23 replies to this topic

[OiledOlives]

I collected this colony under a patch of moss. They were about 8 inches down and nesting in sandy soil. I collected the queen and around 40 workers and some larvae. I found another colony with berb from Discord but could not find the nest. 
https://www.inatural...tions/111083470
I spread the dirt out on the pavement to collect them easier.

Colony in Mini Hearth.
This is my rarest species in my collection right now and I am very excited to keep them!

Edited by OiledOlives, April 23 2023 - 9:11 AM.

[OiledOlives]

I still cannot get over how cool these ants are and how lucky I am to be keeping one of the best species of Aphaenogaster on the East Coast.

[ANTdrew]

Welcome to Team Treatae! Look forward to comparing notes. Mine are up to 27 workers at the moment.

[OiledOlives]

When I checked last night, the queen had already laid around 20 eggs. I hope these are like fulva-rudis-texana group in that the queens are constantly laying eggs. It seems that this species can get pretty big colony sizes (up to 1600), so I'm hoping to get them to at least 500 by the end of this year. It's gonna be a pretty difficult goal (360 worker increase in gens 3 to 7/8) but I think with plenty of feeding and a productive queen, it will be attainable.

[DRpepper]

When I checked last night, the queen had already laid around 20 eggs. I hope these are like fulva-rudis-texana group in that the queens are constantly laying eggs. It seems that this species can get pretty big colony sizes (up to 1600), so I'm hoping to get them to at least 500 by the end of this year. It's gonna be a pretty difficult goal (360 worker increase in gens 3 to 7/8) but I think with plenty of feeding and a productive queen, it will be attainable.

I can't wait for future update don't neglect them like your last aphenogasters..... 

[OiledOlives]

Still eating a ton of food, no new workers yet though. Just like almost every other Aphaenogaster colony I've kept, they don't like heat.

[OiledOlives]

Still doing good.

[OiledOlives]

Up to 80+ workers and even more coming soon.

[ANTdrew]

Nice work; keep it up!
My colony is recovering now in their Inception Chamber.

[OiledOlives]

They shat all over the Mini Hearth glass

The other half of the colony is hanging out on the ceiling and the other side.

Edited by OiledOlives, July 21 2022 - 12:37 PM.

[OiledOlives]

I moved them into a nest made by a friend. I moved the heating cable away from them because it was causing too many problems.

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[Miles]

Very cool! Yes, I've had better success with Aphaenogaster spp. in horizontal nests because they'll deposit so much waste on the glass surface. 

 

This colony looks to be doing well! What are you feeding them?

[OiledOlives]

Very cool! Yes, I've had better success with Aphaenogaster spp. in horizontal nests because they'll deposit so much waste on the glass surface.

This colony looks to be doing well! What are you feeding them?

I have mainly been feeding them mealworms but I occasionally vary their diet with crickets, termites, fruit flies, and roaches. Their favorite food so far has been crickets.

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[aznphenom]

I moved them into a nest made by a friend. I moved the heating cable away from them because it was causing too many problems.

What kind of problems? 

 

I wouldn't mind having treatae. Are they the largest native aphaenogaster? I'm enjoying my novo so I should have more native ants.

[OiledOlives]

 

I moved them into a nest made by a friend. I moved the heating cable away from them because it was causing too many problems.

What kind of problems?

I wouldn't mind having treatae. Are they the largest native aphaenogaster? I'm enjoying my novo so I should have more native ants.

When I put it above the nest, the water tower drained way too quickly and when I put it under the nest, they started putting trash on the condensation. I'm not sure if they're the largest in MD, but I believe it's between lamellidens, treatae, ashmeadi, and possibly mariae.

Edit 4/23: lamellidens have smaller workers than treatae, ashmeadi have slightly smaller workers than treatae, and mariae are around the size of tennesseensis

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Edited by OiledOlives, April 23 2023 - 9:12 AM.

[OiledOlives]

Feeding response to crickets

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[ANTdrew]

My colony refuses to get above 30 workers. Every time they get close, they stage a big die off.

[OiledOlives]

Mine die off a lot as well; fortunately, the queen is pretty prolific so they can replace dead workers with new ones. I'm thinking about giving them an external water source but I'm not sure if it will help at all.

[ANTdrew]

Definitely give them a byFormica water feeder. My colony has about ten more workers than this point last year. They drive me absolutely nuts with their inability to do successful ant things.

[OiledOlives]

Some pictures I took of my treatae ashmeadi recently. They have constant access to a water feeder now and I am providing apples every once in a while. They still have a bunch of brood but are beginning to slow down for diapause.

Edited by OiledOlives, April 23 2023 - 9:13 AM.