220 replies to this topic

[Locness]

Very nice, bout to get them repletes

[Jonathan5608]

Massive pupae for M placadops. These pupae are the size of Camponotus major pupae

repletes I guess

[kiedeerk]

They are definitely repletes but the size of them still are very big. The pupae are similar in size to Camponotus majors.

M Placadops 01 colonies doing extremely well.

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[kiedeerk]

My pheidole rhea is long over due for an expansion nest

Finally had the time to make one

12x14 inches, chamber depth about 1 inch, clay sand adds nice natural textures

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[ANTdrew]

Wow! What is clay sand?

[kiedeerk]

Wow! What is clay sand?

 mixture of clay and sand to form the chambers. easier to mold the chambers and still gives it nice texture.

 

clay by itself will give you smooth surfaces and not as natural. the only down side is its harder to get out of the gypsum. 

[kiedeerk]

Myrmica queen now has larva. I will be feeding her daily from now on.

Camponotus pennsylvanicus and chromaoides have their first batch of workers

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[ANTdrew]

How do you remove the clay sand cleanly?

[kiedeerk]

How do you remove the clay sand cleanly?

Pick it out with sharp stick then blast it with water

[kiedeerk]

1. Camponotus castaneus colony

2. Pogonomyrmex barbatus

3. Pogonomyrmex badius

4. Odontomachus clarus

5. Odontomachus haematodus

6. Pheidole rhea with their new nest

7. Myrmecocystus placadops 01 with massive repletes

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[Ernteameise]

You have some wonderful colonies.

And great pictures.

Thanks for sharing.

[ANTdrew]

This journal is an epic ant flex.
How much sand to clay ratio do you mix? Also, what kind of clay do you use?

[Jonathan5608]

1. Camponotus castaneus colony

2. Pogonomyrmex barbatus

3. Pogonomyrmex badius

4. Odontomachus clarus

5. Odontomachus haematodus

6. Pheidole rhea with their new nest

7. Myrmecocystus placadops 01 with massive repletes

recently got a small colony of castaneus. Hopefully it turns into a beautiful colony like yours. How old is your colony and do you have a worker and major size comparison.

[kiedeerk]

This journal is an epic ant flex.
How much sand to clay ratio do you mix? Also, what kind of clay do you use?

You can just buy zoomed clay digging medium. It comes in powder form just add some water and use it to mold your chambers.

It has clay and sand mixed in

[ANTdrew]

Perfect! Thanks for the great idea.

[ChenZ]

The title looks hilarious at first glance but this journal is EPIC indeed!

 

Glad to see someone actually keeping honey pots successfully in those "THA lair formicarium" type of nest. It's said to work well for honey pots on THA's website, but I rarely (if ever) saw people keeping honey pots in it. But now the statement is confirmed! 

[kiedeerk]

The title looks hilarious at first glance but this journal is EPIC indeed!
 
Glad to see someone actually keeping honey pots successfully in those "THA lair formicarium" type of nest. It's said to work well for honey pots on THA's website, but I rarely (if ever) saw people keeping honey pots in it. But now the statement is confirmed!

The ones in my diy lair formicarium are doing good but I do believe for honey pots the cavern style formicariums are better suited for them

[kiedeerk]

Pheidole rhea new expansion nest already fully filled.

Made them a new large 10x15x6 inches outworld for them to roam

They grow too damn fast !

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[kiedeerk]

A little love for my native ant species

1. Newly caught solenopsis molesta queens and their large egg pile

2. Myrmica sp queen with large larva soon to be pupae. I have raised
All the semi claustral species inside test tubes without outworld even my trap jaws

3. Camponotus castaneus major vs minor. Castaneus I feel have overall larger minor
Workers but their majors even in the wild do not get large heads compared to pennsylvanicus
Or chromaoides

4. Aphaenogaster lamellidens

5. Aphaenogaster tennesseensis

6. Multi queen Formica pallidefulva colony

7. Camponotus pennsylvanicus and chromaoides coming along nicely

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Edited by kiedeerk, August 9 2023 - 9:55 AM.

[Virginian_ants]

Castaneus has to be my favorite Camponotus speices.