91 replies to this topic

[Idontexist]

This is a journal for my recently acquired odontomachus queen whom i have been caring for well over 3 days as I'm writing this

Edited by Idontexist, February 6 2024 - 5:33 PM.

[Idontexist]

Todays update is that she now has 2 eggs, maybe even 3 in her test tube

[AsdinAnts]

You shouldn’t put odontomachus queens in test tubes, because of their lack of ability to climb.

[Artisan_Ants]

You shouldn’t put odontomachus queens in test tubes, because of their lack of ability to climb.

Yeah but If there’s substrate then she’ll be fine.

[FormiCanada]

Odontomachus love soil. Some species of foundress queens will make a turret-shaped tunnel into a foundress chamber if you give them adequate amounts of soil. You will find lots of success with most foundress queens with the following food types (they're semi-Claustral, meaning they will need food to raise their first brood):

- Fruit Flies

- Wax Worms (Diced)

- Mealworms (Diced) 
- Crickets (Diced)

 

It is recommended to have all protein-rich foods dropped in a cup of boiled water to discourage harmful Acarus mite growth within the test tube.

What species are you keeping?

[Idontexist]

Odontomachus love soil. Some species of foundress queens will make a turret-shaped tunnel into a foundress chamber if you give them adequate amounts of soil. You will find lots of success with most foundress queens with the following food types (they're semi-Claustral, meaning they will need food to raise their first brood):

- Fruit Flies
- Wax Worms (Diced)
- Mealworms (Diced)
- Crickets (Diced)

It is recommended to have all protein-rich foods dropped in a cup of boiled water to discourage harmful Acarus mite growth within the test tube.
What species are you keeping?

I do not know and I'm currently trying to identify the species but i have noticed that they lay more eggs if soil is added into their test tube

[ANTdrew]

I wonder if Hightlyze will come back, too?

[Artisan_Ants]

Odontomachus love soil. Some species of foundress queens will make a turret-shaped tunnel into a foundress chamber if you give them adequate amounts of soil. You will find lots of success with most foundress queens with the following food types (they're semi-Claustral, meaning they will need food to raise their first brood):
- Fruit Flies
- Wax Worms (Diced)
- Mealworms (Diced)
- Crickets (Diced)
It is recommended to have all protein-rich foods dropped in a cup of boiled water to discourage harmful Acarus mite growth within the test tube.
What species are you keeping?

I do not know and I'm currently trying to identify the species but i have noticed that they lay more eggs if soil is added into their test tube

I mean, practically every species in the genus Odontomachus thrives in soil/substrate right? In founding it’s important though.

[michiganantsinmyyard]

Not gonna lie Idontexist, your grammar is better, and you seem to be actually doing well. I hope this is a new era for you.

[JesseTheAntKid]

 

You shouldn’t put odontomachus queens in test tubes, because of their lack of ability to climb.

Yeah but If there’s substrate then she’ll be fine.

 

do tightly pack it though.

[BleepingBleepers]

GL with your journal, I hope you include some pics and videos later on, I love pictures and videos that you guys post of your ants.

 

I also have a bad memory and new to ants so many of the ants you guys post, I don't know what they are, but picture does help when I click and instantly see it. Google image it is!

[Idontexist]

No real update although i have been feeding her fruit flies that show up on my window snd other insects. what is the time it takes for the eggs to hatch? Speaking about eggs she seems very protective of them and carries them around

[Idontexist]

Crushing them up seems to be more efective than live feeding

[Artisan_Ants]

No real update although i have been feeding her fruit flies that show up on my window snd other insects. what is the time it takes for the eggs to hatch? Speaking about eggs she seems very protective of them and carries them around

Don’t keep them myself, but I believe that it can take a while (they’re very closely related to bull ants is some way so for egg to worker is like 3-4 months; probably even longer) but this all depends on how much protein you give them per day. If you put them on heating (unless they’re already on heating) then expect much faster growth. Had a S. molesta queen near my heater, and her workers died off so I lost hope on her, but I fed her and she came back with a clutch of eggs. She went from egg to worker in about 1 1/2 week; which blew my mind. Anyways, If you want faster development just give her large amounts of protein like fruit fly for some amount of days, and then a mealworm, (or any larger prey) and set her on heating.

Edited by Artisan_Ants, February 5 2024 - 6:01 PM.

[ANTS_KL]

Don’t keep them myself, but I believe that it can take a while (they’re very closely related to bull ants is some way so for egg to worker is like 3-4 months; probably even longer) but this all depends on how much protein you give them per day. If you put them on heating (unless they’re already on heating) then expect much faster growth. Had a S. molesta queen near my heater, and her workers died off so I lost hope on her, but I fed her and she came back with a clutch of eggs. She went from egg to worker in about 1 1/2 week; which blew my mind. Anyways, If you want faster development just give her large amounts of protein like fruit fly for some amount of days, and then a mealworm, (or any larger prey) and set her on heating.

They aren't related to bull ants that closely. They're pretty distant, with Pseudomyrmecinae being the closest subfamily to Myrmeciinae if I recall. If you're making a guess based on resemblance, then be expected to have a very low accuracy. Ants are weird, a lot of different ants that look nothing similar to one another are pretty closely related.

Anyways, Odontomachus have a pretty similar development time among all species, which would be around 1 month for eggs to hatch, 1-2 weeks for larvae to pupate, around a month for pupae to enclose.

[Idontexist]

Well that sounds like a very long time does it?

[Artisan_Ants]

Well that sounds like a very long time does it?

Yeah, this genus is for advanced keepers, but if you have patience then they’re not so hard to take care of.

[Idontexist]

Waiting is no problem for me, you have to be patient with these guys

[Idontexist]

My god, she has already laid an estimate of 5 eggs! that's pretty cool

[SYUTEO]

One thing to look out for when keeping Ponerinae in test tubes is larvae failing to pupate, even when soil is added. In my experience, almost all the larvae in the second generation fail to pupate when raised in a test tube and I still don't know why the first generation succeeded but the next didn't. For me, this seemed to only happen in Odontomachus. Anochetus managed to get to third or fourth generation before having these issues and I never got Odontoponera to successfully pupate. The only time I got a colony past the second generation of workers is when I housed them in a dirt setup where they can dig freely. Maybe I'm just unlucky because I've heard of some people who kept their colonies in test tubes for years without having any pupation difficulties. Hopefully you won't encounter this issue, good luck.