13 replies to this topic

[bmb1bee]

This journal will be just be documenting some miscellaneous small ants I currently own, in no particular grouping of its own other than size.

 

Current species (9/21/2023):

Solenopsis 'molesta-group' sp.

Temnothorax cf. andrei

Pheidole cf. yaqui

Hypoponera sp.

 

Past species:

Brachymyrmex patagonicus

Cardiocondyla cf. mauritanica

Monomorium ergatogyna

Pheidole navigans

Pheidole 'pilifera-group' sp.

Edited by bmb1bee, September 23 2023 - 10:18 AM.

[bmb1bee]

Solenopsis 'molesta-group' sp. (9/21/23):

 

I received a colony of these with 3 queens and a few workers from a trade with a friend back when I got my Camponotus sayi colony. These tiny ants seem to really like crushed seeds and fish flakes, as do most of my other myrmecines. Unfortunately, one of the queens killed off the other two. Turns out that this type is only temporarily pleometrotic and not polygynous. Regardless, they have a decent amount of brood and at least a couple dozen workers.

 

Edited by bmb1bee, September 22 2023 - 7:38 AM.

[bmb1bee]

Temnothorax cf. andrei (9/21/23):

 

This queen I got from M14Mason in a trade. At first we thought it was just a Solenopsis molesta queen, but I noticed a couple small differences like the shape of the thorax and how large the pupa was compared to actual S. molesta pupae. I'm guessing T. andrei as a species due to coloration and range. Despite me heating her, she just has a pupa, a big larva, and some smaller larvae and eggs. Seems like Temnothorax as a genus don't grow too fast. Regardless, these look like a pretty cute and interesting species to try out...

 

Edited by bmb1bee, September 22 2023 - 7:38 AM.

[bmb1bee]

Pheidole cf. yaqui (9/21/23):

 

I got two of these queens from 100lols here on Formiculture for a trade. They both have a large amount of brood, which is pretty good for Pheidole. Each queen is around 6.5 mm in length, which make it the largest species in this list of small ants. These were much bigger than the Pheidole californica queens that I'd owned in the past, so they were definitely some other kind of Pheidole 'pilifera-group' species. ReignofRage guessed that they were likely P. yaqui, but I'll have to wait until workers to completely verify the species. 

 

Edited by bmb1bee, September 22 2023 - 7:36 AM.

[bmb1bee]

Hypoponera sp. (9/21/23):

 

I dug up a small colony of Hypoponera around last week in San Jose. These were under a large redwood tree for some reason, just nesting under a rock in the damp soil by the roots. I didn't get any brood, which makes me believe there is more to the colony. I dug up 3 ergatoid queens and a few dozen workers from the same tree before summer, but those desiccated unfortunately. They're still here though so there may be more ergatoid queens. I believe I may have found one due to its size, but that might not be the case since I don't see any eggs. I'll be moving them to a proper petri dish setup later on. This colony has a total of a couple dozen workers and loves to eat small, soft insects.

 

Edited by bmb1bee, September 21 2023 - 10:52 PM.

[bmb1bee]

That wraps up my short entries for these 4 species. Hopefully I can add more to this list sometime…

Edited by bmb1bee, September 22 2023 - 5:27 AM.

[100lols]

This should be fun! Definitely going to be workers soon in the Pheidole colony

[bmb1bee]

By the way, if anyone notices any spelling, punctuation, or grammar mistakes, it’s just because I was on the brink of falling asleep while making this journal lmao… I’ll do my best to edit them, so feel free to point any errors out.

[bmb1bee]

Temnothorax cf. andrei (9/23/23):

 

Just a minor update, but the single pupa just eclosed! This queen now has one callow nanitic, which is about twice the size of a Solenopsis molesta worker. There is also one big larva and two eggs.

 

[bmb1bee]

Pheidole cf. yaqui (9/23/23):

 

Another minor update; these Pheidole also got their first workers! It feels pretty accomplishing to have two different species get their workers on the very same day, even though I'm not the one that was taking care of the brood lmao.

 

[Ernteameise]

OMG these newborns are so cute!

[antsriondel]

Great job! Love the Pheidole callows!

[100lols]

Ooo! Time to check on my Pheidole queens as well. Awesome pictures

[bmb1bee]

Thanks guys! I'll be sure to try and improve on my pictures.