22 replies to this topic

[AntBoi3030]

The beginning:
It all started when I received my crematogaster Cerasi Queen in the mail from State Side Ants. The queen came on 2/10/22, a little before my birthday. She arrived with around a dozen pupae and some of them looked extremely dark so I expected them to enclose the next day. Sure enough the next day she had one worker sprinting around. A few hours later there were two workers! New workers eclosed through the course of a week. Once all the workers eclosed the queen began to lay eggs again.
Present 3/4/22:
The colony now numbers around a dozen workers. Some of their eggs had begun to hatch a few days ago and now are growing rapidly. I’m feeding them fruit flies daily right now along with sugar water. I’m super excited about this colony and I really hope that they can grow a ton this season

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Edited by AntBoi3030, Today, 10:28 AM.

[ANTdrew]

They’re off to a great start! Remember what I’ve taught you about these: heat, heat, heat, and more protein than a body builder. My new colony should be ready soon as well.

[ColAnt735]

They’re off to a great start! Remember what I’ve taught you about these: heat, heat, heat, and more protein than a body builder. My new colony should be ready soon as well.

 

The CrematoMaster's teachings should be cherished by all ant keepers all hail the CrematoMaster! - Sun Tzu the art of Raising giant colonies of Crematogaster. Jokes aside ANTdrew's Crematogaster knowledge particularly how to care for them is well beyond my own. Best of luck with these amazing ants AntBoi3030!

Edited by ColAnt735, March 5 2022 - 7:14 AM.

[AntBoi3030]

Update 3/11/22:
This little colony has been doing very well! The queen continues to lay plenty of eggs. The colony has a a good amount of pupae now along with a nice pile of larvae. This colony is crazy about sugar and are constantly in the outworld.

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[RushmoreAnts]

Nice colony! I just got a colony from SSA a few days ago. So our colonies are of the same batch!

[AntBoi3030]

Update 3/22/22:
I counted 21 workers! It may not look like it in the photo but I counted twice and there were a lot of workers foraging. I left on a one week vacation so I wasn’t able to feed them daily for a week. when I came back I was greeted by the slightly larger second generation of workers along with lots of tiny larvae. I’ve been feeding them a few termites a day and they seem to really enjoy them.

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Edited by AntBoi3030, March 22 2022 - 4:12 PM.

[azzaaazzzz00]

hmmm, they seem so calm. I wonder when they start to go: TIME TO BREAK OUTTA HERE GIRLS! Nice colony

Edited by azzaaazzzz00, March 22 2022 - 5:04 PM.

[AntBoi3030]

hmmm, they seem so calm. I wonder when they start to go: TIME TO BREAK OUTTA HERE GIRLS! Nice colony

Thanks. Yeah, they're pretty content right now in their classic test tube-out world setup. I definitely have plans for future expansion .

[ColAnt735]

 

hmmm, they seem so calm. I wonder when they start to go: TIME TO BREAK OUTTA HERE GIRLS! Nice colony

Thanks. Yeah, they're pretty content right now in their classic test tube-out world setup. I definitely have plans for future expansion .

 

I can't wait for my Crematogaster cerasi queen to get workers! They seem so calm nothing like my Formica incerta.

[UtahAnts]

Enjoy the colony while it's small. I love keeping crematogaster when the colony is less then 100 workers but anything larger than that becomes increasingly difficult. My biggest recommendation is to buy fluon. It will make your life much easier than mine was, trying to use oil and vaseline to stop the hordes.

[AntBoi3030]

Difficult? Could you please explain how?  I need to prepare myself haha.

[UtahAnts]

Basically if you don't have an effective barrier you won't be able to open the outworld without dozens of ants escaping. Even if you you do use fluon, the ants will still seek any weakness in the nest or outworld to escape. You should also have a good colony of mealworms or roaches on hand becuase these ants will need a lot of protien and sugar every day, especially if you heat them.

[ANTdrew]

Difficult? Could you please explain how? I need to prepare myself haha.

Read my journal, then read it again.

[antgallery]

Yep a good Outworld is key, I'm using a AC Outworld and it works great, for now. I haven't ever really had any escapees though, but my colony is also only on their second year. I think a 3D printed or Acrylic nest would be a good idea so they can't chew out.

[AntBoi3030]

 

Difficult? Could you please explain how? I need to prepare myself haha.

Read my journal, then read it again.

 

I just read it, what am I now? A CrematoApprentice  ?

 

Yep a good Outworld is key, I'm using a AC Outworld and it works great, for now. I haven't ever really had any escapees though, but my colony is also only on their second year. I think a 3D printed or Acrylic nest would be a good idea so they can't chew out.

Noted, Thanks.

Edited by AntBoi3030, March 24 2022 - 12:35 PM.

[azzaaazzzz00]

 

 

Difficult? Could you please explain how? I need to prepare myself haha.

Read my journal, then read it again.

 

I just read it, what am I now? A CreamatoApprentice  ?

 

Yep a good Outworld is key, I'm using a AC Outworld and it works great, for now. I haven't ever really had any escapees though, but my colony is also only on their second year. I think a 3D printed or Acrylic nest would be a good idea so they can't chew out.

Noted, Thanks.

 

CREAMATO?? What, now there's an ant named after a breed of cream and tomato?? ...sorry I had too

Edited by azzaaazzzz00, March 23 2022 - 5:39 PM.

[ANTdrew]

The first step on the path is proper spelling.

[ColAnt735]

The first step on the path is proper spelling.

Noted, Sensei.

[AntBoi3030]

Restart 2025

I was waiting for this colony to get nanitics before starting a journal, but I figured that Formiculture could use some more journals right now amid the winter. The old colony on this thread died a while back, unfortunately. But now I am ready to try to start another colony! I got this queen from Atlantic Ants for a great price, if you're in the DMV, I highly recommend that store. The queen arrived with no brood, having just overwintered. I talked to the seller, and this queen was caught and put into hibernation in late October so I took that as a green light to begin heating her. I made sure to slowly adjust her to higher temperatures over the course of a day. She currently resides in an insulated box I found with a heat cable in it. It's very warm in there. After a week, she laid eggs.

 

2/8/2025

2/13/2025

After another week the eggs have hatched and the queen has some good-sized larvae. I expect she'll have pupae within the next week, and workers the week after that. Sorry for the crap pictures. I didn't want to disturb her too much this time so I didn't bother putting on the macro lens.

Super excited to raise this colony!

I am also debating whether or not I should start a journal on my Pheidole. I feel like there are quite a lot of Pheidole journals out there already.

Edited by AntBoi3030, February 16 2025 - 5:52 PM.

[Ants_Dakota]

Definitely start it if you have the time. There are less journals then you might think on Pheidole bicarinata, the most commonly kept species, as documented by RushmoreAnts in his journal Adak's Pheidole bicarinata Brigade (Updated 1/1/'25). Any well written journal, no matter how common the ant, is always appreciated!