*germinata
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Solenopsis invicta journal
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Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_*
, Jan 8 2022 10:03 AM
27 replies to this topic
#21
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Posted February 23 2022 - 5:26 PM
ANTdrew
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
#22
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Posted February 26 2022 - 6:48 AM
Guest_SolenopsisKeeper_*
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Moved over to a new tube. 2 more queens died.
As for the smaller colony, still haven’t foraged after that honey.
As for the smaller colony, still haven’t foraged after that honey.
#23
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Posted March 3 2022 - 6:41 PM
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I merged the large queened colony with a wild fire ant colony that I caught.(Read latter for explanation) The queens that were killed I assume were infertile, but 2/6 is pretty good in my opinion. I had 2 other queens who clearly did not want to be with the others, so I tubed them. They were instantly laying eggs as soon as I moved them, I even saw one!
Other invicta colonies are thriving, especially the wild one. I originally saw eggs, but they created chambers in the center of their box with sand(Too dig so they felt at home). Please note they were found in this kind of sand, so they are okay with it.
I merged them Becuase one queen I caught died of mold and started sprouting and took some newly caught queens with it… if any of the merged queens had it, I have added springtails to hopefully eat it before it spreads to other ants.
Other invicta colonies are thriving, especially the wild one. I originally saw eggs, but they created chambers in the center of their box with sand(Too dig so they felt at home). Please note they were found in this kind of sand, so they are okay with it.
I merged them Becuase one queen I caught died of mold and started sprouting and took some newly caught queens with it… if any of the merged queens had it, I have added springtails to hopefully eat it before it spreads to other ants.
#24
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Posted March 3 2022 - 6:54 PM
OiledOlives
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SolenopsisKeeper: For queens, the difference between S. invicta and S. geminata is in the head. S. geminata heads are much larger, as the species is granivorous, unlike S. invicta.
Antdrew: The correct spelling for this species is Solenopsis geminata, not germinata.
SolenopsisKeeper: I don't have too much experience with Solenopsis invicta, but if you're having trouble with founding, I'd recommend keeping the queens together during the founding stage and then letting the workers kill the queens off themselves. Also, springtails will not eat mold quick enough. You will just have to hope that you catch it fast enough to remove it or the live queens move to the other side of the tube.
#25
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Posted March 4 2022 - 8:09 PM
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Thanks for the advice! I am currently raising an army of springtails to deploy in certain habitats, and I have started to keep 1 or 2 springtails with each semi-claustral founding queen(This will help with waste… right?)
Note: By 1 or 2, I mean 1 or 2 rocks that have them on them
Note: By 1 or 2, I mean 1 or 2 rocks that have them on them
#26
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Posted April 3 2022 - 6:47 PM
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Sorry to disappoint, but the colony that made it… they died. They started loosing workers one by one, despite me supplying them a constant source of 2 day feedings, nectar, and water. Any ideas what I did wrong?
Note: The queen laid a batch of eggs which they ate the next day, I checked on them once every 3 days to avoid stress, o fed them fruit flies and the occasion superworm segment. Parasites at play?
Note: The queen laid a batch of eggs which they ate the next day, I checked on them once every 3 days to avoid stress, o fed them fruit flies and the occasion superworm segment. Parasites at play?
#27
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Posted April 4 2022 - 7:50 AM
RushmoreAnts
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Now that I think of it, that was something that came to me when I started Antkeeping, I was just told that if a queen mated, she was fertile. Will workers kill off unmated queens, or will they die naturally, or will the workers completly ignore them, causing them to die… would other queens kill it?
Also, on the topic of fertility, apparently workers will sometimes kill off less fertile queens in some ant species, or start laying eggs. I read an article of C. Floridanus that claimed if a queen had “low fertility”, than the workers would start laying haploid eggs. Kind if interesting…
An unmated queen can still lay eggs, thus reproducing, which means she's still fertile. The unmated eggs develop into males. Infertile queens literally cannot produce offspring of either sex at all.
"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version
Keeping:
Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea
Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra
Myrmica sp.
Lasius neoniger, brevicornis
#28
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Posted April 4 2022 - 8:06 AM
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They produced workers… but they all died off in a span of a week
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