147 replies to this topic

[ColAnt735]

 

DISASTER! The Tetramorium immigrans escaped they chewed through the cotton that was blocking their vinyl tubing and got out and killed at least 20 Solenopsis molesta workers and almost got into my Pogonomyrmex occidentalis setup. I've aspirated all of the T.immigrans workers back into their nest and plugged the vinyl tubing. But I hope this doesn't happen again or my ants might be in BIG trouble .

 

Get yourself some proper rubber stoppers if you don't need that tube to be used as ventilation

 

I don't know where to get them.

Edited by ColAnt735, February 23 2022 - 10:20 AM.

[antsriondel]

 

 

DISASTER! The Tetramorium immigrans escaped they chewed through the cotton that was blocking their vinyl tubing and got out and killed at least 20 Solenopsis molesta workers and almost got into my Pogonomyrmex occidentalis setup. I've aspirated all of the T.immigrans workers back into their nest and plugged the vinyl tubing. But I hope this doesn't happen again or my ants might be in BIG trouble .

 

Get yourself some proper rubber stoppers if you don't need that tube to be used as ventilation

 

I don't know where to get them.

 

check out amazon

[NancyZamora4991]

How long did it take for your Prenolepsis imparis take to found? I caught a few 2 weeks ago and none have laid eggs yet.

[ColAnt735]

How long did it take for your Prenolepsis imparis take to found? I caught a few 2 weeks ago and none have laid eggs yet.

About 2 months I caught 1 queen in April and she got workers in June and another in May and she got workers in July.

 

 

 

DISASTER! The Tetramorium immigrans escaped they chewed through the cotton that was blocking their vinyl tubing and got out and killed at least 20 Solenopsis molesta workers and almost got into my Pogonomyrmex occidentalis setup. I've aspirated all of the T.immigrans workers back into their nest and plugged the vinyl tubing. But I hope this doesn't happen again or my ants might be in BIG trouble .

 

Get yourself some proper rubber stoppers if you don't need that tube to be used as ventilation

 

I don't know where to get them.

 

check out amazon

 

Do ear plugs work?

[ANTdrew]

No

[ColAnt735]

Ok I just ordered some rubber stoppers now.

[ColAnt735]

Update 2/24/22

 

Tetramorium immigrans- Nothing new since the escape these ants continue to grow at a fast pace  and there have been no more escapes.  

Solenopsis molesta- These ants have their first pupa of 2022!  They have been eating well and are recovering nicely from the Tetramorium that ravaged their outworld.

Temnothorax curvispinosus-  Nothing new.

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- Sixth worker enclosed today and these ants have been eating well.

Prenolepis imparis- Nothing new.

 Lasius brevicornis- Nothing new.

Formica incerta- More eggs have been laid up to two egg piles now.

Edited by ColAnt735, February 24 2022 - 8:26 AM.

[ColAnt735]

Update 28/2/22

(Sorry for the inconsistent Date formats)

 Tetramorium immigrans- I feed these ants a few dandelion/chia seeds and they brought them into the nest when the nest was impossible to see in, I think you can see where this is going, the seeds germinated. Now there are three chia spouts coming out of the nest entrance and tons of roots in and around the nest I just ordered quite a few formicariums/supplies from Canada Ant Colony so I am going have to move them again.  

Others than this these ants are continuing to grow at a quick rate and have been devouring their food.

 

 Solenopsis molesta- My luck with ants is running out these ants just had about 90% of the colony die I'm relying on the pupa to enclose and keep this colony alive.

These queens continue to lay lots of eggs.​

 

Temnothorax curvispinosus- I am attempting to move this colony into a new test tube because their old one ran out of water.

 

 Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- I am going to move these ants into a Tarheel Ants Mini Hearth when it arrives. Other than this these ants have a very large pile of young larvae.

 

Prenolepis imparis- Nothing new.

Lasius brevicornis- Nothing new although more eggs have been laid.

Formica incerta- The egg pile the queen has created is pretty big they've been eating well and have been a joy to keep so far.

Edited by ColAnt735, March 1 2022 - 7:10 AM.

[ColAnt735]

Update 2/3/22

 

Tetramorium immigrans- I strongly dislike the chia sprouts that have grown out of the nest entrance it makes the nest impossible to see in and makes the outworld look weird.  These ants have already filled up all if the remaining chambers and are eating as aggressively as always I estimate every single time I drop a dead feeder insect in the outworld it gets swarmed with at least 90 ants. One thing that I've noticed is that these ants don't really pay attention to sugars.

