28 replies to this topic

[UtahAnts]

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis - Western Harvester Ants

 

400 workers. They had a bit of a die off from dehydration on my part, however they are quickly bouncing back. Their setup is working well, and the different chambers allow for seeds and brood to be sorted. The colony continues to produce female alates but no drones. Here is a short timelapse of them processing some dandelion seeds and fluff.

 

 

Two sister queens in a chia seed reserve

 

 

 

Workers in the outworld

 

 

 

 

Mature brood

 

 

 

Newly eclosed queen on the left

 

 

[UtahAnts]

Pogonomyrmex rugosus - Rough Harvester Ants

 

150 workers with alates. I moved this colony into a new formicarium, pictured below. I couldn't get as many pictures as I would have liked but here's a timelapse of them checking out the setup: 

 

https://www.youtube....rts/aWyg0ITMLRM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Head comparison between two workers

 

 

 

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis - Western Harvester Ants

 

450 workers and a few female alates. Growing quickly after the last update. The current pair of nests are working great and they seem to be enjoying their larger ourworld.

 

 

 

[BleepingBleepers]

Sweet [censored] GIFs and close up pics! 

 

Wow, very nice. They look like such a unit with their big head and seed crushing mandibles!

[UtahAnts]

Pogonomyrmex rugosus - Rough Harvester Ants

 

A bit of die off during the move has brought their population to hover around 100. However I've enjoyed keeping this smaller colony of rugosus. The queen recently laid around 75 eggs so their population may double sometime in the next month, but hopefully their numbers will stay at a nice manageable level up until the winter months. Their formicarium pictured here was a little dry for them so I moved them into the original horizontal flat nest - yes I still have this thing after all these years, it's just about indestructible. I'll get some setup pictures nexxt update.

 

Moving timelapse - https://www.youtube....rts/DXLT2uaPip4

 

 

 

Fat larvae - 

 

 

 

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis - Western Harvester Ants

 

500 workers. Growing steadily but surely. They've really taken to nectar and larger insects as protein source. Super active foragers and very interesting to watch meander around their foraging area.

 

Swarming the nectar - https://www.youtube....rts/jhmwtNdLst0

 

 

 

 

Edited by UtahAnts, August 2 2023 - 9:40 PM.

[UtahAnts]

I sold off the two colonies and managed to sell the many hundreds of Pogonomyrmex queens I had. I'll be reviving this someday.

 

I made some videos on finding these on my YT channel. Feel free to check those out for some general tips.

 

 

[ANTdrew]

How do you sell so many ants. I can’t even give ants away anymore.

[UtahAnts]

I've also noticed a steady decline in local interest. I primarily use local classified listing sites like KSL.com, with supplemental amounts of sales from formiculture and facebook as well.

[UtahAnts]

No new colonies to share here, but I did get an update from the new owner of the large Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony I sold last year! Apparently he used them for a science fair and went on to get first in state in his division! He was testing seed deterrence for reseeding efforts after wild fires. I'm assuming he was looking to find what seed types would not be taken in by harvester colonies to find good options for reseeding grasslands where they live? Not exactly sure but it was good to hear the colony was doing good. They are currently in a large natural setup which they seem to be enjoying. Attached picture he sent below.

 

For those of you curious he found that Thyme and Garlic serve as a semi-deterrent for harvesters.

 

[UtahAnts]

I'll be starting this up again for a little while to update with pictures of founding colonies from this season. All colonies are housed in dirt setups for best viability. 

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis - Western Harvester Ants

First flights found June 28.

All colonies have been reserved but I should be able to get some good pictures as they grow. Queens all are being fed dandelion seeds and kept at 85 during the day and 70 during the night. No pictures yet, will update next time.

 

Pogonomyrmex rugosus - Rough Harvester Ants

Queens found on June 28, although some flights likely occurred before. Video of one of the queens running around.

 

I'm feeding these dandelion seeds and fish flakes for the first 2 weeks. Only one death out of 35 so far, looking like a good group this year!

 

 

Video of color variations between queens.

 

Edited by UtahAnts, July 14 2024 - 11:29 AM.