108 replies to this topic

[JAnt]

Hi everyone,

This will be my first journal here that will be about my 2-Years-old Pheidole Californica Colony!!! (Big-headed Ants)

This colony is from February 2020. It consists of 2 Queens with about 30-50 workers at that time. (I got this from Vern).

During their first year (February 2020 - February 2021), they lived off chia seeds all the time and some cricket once in a while. I would say about 8 times per month (2 days a week). They will have a 10% die-off once every few months. You can tell by the dead bodies all piled up in one spot. Their production was pretty steady and they did just fine in a THA mini hearth.

In their second year (February 2021 - February 2022), I pretty much kept the same schedule, sometimes I give them knocked out fruit flies by putting them in the fridge for a few minutes. I give them a mealworm too. I noticed that this colony likes to swarm their food most of the time. It’s always fun to watch them actively swarm their food during feeding time. They are very chill and never cared if there was lighting put up under the water tower or some kind of light vibrations.

They never really attempted to escape as long as they have a good amount of seeds saved up. You can tell they are hungry once they start climbing up the sidewalls of their outworld. At one point, there was huge germination of the chia seeds in their little mini hearth and it covered the whole water tower!! It only lasted for a week since there was no source of sunlight nutrition for the plants to thrive.

I’ve gone looking for a journal about this specific colony of Pheidole Californica but I haven't found any that lasted for a while, I thought it could contribute to others and help out in some way as a fellow ant-keeper.

One of the main reasons that motivated me to make this journal is because this colony just produced their first alate queen!!! I just saw large pupae bigger than their majors, it was shocking. This colony has almost filled the mini hearth, except for the glass.

Now, I’ve gone and looked over and over on my camera roll to find pictures that I might’ve taken over the past 2 years with this colony, but I only found 1 picture and that was when I first got them.

Thanks for checking out my journal!!!

2020


All recent photos March 2022


This photo shows the walls empty but after 2 weeks have passed, it’s almost filled, they have the piles of eggs by the water tower, but I can’t take a clear photo since that side of the glass is covered by sand.




April 4, 2022
First time seeing their first queen alate in the nest!!! Do you see it?

[ANTdrew]

Very nice! I say up your feeding, though.

[JAnt]

Ah yes, I started heating them in January and fed them every other day now.

[antsriondel]

wow, awesome colony!

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Beautiful colony. Really want a colony of these ladies myself. 

[JAnt]

Quick update:

This colony just tripled in size and they’re not slowing down anytime soon with the massive brood they have right now. (Both queens are physogastric)

-So far, this colony has only been producing queen alate, there are about 20+ of them currently. I’m curious when they’ll have male alate production.

Edited by JAnt, May 6 2022 - 1:26 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Male ants are not referred to as kings. This is probably because they don’t have a very kingly existence, being bullied by their half sisters in the colony, unceremoniously kicked out of the nest, only to most likely die alone having never mated. Only the luckiest ones get to pass on their genes, then they die.

[JAnt]

Male ants are not referred to as kings. This is probably because they don’t have a very kingly existence, being bullied by their half sisters in the colony, unceremoniously kicked out of the nest, only to most likely die alone having never mated. Only the luckiest ones get to pass on their genes, then they die.

Thanks for the correction! I figured out how to edit my last post

[JAnt]

Update:

- New nest extension

- Male alates are now present!

- Both Queen's gasters are almost the size of a minor worker.

- The old nest has piles of brood; pupae are all near the heat source, while the eggs are on top of the water towers with larvae. Most of the larvae are actually stuck up on the walls with one minor worker each by their side like their personal nanny.

-Interesting observations: When I lift the lid, most alates try to get on the highest place possible, mainly on the fake plant, and the walls and their wings are partly open. Once I close the lid, minor workers will start pulling alates by the jaw back to their nests. I thought it was cool to watch.

I also saw an alate without wings; it was distinguishable from the 2-queen due to its unextended gaster.




The new nest photo was taken two weeks ago; it’s now partly filled. These ants like to be tightly close to one another, even back then. It’s more of a hangout spot when they feed on fruit flies.



Find the male alate if you can!


Their new outworld. The majors are no “scaredy-ant.”



Thanks for stopping by!

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Can Pheidole californica mate inside their own nest? Just wondering. 

[JAnt]

Can Pheidole californica mate inside their own nest? Just wondering.

I’m also curious; maybe someone knowledgeable can answer.

[JAnt]

Update:

This colony has been doing great, the production of alates has slowed down, and most have taken off their wings.

This is what the nest looks like, but it is more crowded since this was taken 2 weeks ago.



I am considering moving these guys on a 2-sided THA casita; instead of another mini hearth extension. What do you fellow keepers think?



Thank you so much for your attention and participation.

[NancyZamora4991]

Beautiful colony! I think the THA nest might be too big for them, but I'm not sure how big they are. Also, you said most alates have taken off their wings, have they inbreeded?

[TacticalHandleGaming]

That Casitia is meant for medium/large speices. There's a higher chance of them escaping since they are so small. 

[JAnt]

Beautiful colony! I think the THA nest might be too big for them, but I'm not sure how big they are. Also, you said most alates have taken off their wings, have they inbreeded?

The nest is made for medium-large species, although I view it as six mini hearths nest since the size is almost the same. There are only two original queens; I doubt that's enough for the inside nest mating, but if I get my hands on dealate queens and put them on a separate test tube, we’ll see

[JAnt]

That Casitia is meant for medium/large speices. There's a higher chance of them escaping since they are so small.

They are big enough not to escape in between the glass. Although the lid of the outworld is a possibility, a quick tape should fix it.

[lazyant]

How did you get your californica to get to such a large size?

[JAnt]

How did you get your californica to get to such a large size?

Heat + protein

From looking at it, this colony is approximately a thousand plus workers strong, and they still have a tremendous amount of brood.

[JAnt]

Here’s the current nest.



Check out all these alates huddled together in one spot!

[TacticalHandleGaming]

That's seriously impressive!