21 replies to this topic

[Bercag]

I had 4 queens of this(Now 3) and want to share my experiences because there isn't so many guys keeping them and sharing their experiences.

[Swirlysnowflake]

My PFP!

Very cool, anyways. Would love to see pics. These ants are adorable. 

[Manitobant]

Have they laid eggs yet? And where were these queens found?

[TennesseeAnts]

I had 4 queens of this(Now 3) and want to share my experiences because there isn't so many guys keeping them and sharing their experiences.

Very nice! Be sure that they have high moisture in their nests. I found petri dishes with cotton and a thin layer of soil work best. The queens are also semi claustral, and will need to forage for spider eggs. Good luck with them!

[Swirlysnowflake]

 

I had 4 queens of this(Now 3) and want to share my experiences because there isn't so many guys keeping them and sharing their experiences.

Very nice! Be sure that they have high moisture in their nests. I found petri dishes with cotton and a thin layer of soil work best. The queens are also semi claustral, and will need to forage for spider eggs. Good luck with them!

 

How do you go about finding enough spider eggs to sustain the queens?

[TennesseeAnts]

 

 

I had 4 queens of this(Now 3) and want to share my experiences because there isn't so many guys keeping them and sharing their experiences.

Very nice! Be sure that they have high moisture in their nests. I found petri dishes with cotton and a thin layer of soil work best. The queens are also semi claustral, and will need to forage for spider eggs. Good luck with them!

 

How do you go about finding enough spider eggs to sustain the queens?

 

Its not easy, but It's best to breed the spiders and select the newest eggs. For a while I did have to go find eggs and steal them from their moms though, lol. 

[Bercag]

I got them from another ant keeper in Turkey.There were 4 queens with wings.
The first thing i tried was giving them a mealworm part because they known as spider egg specialist and "they don't accept any other food".Suprisingly they ate it!


After that i tried 2 different species of moth larva parts and cottonball that i dipped into sugar-water.They ate/drank them all.3 of them broke their wings and 1 of them died.(One of the winglesses)



I'm going to make a post about the setup I'm using in the future.(Sorry for the bad photo quality that is the best i can do)

[Manitobant]

I've heard they will also accept ant eggs, though i don't know how true this is.

Edited by Manitobant, December 8 2020 - 2:22 PM.

[Bercag]

Have they laid eggs yet? And where were these queens found?

I don't know I'm using a test tube with sand and coco peat in it so it is not that easy to observe inside the nest.They dig into sand and nesting really close to the cotton

[Manitobant]

They will probably need hibernation first. Keep them at around 10 degrees or maybe a bit lower.

[TennesseeAnts]

I've heard they will also accept ant eggs, though i don't know how true this is.

Usually this is the case. 

I got them from another ant keeper in Turkey.There were 4 queens with wings.
The first thing i tried was giving them a mealworm part because they known as spider egg specialist and "they don't accept any other food".Suprisingly they ate it!
P01021-201633.jpg
P01021-201650.jpg
After that i tried 2 different species of moth larva parts and cottonball that i dipped into sugar-water.They ate/drank them all.3 of them broke their wings and 1 of them died.(One of the winglesses)
P01208-231218.jpg
S01209-011424.jpg
S01209-011430.jpg
I'm going to make a post about the setup I'm using in the future.(Sorry for the bad photo quality that is the best i can do)

Yes, the adults will eat other things rich in carbs, but the larvae need arthropod eggs.

[Bercag]

I've heard they will also accept ant eggs, though i don't know how true this is.

Probably.I don't really know about how much does it take egg to worker but its been 1 month and i can't see any workers.

They will probably need hibernation first. Keep them at around 10 degrees or maybe a bit lower.

Will try it

[Bercag]

I've heard they will also accept ant eggs, though i don't know how true this is.

Usually this is the case. 

I got them from another ant keeper in Turkey.There were 4 queens with wings.
The first thing i tried was giving them a mealworm part because they known as spider egg specialist and "they don't accept any other food".Suprisingly they ate it!P01021-201633.jpgP01021-201650.jpg
After that i tried 2 different species of moth larva parts and cottonball that i dipped into sugar-water.They ate/drank them all.3 of them broke their wings and 1 of them died.(One of the winglesses)P01208-231218.jpgS01209-011424.jpgS01209-011430.jpg
I'm going to make a post about the setup I'm using in the future.(Sorry for the bad photo quality that is the best i can do)

Yes, the adults will eat other things rich in carbs, but the larvae need arthropod eggs.

