28 replies to this topic

[PTAntFan]

These tiny creatures have overrun one of my formicariums.  So far there appear to be no detrimental effects on my Pogonomyrmex queen and sole worker, but who can be sure they aren't eating her eggs and brood?  When I say overrun I truly mean it, they are simply crawling ALL over the outworld.  They are each a fraction of a mm.

 

 

 

Termites?

[LC3]

The look like book lice but I have absolutely 0 clue what they are.

[BrittonLS]

How old is your formicarium? Did you make sure your substrate was sanitized before using it?

[Billy]

I think they are book lice. I had them in a Myrmica rubra colony I used to have. They seem to like the same kind of food as ants, so they'll be tough to get rid of, but they seem to be harmless. 

[PTAntFan]

This substrate was not sanitized and in fact sat on my shelf for about 3 years. Didn't even think about that. Disturbing to think that say dormant until water and resources were available.
It's new this season Brit.

[PTAntFan]

Aside from spreading somewhere I don't want them, they seem kinda beneficial being eaters of mold and mildew. If they're competing with the ants for resources though, I'm not sure what I'd do. Moved the ants I guess.

[LC3]

Aside from spreading somewhere I don't want them, they seem kinda beneficial being eaters of mold and mildew. If they're competing with the ants for resources though, I'm not sure what I'd do. Moved the ants I guess.

Some book lice eat mold and as the name indicates some eat books... so keep and eye on your books

[PTAntFan]

Actually, what I read tonight is that the glue in book covers can trap moisture which produces mildew and attracts them. They don't eat paper.

[LC3]

Actually, what I read tonight is that the glue in book covers can trap moisture which produces mildew and attracts them. They don't eat paper.

interesting.. still books none the less

Edited by LC3, August 31 2015 - 6:27 PM.

[BrittonLS]

Yes, from the two and a half minutes of research I did on the subject I now consider myself an expert on, they definitely look like book lice. And I 'imagine' they wouldn't be harmful to your ants, they probably just like the moisture and it got them going. Just watch them in case you just see them all rounding up around your ant larva or something and make sure you can keep them contained. I know as a newbie I keep being tempted by 'it's just dirt I'll just throw it in there' but I think this might be a good scared straight reminder to me personally lol. 

 

Also you might want to check your books.

 

Lol

[PTAntFan]

Total scared straight moment.

And I certainly didn't mean to imply any level of knowledge on them other than commenting on what I'd been reading. Another thing I saw was 5000+ species, so who knows what trouble they could get up to, books or otherwise.

I'm not too hopeful for the queen and her one worker anyway. 😒

[BrittonLS]

Total scared straight moment.

And I certainly didn't mean to imply any level of knowledge on them other than commenting on what I'd been reading. Another thing I saw was 5000+ species, so who knows what trouble they could get up to, books or otherwise.

I'm not too hopeful for the queen and her one worker anyway.

 

Heh, I just meant I knew next to nothing about them. I saw the exact same thing and turned around too lol

[dspdrew]

I have book lice all over in some of my colonies. It's usually drier environments where they seem to be abundant. It is true they eat mold, and I even got some video of them though my microscope just feasting on it. I think these, springtails, and the little white compost mites I also have in my setups are good because they eliminate old left over organic material that grows mold, and even mold itself.

[Crystals]

Reasons like this are why all of my outworlds are easily swapable.

 

I can just throw a new outworld on, and toss the old one in the freezer.  In the past I have had Detritus mites, they are extremely annoying, as in some of my outworlds, because they gum up my escape barriers and allow my ants to walk over it. Luckily I got rid of all of the mites..

 

Some types of book worms (book lice) can also do some damage to drywall, or the inside of walls.  I only know this because a co-worker had to gut her entire basement anf fumigate on top of it because the type she had were causing her drywall to collapse (after who knows how many years of uncaught infestation).

[NightsWebs]

ok Crystals that just sounded icky!

[Crystals]

ok Crystals that just sounded icky!

The detritus mites or the book worms?

[William. T]

Plug up the nest entrance. Remove all the food sources. Take a small handheld vacuum and do it for 5 minutes. If you have it, get some diatomaceous earth to dry them out. And lastly, clean up all food that your ants ignore.

[Crystals]

Perhaps while the nest is plugged, use a dust buster to vacuum up all the substrate and then bake it at 450 for an hour.  Then once it cools down, put it back in.

[dspdrew]

Here's a video I got of some booklice. I had a great video that showed them eating where you could literally see the mold moving through their body as they ate it, but my crappy phone died and corrupted the video.

 

In this video you can still see the green mold inside their bodies.

 

[Works4TheGood]

When Alexander Fleming accidentally sneezed on his petri dish, he didn't toss it away or try to clean it, but he instead studied the effects using the Experimental Method. You might consider just trying to control the lice population rather than get frustrated trying to eradicate it. So long as you can find a means of keeping the lice population contained and under control, the lice sound like they are beneficial, right? I'd contemplate just rolling with it so long as you have plenty of other colonies in case of failure and for comparison. ... but that's all just my 2 cents. Good luck regardless!