103 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Cool! Good luck with the queen.

Edited by ANTdrew, July 7 2023 - 1:35 PM.

[Ernteameise]

Well, this lady certainly did not waste any time.

At least now I know that she is viable and fertile.

 

[Ernteameise]

The balcony girls were again ravenous for dinner today.

 

 

I also did an evening walk, and Lasius niger is still in the nuptial flight phase. It is insane- without even looking, I saw 10 new queens running around my feet. Of course I did not collect any, I have enough pets to care for right now.

 

Anyways, the young Lasius niger queen I collected last week has laid a huge egg package by now!

 

[Ernteameise]

Look what I found in my balcony herb garden (home of the balcony ants) today.

This is a juvenile female Tettigonia viridissima, the great green bush-cricket (or a close relative; I know there are great green ones around because I often have them in my flat when I leave windows open).

These guys are carnivores and very well camouflaged.

I am pretty sure she is also after the balcony ants (if she can catch them).

And no, I am NOT using her as ant food. She is part of my balcony ecosystem.

 

 

[Ernteameise]

I had been away for 3 days, so the balcony ants were very happy I was back and brought dinner.

 

And the young mother seems to have laid even more eggs.

Won't disturb her any more often, and I hope she will have larvae soon.

 

[azzaaazzzz00]

I love feeding wild colonies as well, but while I'm watching the girls feast, my parents come over and there goes my small (and short) friendship with nature.

[Ernteameise]

I love feeding wild colonies as well, but while I'm watching the girls feast, my parents come over and there goes my small (and short) friendship with nature.

Yeah, no idea what my landlady would think.

She has not been in my flat recently and I do not think she knows about the ants yet.

She will definitely not like it (as little as my mum did when I was a teen) and she already thinks I am borderline crazy.

In winter, when they fixed the heating, she had to come into my flat and I do have books (at the moment it is ant and insect books) lying around EVERY room in my small flat.

I read a lot.

So my landlady came up to me, in shock, and told me "You have so many books. There is books in everyone of your rooms!"

Well, yeah, would it be better for me to have a weed plantation on my balcony?

[Ernteameise]

Managed to take a really beautiful picture of the new Lasius queen and her egg pile. This pile keeps on growing.

She looks like a proud mummy.

I still cannot see any larvae.

Now back to her quiet dark space.

 

[Ernteameise]

And my Lasius niger queen has the first larvae!

It is so awesome to watch this grow from scratch.

 

[Ernteameise]

Just look how fast these babies are growing!

She is a very good mummy.

 

[Ernteameise]

I finished my custom order with Tarheel ants, and also ordered an XL Mini Hearth for the fledgling Lasius niger colony.

Will be a minimalist nest, but with a museum style box on top and with a red cover at the front.

I hope they will like it.

[Ernteameise]

I cannot believe this.

Look how fast they are growing!

This is how the fledgling colony looked today.

Good that they have a Tarheel nest in the making...

 

[Ernteameise]

2 days later.

And the size of these larvae has doubled!

I also think I see the first cocoon in there!

 

 

[azzaaazzzz00]

Cool, I also have a Lasius niger queen and she just got her first cocoons as well

[Ernteameise]

Even more puppae today!

I think I will have a colony up and running in no time.

 

[Ernteameise]

Looks as if I will have a working colony soon....

and the second batch is already in the works.

 

 

[ANTdrew]

Excellent! What a cool species.

[Ernteameise]

Excellent! What a cool species.

I ordered them a THA XL mini hearth which will be made and shipped together with my custom nest for the Messors. I think it will be a nice starter nest for them.

[Ernteameise]

And the colony has the first workers!

I moved them with their test tube into the small plastic box where the rescue ants lived until today.

 

So here they are, in their new home.

 

 

 

[Ernteameise]

And the girls are already out and about and enjoy their dinner!