Doesnt mealworm parts and moth larvae parts count as protein?

[Bercag]

My PFP!
Very cool, anyways. Would love to see pics. These ants are adorable.

Yes i like them too.They are not that easy to find for me but i wish i can have a succesfull colony.

[PurdueEntomology]

I have kept various Proceratium native to Tennessee.  I have only fed them spider eggs from the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum.  They are selective regarding eggs.  Only fresh eggs are preferred.  It would be best to overwinter these queens.  In the interregnum work on getting some common spiders especially in the genus Parasteatoda set up so as to have eggs available when the queens come out of hibernation.

[ponerinecat]

 

 

I've heard they will also accept ant eggs, though i don't know how true this is.

Usually this is the case. 

I got them from another ant keeper in Turkey.There were 4 queens with wings.
The first thing i tried was giving them a mealworm part because they known as spider egg specialist and "they don't accept any other food".Suprisingly they ate it!P01021-201633.jpgP01021-201650.jpg
After that i tried 2 different species of moth larva parts and cottonball that i dipped into sugar-water.They ate/drank them all.3 of them broke their wings and 1 of them died.(One of the winglesses)P01208-231218.jpgS01209-011424.jpgS01209-011430.jpg
I'm going to make a post about the setup I'm using in the future.(Sorry for the bad photo quality that is the best i can do)

Yes, the adults will eat other things rich in carbs, but the larvae need arthropod eggs.

Doesnt mealworm parts and moth larvae parts count as protein?

 

Yes, but many specialist ants like proceratium are unusually specific in what types of protein they take. It's like lepidoptera larvae or viruses; all leaves are technically carbs, but each species will only eat some types of plants, and all cells technically have the necessary protein production, but each virus will only infect certain types of cells. Proceratium will probably take more types of food than purely spider eggs, but with our current limited knowledge it seems like a staple among the genus.

[Bercag]

I've heard they will also accept ant eggs, though i don't know how true this is.

Usually this is the case.

I got them from another ant keeper in Turkey.There were 4 queens with wings.
The first thing i tried was giving them a mealworm part because they known as spider egg specialist and "they don't accept any other food".Suprisingly they ate it!P01021-201633.jpgP01021-201650.jpg
After that i tried 2 different species of moth larva parts and cottonball that i dipped into sugar-water.They ate/drank them all.3 of them broke their wings and 1 of them died.(One of the winglesses)P01208-231218.jpgS01209-011424.jpgS01209-011430.jpg
I'm going to make a post about the setup I'm using in the future.(Sorry for the bad photo quality that is the best i can do)

Yes, the adults will eat other things rich in carbs, but the larvae need arthropod eggs.

Doesnt mealworm parts and moth larvae parts count as protein?

Yes, but many specialist ants like proceratium are unusually specific in what types of protein they take. It's like lepidoptera larvae or viruses; all leaves are technically carbs, but each species will only eat some types of plants, and all cells technically have the necessary protein production, but each virus will only infect certain types of cells. Proceratium will probably take more types of food than purely spider eggs, but with our current limited knowledge it seems like a staple among the genus.

I see.Will try to find spiders then.Is there anyone that kept a colony/queen before that ate mealworm?If its tried and queens and colonies starved because of that i can give up on it and feed them only with spider eggs else i can keep trying mealworm and other foods.(I'll give them spider or arthropod eggs if i can find some %100)

Edited by Bercag, December 9 2020 - 12:02 AM.

[Bercag]

This is the test tube setup i made for them.

[PurdueEntomology]

Memnun oldum!!!

[Bercag]

Update: I tried giving them buffalo worm(mini mealworm) eggs.They accepted them and took 4 of 5 of them that i gave.The only one they left is the one i accidently squeezed a little bit probably but I'm not sure.I have a video that one of the queens taking an egg into nest i'll try to post it if i can.
Edit:I have a source of mini mealworm eggs for now.

Edited by Bercag, December 24 2020 - 2:01 PM.