51 replies to this topic

[100lols]

Stunning! I’m glad the move worked out and the colony is thriving. I would imagine a little sugar fast is probably good for them every now and then as in the wild sugar is not infinite. I’m taking major inspiration from you in attempting to found a few colonies of mexicanus this year.

[Locness]

Love that the queen and brood are sitting at the top, perfect for viewing. Will you keep them heated throughout winter?

[UtahAnts]

I'm planning on it, last year the brood didn't develop very quickly over the winter, but that may have been due to the lower ambient temperature of the room.

[dspdrew]

That's an amazing colony and pictures. I have a pretty big colony that's over eight years old now, so they can be around for a very long time. My colony has died way off and gotten really big again quite a few times over the years. I wish I could get pictures as good as yours, but it's in a dirt nest, so it's hard.

[ben]

Wow awesome pictures! I was just wondering how the project turned out after the transfer. Looks like they’re thriving, you’ve got quite the colony on your hands. Glad to see the base is holding up as well.

I just received my own mexicanus Queen a couple weeks ago and it’s soooo hard to not check on her. She seems to have laid a giant first clutch of eggs, fingers crossed that I can get to your colony’s size!

[antsriondel]

Wow that is colony is huge! It's incredible that you made all of those formicarium's yourself as they are just beautiful. 

[UtahAnts]

October - November 2023 - More Repletes

Updated the original post.

 

They continue to grow at a steady pace. I've been feeding them about 5 crickets a week, any more and they might outgrow the nest. I haven't been giving the colony a huge supply of nectar, but they do get a refill to their THA liquid feeder every week as well. Repletes and various sizes of workers continue to eclose every day. Next update will hopefully include a full 360 degree video. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forgot to include this from a few months ago-

 

https://www.youtube....rts/j6XBi5H9CAg

 

 

Half an hour of the upper portion colony.

 

 

 

 

 

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Care Tip: When this species grows into the full capacity of their formicarium, I've noticed a slowing of growth. An upgraded formicarium may encourage faster growth. As a general rule, whenever repletes cover the ceiling, and pupae cover the floor, it's time for a new formicarium. A couple years ago before this colony here, I had a colony that never outgrew their THA mini hearth. However I believe they were constrained by the nest itself. Had they been given more space the colony could have expanded by creating new repletes. Just be sure to have a nest upgrade on hand, especially for smaller, growing colonies.

 

Conversely, limiting the size of the formicarium may be a valid method to cap population - for example if you want to keep a smaller, manageable colony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ernteameise]

This simply is an amazing colony in a stunning display nest.

 

Good observation on nest size limiting growth- however, from what I have seen from other keepers, this might not apply to all species.

[100lols]

What can I say man! I’m one of your biggest fans haha

Thank you so much for the care tips. Your journal has been such a valuable resource for me. It’s incredible how awesome this forum is & it’s because of people like you [mention]UtahAnts [/mention] !!!

I’m working on a dome nest like yours btw. Finally found an acrylic dome Christmas decoration that will work at the dollar store.

[UtahAnts]

Glad to hear it! I'd love to see some pictures of the process or final product when that formicarium is finished.

[UtahAnts]

December 2023 - Winter  

Updated the original post.

 

The colony has slowed, although they are still growing in numbers. They continue to get a new supply of nectar every few weeks, which the workers are quick to store in the resident repletes. I'll upload a full video of the colony eventually. 

 

 

 

 

Picture above from this video: https://www.youtube....rts/4zMgm8eLPgU

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ANTdrew]

Legendary setup!

[BleepingBleepers]

This journal so makes me want to reconsider my idea of not getting honeypots due to lack of space. But I must hold myself strong and be responsible. Say no to drugs...uh...I mean more ants than I can handle.

 

Really love the GIFs and videos.

 

I'm a visual person and my journal is starting to fill up with pictures too, so I love this journal as it's very eye appealing. Gave ya a 5 star, def deserve it for the effort, showcasing and unique formicaria setup.

Edited by BleepingBleepers, December 28 2023 - 2:12 PM.

