229 replies to this topic

[kiedeerk]

Acromyrmex vesicolor got their first workers today. They laid their first eggs on 09/07-08 and first workers eclosed 10/18. Many more workers are close to eclosing so expect their population to jump in the next week or two. One colony (3 queens) is doing much better than the other two. They all have pupae though so just to show how queens differ greatly in terms of how many workers they rear in their first batch of nanitics.

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[ANTdrew]

Awesome!

[kiedeerk]

Camponotus socius doing great. They have well over 100 workers now. They eclosed couple media workers and one major worker. As mentioned earlier, compared to native species like pennsylvanicus they produced media/majors much later. Hopefully we will see more majors in the near future. I was also told that as the colony matures, the color of the workers will change to more reddish color for their thorax similar to the queen.

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[Yusteponant]

So pretty! Man I wish that I could have the time and money to do this but I don't. Anyways nice journal been enjoying this! 

Edited by Yusteponant, October 23 2024 - 12:49 PM.

[Yusteponant]

Camponotus socius doing great. They have well over 100 workers now. They eclosed couple media workers and one major worker. As mentioned earlier, compared to native species like pennsylvanicus they produced media/majors much later. Hopefully we will see more majors in the near future. I was also told that as the colony matures, the color of the workers will change to more reddish color for their thorax similar to the queen.

Sorta looks like Camponotus Novaeboracensis tbh but I guess the color is a little different

[kiedeerk]

 

Camponotus socius doing great. They have well over 100 workers now. They eclosed couple media workers and one major worker. As mentioned earlier, compared to native species like pennsylvanicus they produced media/majors much later. Hopefully we will see more majors in the near future. I was also told that as the colony matures, the color of the workers will change to more reddish color for their thorax similar to the queen.

Sorta looks like Camponotus Novaeboracensis tbh but I guess the color is a little different

 

 

Yes C socius and nicobarensis have similar color patterns. However socius is much bigger and native to southeastern USA. 

Edited by kiedeerk, October 23 2024 - 1:30 PM.

[kiedeerk]

For native species, it’s time for diapause. Camponotus pennsylvanicus, castaneus, subbarbatus, caryae, and nearcticus. Native trachymyrmex also stopped taking organic matter and the fungus has shrunk drastically. I am worried if I can keep fungus alive throughout diapause. I am hoping the acronyrmex colony will keep the fungus alive so I can transplant it back to the trachy colony once spring comes.

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[kiedeerk]

Acromyrmex are doing ok. The largest colony currently has probably 20-30 workers. They are growing the fungus decently. The worry I have is that after the first batch of workers of which the last few are about to eclose, I have not seen any new eggs laid by the queens. They could be hiding them in the fungus but I have not been able to find any. I’m slightly worried whether the fungus which was donated from a native trachymyrmex colony is the right fungus for them. However they were able to raise a good batch of workers off the donated fungus so that’s slightly reassuring. We will just have to wait and see. Maybe they are also just ready for diapause? Even in the southwest where they are native the winter temperature does go down to the 30-40F. I have however kept them at around 75-80 this whole time.

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[AntsGodzilla]

Never diapause any fungus growers, getting to cold will kill the fungus. Keep doing what you are doing. 

It's super cool watching this colony grow!

[kiedeerk]

Never diapause any fungus growers, getting to cold will kill the fungus. Keep doing what you are doing.
It's super cool watching this colony grow!

Native trachymyrmex are definitely in diapause mode. They stopped feeding the fungus and it shrunk to 1/10 of its normal size already and keep on shrinking daily

[AntsGodzilla]

Oh I meant acromyrmex/atta. Sorry for the miscommunication.

Edited by AntsGodzilla, November 9 2024 - 8:16 AM.

[kiedeerk]

Camponotus socius doing great. They have 150-200 workers with a couple majors. They have been extremely fast growing for a large Camponotus species much faster than the native Camponotus species. Compared to my pennsylvanicus and castaneus who have between 15-20 workers before diapause.

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[kiedeerk]

My “smaller” M placadops are doing good. They are using my diy as intended. Still have a ton of brood. Main problem I always seen with species that require substrate is that over time the workers will move the substrate out of the nest leaving nothing inside. In the wild, the ants will have infinite amount of substrates as they dig the chambers. For most diys we have finite amount of substrate which the ants deplete so you have to keep adding substrate into the nest or else the larva of certain species will fail to pupate.

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[kiedeerk]

Colobopsis Papago doing well. Their brood development is a bit slow but they currently have 3 workers and a large brood pile. They should be doubling in size in the coming weeks. They are liking the more natural wood insert with a slit like nesting area. One fun fact, the eggs of colobopsis are very enlongated and thin. You can see some in the pictures below.

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[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Colobopsis Papago doing well. Their brood development is a bit slow but they currently have 3 workers and a large brood pile. They should be doubling in size in the coming weeks. They are liking the more natural wood insert with a slit like nesting area. One fun fact, the eggs of colobopsis are very enlongated and thin. You can see some in the pictures below.

WOW, they are very cute, The queens reminds me of how my Crematogaster queen likes to stay near the enterance

[kiedeerk]

Colobopsis Papago doing well. Their brood development is a bit slow but they currently have 3 workers and a large brood pile. They should be doubling in size in the coming weeks. They are liking the more natural wood insert with a slit like nesting area. One fun fact, the eggs of colobopsis are very enlongated and thin. You can see some in the pictures below.

WOW, they are very cute, The queens reminds me of how my Crematogaster queen likes to stay near the enterance

Actually that’s the back end of the tube towards the cotton/water.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

 

 

Colobopsis Papago doing well. Their brood development is a bit slow but they currently have 3 workers and a large brood pile. They should be doubling in size in the coming weeks. They are liking the more natural wood insert with a slit like nesting area. One fun fact, the eggs of colobopsis are very enlongated and thin. You can see some in the pictures below.

WOW, they are very cute, The queens reminds me of how my Crematogaster queen likes to stay near the enterance

Actually that’s the back end of the tube towards the cotton/water.

 

Oh ok, but they are still very cute and remind me of my Crematogaster colony. Don't these ants have majors from what I remember

 

Also, where are you located, somewhere in the USA?

[AntsGodzilla]

 

Oh ok, but they are still very cute and remind me of my Crematogaster colony. Don't these ants have majors from what I remember

 

 

Also, where are you located, somewhere in the USA?

 

He would have to be somewhere in the southwest, as that is where acromyrmex and myrmecocystus are mainly located.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

not too true as he said he was located around virginia if i remember. And he likely has permits for these ants

[AntsGodzilla]

How can you get permits for a species not native to that state?