66 replies to this topic

[Katla]

Now setting the substrate and curing it to harden.

Myrmecocystus Placodops or Messor Cephalotes ?

[Katla]

Good day everyone 

First of I'm sorry for the lack of updates, winter is slowly coming to an end here in france but is still sending some frost waves just for fun.
My Formicas are getting heated up again and start clustering together while sending out foragers to get some sugar ! gasters are swelling nicely, the royal court is once again tending actively to the queens for Rufa and Sanguinea. They also had their first protein meal of the year which they ate up in minutes yet ill have to wait for about a month to get some eggs coming again.

For my Placodops in the end i decided to settle them in a Mini Hearth ! as my second Mexicanus queen sadly died right after she started laying eggs. I have some pictures to share with you about them, the 3rd generation is on its way out and they are plenty ! Protein is fed every 3 days with two crickets and or one tiny roach, all is taken into the nest and scraped for the brood. They now start to be a little more active and don't mind poking out of the nest when i take off the lid to change sugar water.

 

 

 

The nest one i want to show you is the Fedshenkoi foundation which are also slowly growing into a nice colony, gasters are always full only the 3 nanitics stay thin and forage around, they seem to take protein directly and don't give the prey to the brood I'm not sure how that works but it works, since i placed them back from their 15 C° winter cabinet the queen has started laying eggs in less than a week. Brood is growing slowly and i have now decided to start heating them as well back to around 25C° before summer heat comes in and smokes all my setups to 30 C°. Here are some pictures of these girls.



My Messors are growing as well i think I'm goign to give them the flat setup i had imagined for the Placodops in the last entry's, Media workers are showing up and I'm pretty sure I'm about to witness my first Major worker, be assured that i will share them with you all when she shows up.

I will also use this thread to share a small update on my Mexicanus colony because the changes are minimal and i can't see what exactly is going on in there, yet they are all alive no dead worker several empty cocoons and still soem activity outside of the nest though i must say it has slowed down as the ambient temperatures have cooled down a lot and they seem to close they nest entrance i suppose to keep the heat inside. hope to see them crawling again in late spring !

Thanks for reading and see you all next time !

Au revoir et auf wiedersehen

Edited by Katla, March 18 2023 - 12:46 PM.

[T.C.]

Looking good. I recently got heat lamps and lights over all my setups.

[Katla]

Well well

One night after placing the Formica Rufa and Sanguinea both in the heated incubator they already have both a pile of eggs taken care of by the workers, I'm now waiting on Mai/June formica pupae from my garden, one last boost for the sanguinea this year. Rufa will still get some formica slave pupae every 2 month.

I will try to share pick at the weekend for all my Colonys discussed about in this thread.

Sheers

[Katla]

Hello everyone, here just a peek at my Formica Sanguinea recently put back on heat and already giving mature brood. there's some more on about mu formica's on my blog about my Rufa (Wood Ants)

 

And here some pics of them getting mad at roaches

Edited by Katla, March 18 2023 - 12:50 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Lovely ants!

[Katla]

Lovely ants!

 

They are, i think you also have Formica Sanguinea in north America ?

[Katla]

Hello everyone, i made some modification to a THA Labyrinth adding some Vermiculite and some side brown aquarelle, here's the Result. 

Now i need to decide to whom i will offer this mansion, either Formica Rufa or Formica Sanguinea 

 

[antsriondel]

Hello everyone, i made some modification to a THA Labyrinth adding some Vermiculite and some side brown aquarelle, here's the Result. 

Now i need to decide to whom i will offer this mansion, either Formica Rufa or Formica Sanguinea 

 

Wow, impressive job! 

[Katla]

 

Hello everyone, i made some modification to a THA Labyrinth adding some Vermiculite and some side brown aquarelle, here's the Result. 

Now i need to decide to whom i will offer this mansion, either Formica Rufa or Formica Sanguinea 

 

Wow, impressive job! 

Thank you,

 

 

Thank you !

 

But i hope you don't think i made the whole nest, it is a Tar Heel Ants Labyrinth that i coated with vermiculate for the formica to feel quite home and also keep up with the formic acid and i just painted some aquarelle on the chambers for some contrast.
If i had the budget i would make a custom project with Tar Heel.

Edited by Katla, March 25 2023 - 5:35 PM.

[antsriondel]

 

 

Hello everyone, i made some modification to a THA Labyrinth adding some Vermiculite and some side brown aquarelle, here's the Result. 

Now i need to decide to whom i will offer this mansion, either Formica Rufa or Formica Sanguinea 

 

Wow, impressive job! 

Thank you,

 

 

Thank you !

 

But i hope you don't think i made the whole nest, it is a Tar Heel Ants Labyrinth that i coated with vermiculate for the formica to feel quite home and also keep up with the formic acid and i just painted some aquarelle on the chambers for some contrast.
If i had the budget i would make a custom project with Tar Heel.

 

Yeah I read what you said, I just find the design beautiful!

[Katla]

Thank you again than, i decided to let it be home to the Rufa. They have already moved from the test tube to the Setup, i will let them settle down before making pictures of the setup and the ants

[Katla]

Could'nt Resist

[ANTdrew]

Very cool!

[Ernteameise]

Wow, so many awesome species and beautiful setups!

Really nicely done.

I am looking forward to more updates!

 

Sadly I cannot really give you a lot of insight into Formica ants. I kept Formica polyctena (a close relative to F. rufa) 30 years ago, but my setup then was very basic compared to yours.

And I had not done any ant related stuff since, until now.

Back then, I did it together with my dad and granddad and we used 2 glass tanks- one with a gypsum nest and connected with a tube to a forest setting outworld with some pine cones and pine needles. I had an old heat lamp for providing warmth. I fed lots of live and dead insects and different kinds of my granddad's honey (he was a bee keeper) and honey water.

Back then, I was not even aware of hibernation! I did not hibernate my colony, but it somehow still survived and we released it back into the forest 3 years later.

Edited by Ernteameise, April 1 2023 - 9:57 AM.

[Katla]

My Polyctena queen died last year, thanks for the compliments

[Ernteameise]

My Polyctena queen died last year, thanks for the compliments

Oh this is sad.

[Katla]

What are my Accros doing wiht all that grass in the fungus chamber now ? do they prepare it for growing fungus or do they use it to protect the fungus it self.

 

[Katla]

 

Something for you peops to guess and wach here :

[Katla]

For my Future Formica Sanguinea i intend to modify my last labyrinth from THA, using clay paint brown aquarelle and vermiculite. I will also plan to block certain routes with the Vermiculite that the want will be able to remove by themself if need to expand allowing me some room and mold Control. 

 

Here just a simple scheme of spots what would get vermiculite blockades.