282 replies to this topic

[kiedeerk]

It’s the weekend and finally it’s getting warmer where I am. We are seeing temperatures in the 70s. This signals the start of a new anting season. There are bugs out finally and flowers are blooming. I will be able to give my ants more variety in terms of insect proteins. I find the ants enjoy insects from the outside more than the fruit flies and mealworms.

The native Camponotus are doing great. The pennsylvanicus finally are out of diapause mode. The queen laid a big batch of eggs and they have their first pupae of the year. I included a lesser known species of native Camponotus the caryae. They are very similar to nearcticus apart from having malar hairs. Many ant keepers probably catch them and think of them as nearcticus. You have to look with a very good camera with macro lens or with microscope to see their malar hairs. However they seem to be struggling with only 3 workers by year two. The queen laid a batch of eggs so hoping they can catch up and recover.

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[kiedeerk]

Acromyrmex versicolor update. The largest colony which I transferred to a new nest have had a set back. Possibly due to the stress of the move or changing conditions. They had a die off of 15-20 workers. I don’t think these were from old age and most likely due to the move and changes in nesting condition. The fungal garden also seem to have shrunk a bit. I hope they will recover and restart growing their fungus. or else I might have to make a new nest and move them again. I feel maybe this nest wasn’t made properly or something but I will continue to watch. From close up photos the fungus seem to be doing ok. They still have 50+ workers so I am not too worried. I also have two more colonies which are doing great also. I also have plenty of fungus from my trachy colony if somehow their fungus dies.

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[kiedeerk]

Trachymyrmex septentrionalis Are monster fungus growers. Their fungal garden is almost 2inches tall and covering the entire nest. They keep on building the garden upwards. As you can see I have plenty of fungus to donate to my Acromyrmex if they are ever in need. Flowers are blooming now so I should be able to give them a variety of flowers to pick from. Their favorite are still the rose petals. Their fungus have a strong rose smell it’s quite pleasant.

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