229 replies to this topic

[kiedeerk]

Trachymyrmex fungus garden growing rapidly. In about one month it is now covering probably 2/3 of the 4x4 inches nesting space. It also grew to about 1 inch tall. I have been giving them mostly roses and wild flowers from my yard. They are pretty particular in what they cut. It is amazing how they cultivate the fungus into a honeycomb shape.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 

[ANTdrew]

So cool!

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

I love how they make it in the shape of a honeycomb

[kiedeerk]

New species: Camponotus Socius

Rarely kept species of Camponotus but becoming more available recently. They are native to the southeastern USA. Lives mainly in sandy environments. They have beautiful coloration and are large in size comparable to chromaoides, castaneus, and Pennsylvanicus. They have been notoriously more difficult to keep from what I have heard so I will give them a try. Their coloration reminds me of Camponotus nicobarensis but double their size.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

Very nice coloration. What nest are you keeping them in?

[kiedeerk]

Very nice coloration. What nest are you keeping them in?

All my ants are kept inside diy nests. This one is just a simple gypsum with a sand base

[Ernteameise]

Oh these Camponotus are beautiful.

Very nice colors.

Good luck with them!

[Mushu]

Impressive collection of ants you got there.

 

A few questions on your placodops 01

 

1) can you elaborate on their protein preferences. What are their preferred  from favorite to least favorite. 

2) How often do you feed them protein and how much?

3) What temperature and humidity(if you have that info) gradient do you keep them at.

Edited by Mushu, May 22 2024 - 3:52 AM.

[100lols]

Wow!!! Beautiful specimen. Taught me about a new species cheers!

[kiedeerk]

Impressive collection of ants you got there.

A few questions on your placodops 01

1) can you elaborate on their protein preferences. What are their preferred from favorite to least favorite.
2) How often do you feed them protein and how much?
3) What temperature and humidity(if you have that info) gradient do you keep them at.

In my experience they have been quite picky in terms of protein source. They will take sugar water all day long but for proteins they liked termites and sometimes fruit flies. Tried mealworms I don’t think they were interested. Will try some insects from my yard once the weather warms up

I have them near a radiator in my ant room. It’s important to give them a gradient as the queen is always in the coolest part of the nest. I would say it’s 85+ close to the radiator at least

[kiedeerk]

Trachy are doing excellent. Fungus garden is exploding. You can now see large larva popping out everywhere. It is interesting how the fungus covers the brood fully almost.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[AsdinAnts]

Completely in awe!

[kiedeerk]

Here are my Camponotus lineup: nearcticus x2, caryae, socius, castaneus, subbarbatus, chromaoides, pennsylvanicus

I really enjoy the founding stages to medium sized colony phase. Once a colony gets into the hundreds or thousands I loose some interest mainly because they become more of a hassle to feed and maintain. Maybe I am keeping too many colonies. I like the challenge to found different species but once I have succeeded in getting them to hundreds of workers I feel like the work is done and sometimes I move on to different more challenging species

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[kiedeerk]

I finally back in the states after 4 weeks vacation

I entrusted one of my family member to care for my ants was initially unsure how they will do while I am away. I will update the different species separately.

First up: trachymyrmex

They have since exploded in numbers while I was away. They produced hundreds of alates and even more workers. The fungus garden is still going strong. They are picky about which flowers they like but love rose petals the most. The alates have really dark/black wings. You can also appreciate the antibiotic white powder substance coating the alates and some of the workers. These are only found in leaf cutter ants and prevents mold and other bacterial growth is what I have read.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Zzz]

I finally back in the states after 4 weeks vacation

I entrusted one of my family member to care for my ants was initially unsure how they will do while I am away. I will update the different species separately.

First up: trachymyrmex

They have since exploded in numbers while I was away. They produced hundreds of alates and even more workers. The fungus garden is still going strong. They are picky about which flowers they like but love rose petals the most. The alates have really dark/black wings. You can also appreciate the antibiotic white powder substance coating the alates and some of the workers. These are only found in leaf cutter ants and prevents mold and other bacterial growth is what I have read.

What’s your experience with trachymyrmex? I’m very interested

[kiedeerk]

I finally back in the states after 4 weeks vacation

I entrusted one of my family member to care for my ants was initially unsure how they will do while I am away. I will update the different species separately.

First up: trachymyrmex

They have since exploded in numbers while I was away. They produced hundreds of alates and even more workers. The fungus garden is still going strong. They are picky about which flowers they like but love rose petals the most. The alates have really dark/black wings. You can also appreciate the antibiotic white powder substance coating the alates and some of the workers. These are only found in leaf cutter ants and prevents mold and other bacterial growth is what I have read.

What’s your experience with trachymyrmex? I’m very interested

So far they have been easy to care for. I collected this colony back in April. They are kept at room temperature and they love their rose petals. They started out with a few grains of fungus which has grown to fill this 4x4 inches nest

[kiedeerk]

Camponotus socius update

During the month I was away. They grew from 10 or so workers to between 30-50 workers. They have a healthy brood pile. My care taker probably did not optimize their growth so they would have more workers if they were under my care. But nonetheless they are doing well. Can’t wait for medias and majors. Compared to native Camponotus species they are growing quite fast. Most of the native Camponotus sp would never reach those worker numbers by diapause. Socius are quite large being comparable in size to pennsylvanicus, chrom, and castaneus

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[kiedeerk]

Update: M. placadops 01

These guys are really taking off recently. They had periods of when they were picky about proteins but they currently are taking in almost all protein source I give them. Hence, they have stopped murdering their pupae to feed their larvae. I approximate they probably have 350+ workers. They have many repletes. The interesting thing is that they have many small/mildly filled repletes. My theory is that they have so many workers/repletes they distribute the sugar water evenly and not feed one replete to the max. At this rate, I will have to upgrade their nest soon.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[NotAxo]

It seems like the black ants in the last picture are honeypot ants, right? Their black coloring and large gasters are really cool. You should consider trying red and green food coloring in their sugar water sometime! They would look so good in black-red and black-green.

[kiedeerk]

It seems like the black ants in the last picture are honeypot ants, right? Their black coloring and large gasters are really cool. You should consider trying red and green food coloring in their sugar water sometime! They would look so good in black-red and black-green.

Yes these are honey pot ants. I have tried adding food coloring but sometimes I just like their natural look of black and white with red head