[Ernteameise]

Love reading this journal.

Beautiful setup, amazing pictures. It is a joy to follow.

[UtahAnts]

January 2024 - Winter 

Updated the original post.

 

The colony remained heated throughout winter, but their growth rate definitely slowed. I was keeping the population steady around 1k by feeding about 5 crickets a week. Queen remains healthy and can often be seen around the upper tiers of the nest. Interestingly she has stopped hanging upside down but over the last few months has preferred to be upright on the levels. I was sure to include a few more care tips and videos below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Care tip: I believe I've mentioned this but I want to reiterate: the repletes need a rough surface to hang from. Glass and smooth plastic is not optimal for repletes. I would always recommend these colonies be housed in a composite nest. If you have a plastic setup for them, coat the interior to provide grip for the repletes to hang from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Care tip: ensure the setup has airflow. When a colony reaches a suitable size, they will consume a considerable amount of air. Luckily, this species is not known to gas themselves with formic acid but they do appreciate airflow. Living in the desert, the air in my house is dry which suites the species just fine. But they will need a water/humidity source to offset the dry air. As with any colony, the larger the humidity gradient the higher the chance the ants can find something they like. So be sure to aerate your setup so that a gradient can form. In my case I used two tubes running through the nest covered with mesh to allow for a convection air current to form from the heating pad below.

 

 

 

 

 

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Care tip: Diversity of sugars is important even if it doesn't seem like it. The repletes can hold sugars for months if not longer and the colony cycles and redistributes sugars from repletes, sometimes filling new repletes and retiring the old. This allows the colony to live off of scarce sugar sources for extended periods of time. However I still recommend a rotation of sugars, especially during spring and fall seasons. While this colony loves hummingbird nectar, they really appreciate a fresh nectarine among other sugar water sources, and a change in sugars can often be seen to lead to a boom in eggs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

This colony is  getting bigger and bigger by the days!

Edited by GOCAMPONOTUS, March 3 2024 - 9:15 PM.

[cokski]

wow! i want to know if you can sell me like 200 colony with a queen?

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

Post at the marketplace and add your location. Put what species you want and name your price.

[UtahAnts]

February 2024 - The End (for now) 

Updated the original post.

 

The colony is still alive and well, I just gave them to a young enthusiast in my area last month. I will be moving out of state sometime this year and I needed to relocate the colony. They were my last colony from this journal, and I'll miss them for sure but they will continue to live on. I'll update again when I get some pictures from their new location.

 

Overall the month was pretty standard as far as growth went. I heated the colony for most of the winter, and they continued to hover somewhere around 1k. However as I getting ready to move the colony, I happened to notice the queen whose abdomen looked a bit swollen, likely from a large batch of spring eggs. Given a few more years, assuming the colony remained stable, we might have seen alates. Once everything settles a bit I'd love to try again. The species was a joy to keep and this colony lived up to their reputation. This thread will be back eventually - in the mean time enjoy these last few pictures and videos. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the severed replete abdomen at the bottom of the image. This is pretty commonplace among honeypots as way to preserve a replete's crop. 

 

 

 

 

 

More short videos.

 

https://www.youtube....rts/oW0JNOjcqlg

 

https://www.youtube....rts/wc8Zcp4Wf7I

 

https://www.youtube....rts/Jz-m0XLYIdw

 

 

 

Here's a few videos I never got around to posting. There might be a few repeats but they really capture the behaviors and look of the colony.

 

https://www.youtube....rts/4zMgm8eLPgU

 

https://www.youtube....rts/ND2hjNYVTpE

 

https://www.youtube....rts/0yM_m-LBD5U

 

https://www.youtube....rts/P6_wFb_RG_8

 

https://www.youtube....rts/ek6imR411Bo

 

https://www.youtube....rts/OKcH90Wf4DY

 

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> Link to full playlist here <

 

 

 

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And it's only fitting to end where it all began. The queen is probably now about 2.5 years old at the time of writing. 

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

No, I'm so sorry you had to give this colony away it was a joy watching them grow.