20 replies to this topic

[ElisAnts]

Going to start a journal on a Modoc queen i caught back on june 19 because i have come to like this queen a lot

(day i caught her)


(1 week ago)

It has been a little bit over a month since i caught this queen and she has her first pupae and 2 more larvae that will be spinning soon, i will update with pictures in the morning


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ElisAnts]

7/30/2021

As of today she has 4 pupae, 3 large larvae and 2 smaller larvae that just hatched from eggs…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ElisAnts]

Haven’t updated in forever, have been in the fridge with 7 or so workers. I'm gonna take them out this weekend..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ElisAnts]

Update:
I took them out of the fridge on 1/15/22 with 9 (not 7) workers and over the next week 3 workers died, I was scared that it was because of the formic acid in their mini hearth, so as a precaution i moved them into a ants australia nest.

Despite suggestions to wait a month, i added heat on 1/20/22

Nothing else happened until today, the queen layed 1 single egg (blue circle) There is also larvae from 2021 (red circle) I was hoping for more eggs after not checking for 5 days,but i will take one over none
.

Edited by ElisAnts, January 25 2022 - 3:19 PM.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

My smaller colony also lost a worker after diapause. I assume this is just nanitics dying off. I'll be pulling my larger colony out on the 2nd next week. Hopefully I won't have too many die off. 

[ElisAnts]

10 more eggs, 2 more workers died, 5 workers out of 9 dead is a little bit concerning…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TacticalHandleGaming]

That is a little worrisome, however how many of those 9 were from the first generation of workers?  

[ElisAnts]

That is a little worrisome, however how many of those 9 were from the first generation of workers?

I'm pretty sure it was 3 or 4…

[TacticalHandleGaming]

When they are dying, what's their behavior like? Are they spinning in circles? Just dead suddenly?

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, January 26 2022 - 5:02 PM.

[ElisAnts]

When they are dying, what's their behavior like? Are they spinning in circles? Just dead suddenly?

I have 2 videos that i could show you, its super weird…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TacticalHandleGaming]

 

When they are dying, what's their behavior like? Are they spinning in circles? Just dead suddenly?

I have 2 videos that i could show you, its super weird…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

What are you feeding them? My C. Modoc love fruit flies. I pulled my bigger colony out early and they haven't had any die offs, just eating like crazy!

 

If you want to DM me some videos, I want to help.

[antsriondel]

 

 

When they are dying, what's their behavior like? Are they spinning in circles? Just dead suddenly?

I have 2 videos that i could show you, its super weird…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

What are you feeding them? My C. Modoc love fruit flies. I pulled my bigger colony out early and they haven't had any die offs, just eating like crazy!

 

If you want to DM me some videos, I want to help.

 

yeah, mine have had zero die offs since I pulled them out

[TacticalHandleGaming]

I seriously think fruit flies are the trick for keeping colonies going/successful colonies. Not sure if it's just because their easier for colonies to process, or if there's some special nutrients or something. 

[NicholasP]

I seriously think fruit flies are the trick for keeping colonies going/successful colonies. Not sure if it's just because their easier for colonies to process, or if there's some special nutrients or something. 

I have to disagree. Crickets work very well. Just to have a good reaction from the ants make sure to cut the cricket in half. I've also seen that termites are also amazing for ants.

[antsriondel]

 

I seriously think fruit flies are the trick for keeping colonies going/successful colonies. Not sure if it's just because their easier for colonies to process, or if there's some special nutrients or something. 

I have to disagree. Crickets work very well. Just to have a good reaction from the ants make sure to cut the cricket in half. I've also seen that termites are also amazing for ants.

 

I agree with both of you

[TacticalHandleGaming]

 

I seriously think fruit flies are the trick for keeping colonies going/successful colonies. Not sure if it's just because their easier for colonies to process, or if there's some special nutrients or something. 

I have to disagree. Crickets work very well. Just to have a good reaction from the ants make sure to cut the cricket in half. I've also seen that termites are also amazing for ants.

 

I've had okay luck with crickets. They just die off very quickly. I have had good luck with termites as well, but they are not my main feeder insect. 

[ElisAnts]

Yesterday, i found a worker in the outworld that looked frozen/paralyzed so i removed it and isolated it in a test tube. This morning i checked the test tube and the worker was dead. I am hoping that it wasn’t a parasite but if it was, hopefully that was the only one.

I have been feeding them crickets and wingless fruit flys from the pet store, they also have a new water and sugar source. This seems to have worked as the queen is laying eggs rapidly now… They are now at around 15 eggs and 5 larvae!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Fresh eggs is a good sign. I hope the colony recovers quickly from whatever their issue was.

[ElisAnts]

The colony is doing way better from whatever was killing them… No new deaths

The larvae from last year have really started to grow and have more than doubled in size. The new eggs laid this year have hatched into small larvae and the queen laid another batch of new eggs.


They also love termites!!

Edited by ElisAnts, February 19 2022 - 11:51 AM.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Glad to hear they are bouncing back. I look forward to seeing their growth this year.