocoons. Let's see if they are going to make more male. If they do I would delete them from existence.

 

 

 

Harpegnathos venator (1Q, 40W)

Can't believe they are growing this fast. Even though I am not giving them too much food and yet they don't seem to stop growing. Ironic how Harpegnathos is one of the more challenging ants to keep and yet they are doing the best. The rest are doing fine but not growing as quickly as Harps. 

 

They have some hiccups in making cocoons. Some larvae did fail to spin and got eaten in the end. They cocoon pile is still going strong however. 

 

 

 

Camponotus irritans (1Q, 100W)

They have huge piles of tiny larvae. They are going to explode in population when the weather gets to a steady constant 20C.

 

 

 

I have gone anting yesterday and also today and I have found some dead alates. Camponotus nicobarensis and an Ectomomyrmex species is starting to fly. Soon Anochetus and perhaps even Polyrhachis will have their flights. Would want to catch an Anochectus this year so wish me luck. 

 

[ANTdrew]

Very nice journal.

[ANTS_KL]

Spleens ants go brrrrrr