13 replies to this topic

[JAnt]

Hey Everyone,

New Pheidole species journal! I want to introduce the young Pheidole vistana that I’ve been keeping for almost a month now. I received this young colony with a queen and a single worker, along with a pile of brood.

What piqued my interest in this colony is their appearance; they look like larger Pheidole californica, but also what I believe is their first ever major; it’s not the typical “big-headed.” It seems a bit slimmer IMO. They grow fast and are very active foragers.

Queen: 1
Major: 1
Workers: 15

Come check them out!



See the major?!


Close to their first month!

Thanks for checking out this journal!

[AntsCali098]

Nice! Surprising to me that they got a "major" this early. I think it a median?

Edited by AntsCali098, October 20 2023 - 11:27 PM.

[JAnt]

Nice! Surprising to me that they got a "major" this early. I think it a median.

That's also my conclusion, or their major is really like that; we’ll find out as they grow.

To me, it looks more like an oversized worker, OR… we’re looking at the size difference between her nanitics and a regular-sized worker, which actually makes more sense

Edited by JAnt, October 20 2023 - 11:40 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Looking forward to seeing another massive and long lived colony! Great looking species, by the way.

[JAnt]

Looking forward to seeing another massive and long lived colony! Great looking species, by the way.

They’re beautiful! Looking forward when they do

[100lols]

That queen seems a bit too shiny to be P. vistana…

[JAnt]

That queen seems a bit too shiny to be P. vistana…

Do you have another species of Pheidole that comes to mind?

[100lols]

Not sure but they definitely look fallax-group… you should get an ID thread going with some solid pictures. I could be wrong but my gut is it’s not vistana. I’m super curious!

[JAnt]

This colony appears to be very active and healthy! The ants have a similar body to Pheidole desertorum but with shorter legs and a reddish hue. I’ll need assistance to ID them.

[BleepingBleepers]

Wow, you say your colony already got one Major ant with just 15 workers? Maybe these ants have majors a lot sooner. Took my CA02 about 7 months after I got them from a local reptile show for them to get their first Major. I made a video about it in my CA02 journal.

 

Anyhow, very interesting seeing all these different kinds of ants as I'm a bit of a new ant keeper myself.

 

Any updates / pictures / videos on them now?

 

And what future formicarium do you plan to get when the colony grows bigger?

[JAnt]

Wow, you say your colony already got one Major and with just 15 workers? Maybe these ants have majors a lot sooner. Took my CA02 about 7 months after I got them from a local reptile show for them to get their first Major. I made a video about it in my CA02 journal.

Anyhow, very interesting seeing all these different kinds of ants as I'm a bit of a new ant keeper myself.

Any updates / pictures / videos on them now?

And what future formicarium do you plan to get when the colony grows bigger?

That may have been a median worker, I’ve never seen it again in the nest after the colony got bigger.

[JAnt]

Update:


The ant colony is thriving and has grown significantly. I provided them with an outworld, and they found a crack underneath it, which they've turned into their nest.

I was worried when I didn't see any workers in their empty test tube and outworld, thinking they had escaped. However, when I gave them nectar and looked underneath, I found them there.

[AsdinAnts]

geesh, that's a whole lot of brood!
The colony looks fantastic as well, keep it up!

[JAnt]

geesh, that's a whole lot of brood!
The colony looks fantastic as well, keep it up!

Yep, I’m trying to figure out a way to make them move in my THA labyrinth for better observation and a more organized way of doing things.