28 replies to this topic

[AntsTopia]

Hi everyone! I have a friend who offered me a Myrmecocystus Mendax queen. He said she has mature brood. He offered me the permit for her. I obviously took it. So now he shipped me a permit and a Myrmecocystus Mendax queen in a box. No idea what she looks like or the status of her brood. Honesty this will be interesting because there is not that much info on Myrmecocystus Mendax. Do any of you out there know if Myrmecocystus Mendax swells up as the other Honey pot ants? Thanks. I will be posting pictures of her when I get her. I don’t want to hear about “you’re keeping a species that’s not native” because let’s be honest Florida is already massacred by those damm fire ants and black crazy ants and on and on. No trashing of the journal please.  If you mind. Thanks again. 
 

[AntsTopia]

Queen is arriving by 8pm tonightttt!!!
I am so exited to see her brood status! Will be taking pictures and posting second I get her.

[AntsTopia]

Queen arrived! She has 7-8 cocoons and 4 larva and a whole lot of eggs. I'm not sure if my friend brood boosted her before hand. He added a test tube of sand/dirt and said add them in. Why should I add this? I added it and she just was trying to dig her brood back up from the dirt. I put her 6 inches above from a 120 WAT lamp meant for reptiles facing down. Is this ok? I have never kept Pots before and need tips and tricks. I have a mini hearth for her when she gets her nanitics. Also I saw a huge cocoon that looked like a replete. I'll post pics tomorrow since my camera is dead. Thanks!

[ZTYguy]

All ants in the genus Myrmecocystus get the large repletes. Myrmecocystus mendax is a fun species. I have a 3 queen true polygonous colony. They are probably gonna get their first nanitics next week so I’m thoroughly excited. Mendax seems to be a fun species. Probably the prettiest Myrmecocystus species in the US.

[AntsTopia]

Thank you!

[AntsTopia]

So I contacted my friend and he said he indeed put cocoons in there. He said he put a replete cocoon for me. He also said he has raised M. Mexacanius, M. Navajo, M. Mendax, M. Mimicus, M. Placdops, in total light. And hed done a expirement. One queen in dark and one in light. They came out the same.
Me on Whatsapp: waittttt what????
Him:yeah I raise them in light
Me: .......................
(please forgive me all the northern southern ant keepers out there) I took a book and I put it on a table harsh near the queens testube. You know what she did? She didn't even flinch. Please explain this to me.

[ZTYguy]

It is true that they do adjust to it but there is also the fact that some queens are more sensitive than others. I could raise Acromyrmex in light just fine but I put my Camponotus away cause they are big babies. The thing is, that is not the issue. The real issue that will stunt any queen is the constant checking up and rattling. As long as she is not being jostled around that much, she will most likely be fine. I like to keep all of my ants on foam boards where they are nestled carefully in a position where they don’t move.

[AntsTopia]

Yeah Camponotus does not like light that much. My camponotus modoc queen hates the light and will eat her eggs in one bite.

[AntsTopia]

8/17/22
WARNING FLOOD
So this is one jolly good setback. I wake up today to see 1/2 of the tube swallowed in water with queen and 5 cocoons clinging to the cotton leading to out. Listen this is my first time keeping pots but seeing a flood happen is not a good thing. 2 or 3 cocoons are fuly submerged under water and the larva just drowned. I tried saving the 2-3 cocoons but they looked like a wet piece of brown tissue paper. I decided because I gave her a lot if honey and she was trying to be on the ceiling to hang like a replete that I would give her a mini hearth from
THA. She liked it immediately and tended to her cocoons, placing it on the hydration platform thingy. I'll take pictures of her tomrrow since she is already stressed out.

[AntsTopia]

8/18/22

Ok I know you guys on the forum are going to kill me but I moved her again and she went into the foraging outworld with her cocoons. I decided she didn't like it so put her back in a testube with sand mixed with dirt and she started digging straight away. 4-3 hours later she dug a lot. Look:

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Edited by AntsTopia, August 18 2022 - 4:22 PM.

[B_rad0806]

There is no reason there should be that much sand in the tube

[aznphenom]

There is no reason there should be that much sand in the tube

I was thinking the same but I kind of like it. Looks like a sand/dirt set up but in a tube.

[AntsTopia]

Well I was thinking I didn't want to move her to a dirt out world yet because it can be stressful for her to have too much space. But she really likes the tube so il stick with it till nanitics.

[AntsTopia]

Great news and Horrific news. 
Great is that queen got 2 nanitics. 
Horrific is that the 2 nanitics died and the queen is also dead. 
So that ends that journal. 
Sorry everyone. Bye poor honey pot queen.
 

[UrbanOrganisms]

May she rest in pepperonis, sorry to hear that.

[AntsTopia]

Yeah it a bummer 2 because my freind says he has mexacanus but that he doesn’t have a permit for me. I guess maybe I have to take a trip to cali and try tracking a Mendax queen. 

[ZTYguy]

Yeah it a bummer 2 because my freind says he has mexacanus but that he doesn’t have a permit for me. I guess maybe I have to take a trip to cali and try tracking a Mendax queen. 

Unless you have permits then that would be illegal. 

[AntsTopia]

I do tho

[LucaHakase]

My guy that is not how it works.

You can’t just give people permits, and no one has a mendax export to Florida, because that’s literally against USDA permit rules.

Also also I highly doubt you have a mendax import, as Florida rules + insane containment facilities.


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[AntsTopia]

Maybe my freind gave me a fake one?