Solenopsis molesta- No more deaths luckily and more pupa have pupated I hope this colony bounces back fingers crossed.

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- I saw the first second generation mature larvae today!  

Temnothorax curispinosus-Nothing new.  

 

Formica incerta- The eggs have been developing and there are many first instar larvae in the brood pile now.

Prenolepis imparis-Nothing new.  

Lasius brevicornis- Nothing new.  

Edited by ColAnt735, March 3 2022 - 6:40 AM.

[ColAnt735]

Mini update 3/3/22

I moved my Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony into a Tar Heel Ants Mini Hearth and I really like this formicarium's cave design. I also moved the Tetramorium immigrans into a Camara nest from Canada Ant colony these ants are PACKED in there. They take up almost all parts of the nest and have tons of brood.

 

(Pictures coming soon).

Edited by ColAnt735, March 3 2022 - 7:15 AM.

[ColAnt735]

Photo dump of my colonies and the Lasius brevicornis.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[antsriondel]

Photo dump of my colonies and the Lasius brevicornis.

keep up the good work!

[ColAnt735]

Thank you antsriondel!

[ColAnt735]

Update 5/3/22

 

Tetramorium immigrans- These ants have depleted my main feeder insect supplies to an all time low. I have had to triple the amount I feed them daily I may need to start back up the  dreaded conversation of Dubia Roaches with my parents once again. I say dreaded because my Mother has an almost childish fear of cockroaches. As usual the queen has laid more eggs and she has also taken a liking to bury herself in her brood.  

Solenopsis molesta- These ants are down to three workers and both queens. I don't know why they are dying but I suspect its because of old age.  

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- These ants have benefited greatly from the THA Mini Hearth the queen has laid more eggs and they are now up to 5 workers with quite a bit of brood. These ants also have a large seed pile for this colony ( nothing like TacticalHandleGamings' colony's seed pile though).  

Temnothorax curvispinosus- Nothing new these are quite boring ants to keep especially from the founding stage which I raised this colony from.  

Prenolepis imparis- Both colonies have been eating well but other than this nothing new has happened.

Formica incerta- This colony has a massive brood pile and has some pretty developed larvae that they always place near or on top of the heat cable.

Lasius brevicornis- Nothing new up to five cocoons though.

[ANTdrew]

You could feed the Tetramorium stuff like fish food soaked in water, wet cat food, and seeds like chopped sesame and hemp hearts. Getting a mealworm farm going is quite easy, but it takes a few months to get rolling.

[ColAnt735]

Thanks for the suggestions ANTdrew! I will have to try and feed the Tetramorium fish food. They also seem to enjoy husked sunflower seed. I have had this mealworm farm for 5 months now and the ants seem to enjoy them.

[ColAnt735]

Update 7/3/22

 

Tetramorium immigrans- These ants constantly are growing they are now my biggest colony by at least 600 workers.  

Solenopsis molesta- Up to four workers now no more deaths have happened since I last updated the colony  now that this colony has had its first workers of 2022 I hope they have a speedy recovery.  

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- Both of their final first generation pupa enclosed today up to eight workers now. Their seed pile has grown a lot I think I am going to need more dandelion seed.  

Temnothorax curvispinosus- Nothing new.  

Crematgaster cerasi- I checked on her today and was pleasantly surprised to find multiple larvae!  

Formica incerta- The heat cable has worked wonders for this colony their are larvae that look like they are about to spin their cocoons!  

Prenolepis imparis- Nothing new.  

Lasius brevicornis- Nothing new other than there are 3 new cocoons.  

Lasius neoniger- When I checked on her today I was pleasantly surprised to find some larvae!  

[ColAnt735]

Photos of everything but my Tetramorium immigrans (I over watered their nest again).

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[ANTdrew]

I wouldn’t open up tubes like that for photos of founding queens if I were you.

[ColAnt735]

My reasoning behind it is that these two are very calm when I expose them to light I don’t do it to the Lasius brevicornis because they are a lot more sensitive to light than the Crematogaster cerasi and the Lasius neoniger. I also do this because Antscanada test tubes suck when it comes to pictures.

 

EDIT: The Lasius brevicornis test tube is taped to another test tube because their old one is incredibly moldy.

Edited by ColAnt735, March 8 2022 - 6:31 AM.