Jump to content

  • Gallery
  • Members
  • Member Map
  • Chat
  •  
  •  

Welcome to Formiculture.com!

This is a website for anyone interested in Myrmecology and all aspects of finding, keeping, and studying ants. The site and forum are free to use. Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation points to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!

Photo

AntsCali's Marvelous Myrmecocystus "Purpleblacks'

Started By AntsCali098 , Mar 19 2024 6:57 PM

  • Please log in to reply
10 replies to this topic

#1 Offline AntsCali098 - Posted March 19 2024 - 6:57 PM

AntsCali098

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,033 posts
  • LocationLong Beach, California (SoCal)
This is a long overdue journal.

I caught a single purpleblack queen during my desert trip last August. She immediately laid a huge batch of eggs!

Screenshot_20240318-192152.png

She then got workers a few weeks later, and a relatively large first gen.

https://youtu.be/4dg...-6hVWPywmQk0PiV

Like most of my ants, the queen has just laid some eggs after winter that have now turned into some small larvae!

Thanks for checking out my journal!
  • Dan_Not_Found, TacticalHandleGaming, futurebird and 4 others like this

Interested buying in ants? Feel free to check out my shop! 

Feel free to read my journals, like this one.

 

Wishlist:

Atta sp (wish they were in CA), Crematogaster cerasi, Most Pheidole species

 

 

#2 Offline futurebird - Posted March 20 2024 - 2:57 AM

futurebird

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 836 posts
  • LocationNew York City, NY

Excited to see what comes next for this colony. How did you spot the queen? Was there a mating flight? Or was she just wandering around?


  • AntsCali098 likes this

Starting this July I'm posting videos of my ants every week on youTube.

I like to make relaxing videos that capture the joy of watching ants.

If that sounds like your kind of thing... follow me >here<. 

#3 Offline The_Gaming-gate - Posted March 20 2024 - 4:17 AM

The_Gaming-gate

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 501 posts
  • LocationOrlando, Florida. USA.
What a beautiful queen! I love the way honeypots look. I’m excited to see the progress of this colony!
  • AntsCali098 likes this

Ants are small creatures... but together... they can rule the world.

 

 

 

#4 Offline AntsCali098 - Posted March 20 2024 - 1:07 PM

AntsCali098

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,033 posts
  • LocationLong Beach, California (SoCal)

Excited to see what comes next for this colony. How did you spot the queen? Was there a mating flight? Or was she just wandering around?


She flew to my blacklight. I originally thought she was a M.navajo queen in the dark but when I got home I realized. She still had wings and was flying, so I assumed she was unfertilized, but thankfully I still collected her!

Interested buying in ants? Feel free to check out my shop! 

Feel free to read my journals, like this one.

 

Wishlist:

Atta sp (wish they were in CA), Crematogaster cerasi, Most Pheidole species

 

 

#5 Offline TacticalHandleGaming - Posted March 21 2024 - 5:38 AM

TacticalHandleGaming

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 743 posts
  • LocationOregon
Very interesting coloration! I look forward to seeing her colony grow!
  • AntsCali098 likes this

Currently kept species

L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.

 

Previously kept species

T. rugatulus, B. depilis.

 

Looking for

Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus

Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans

My youtube channel.  My ant Etsy store - Millennium Ants

#6 Offline AntsCali098 - Posted March 21 2024 - 7:41 AM

AntsCali098

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,033 posts
  • LocationLong Beach, California (SoCal)

Excited to see what comes next for this colony. How did you spot the queen? Was there a mating flight? Or was she just wandering around?


She flew to my blacklight. I originally thought she was a M.navajo queen in the dark but when I got home I realized. She still had wings and was flying, so I assumed she was unfertilized, but thankfully I still collected her!

I just realized I wrote that for my Aphaenogaster megammota queen, not this one lol.

Anyways I caught 11 of them during that trip, in the morning and day. There was a bunch of founding chambers around and most had purpleblack queens. I noticed a few were still building their chambers, so I'm guessing they flew earlier that morning.
  • TacticalHandleGaming and futurebird like this

Interested buying in ants? Feel free to check out my shop! 

Feel free to read my journals, like this one.

 

Wishlist:

Atta sp (wish they were in CA), Crematogaster cerasi, Most Pheidole species

 

 

#7 Offline AntsCali098 - Posted June 5 2024 - 5:27 PM

AntsCali098

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,033 posts
  • LocationLong Beach, California (SoCal)

Its been a while...but they obviously have workers now. They should probably have more, but for some reason the brood just keeps disappearing before it gets past larval stage. Not too sure what's happening there. Anyways, they have about 15 workers with hopefully more to come. They have 1 or 2 small larvae at the moment.

 

purpleblacks

 

Thanks for checking out my journal!


  • TacticalHandleGaming and AsdinAnts like this

Interested buying in ants? Feel free to check out my shop! 

Feel free to read my journals, like this one.

 

Wishlist:

Atta sp (wish they were in CA), Crematogaster cerasi, Most Pheidole species

 

 

#8 Offline kiedeerk - Posted June 5 2024 - 5:47 PM

kiedeerk

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 231 posts
Myrmecocystus are very weird and unpredictable. They are picky eaters and have many random deaths. your colony should always have a decent brood pile which I don’t see. They should have brood from all stages at this point. So something is probably wrong whether temperature, humidity, lack of substrate, food intake etc… you have to fix something by ruling out every one of them

Edited by kiedeerk, June 5 2024 - 5:48 PM.

  • AntsCali098 likes this

#9 Offline AntsCali098 - Posted June 5 2024 - 5:51 PM

AntsCali098

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,033 posts
  • LocationLong Beach, California (SoCal)

Myrmecocystus are very weird and unpredictable. They are picky eaters and have many random deaths. your colony should always have a decent brood pile which I don’t see. They should have brood from all stages at this point. So something is probably wrong whether temperature, humidity, lack of substrate, food intake etc… you have to fix something by ruling out every one of them

I'll try feeding more. They have a heat cable and some substrate, and are in a test tube setup so I don't see a humidity issue.


Interested buying in ants? Feel free to check out my shop! 

Feel free to read my journals, like this one.

 

Wishlist:

Atta sp (wish they were in CA), Crematogaster cerasi, Most Pheidole species

 

 

#10 Offline AsdinAnts - Posted June 5 2024 - 5:57 PM

AsdinAnts

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 410 posts
  • LocationSanta Clarita, SoCal
it doesn’t look like much substrate based on the photo..

Currently keeping
-T. immigrans

-B. patagonicus

-P. ???
I will want to also keep some other lasius types in the future.
You should also subscribe to my youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/@AsdAnts

#11 Offline AntsCali098 - Posted June 5 2024 - 6:41 PM

AntsCali098

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,033 posts
  • LocationLong Beach, California (SoCal)

it doesn’t look like much substrate based on the photo..

There's more out of view


Edited by AntsCali098, June 5 2024 - 6:41 PM.

Interested buying in ants? Feel free to check out my shop! 

Feel free to read my journals, like this one.

 

Wishlist:

Atta sp (wish they were in CA), Crematogaster cerasi, Most Pheidole species

 

 

Back to Ant Keeping Journals · Next Unread Topic →


1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users