41 replies to this topic

[TheAntKid]

This is were I will be posting all ant colony updates. (P.S. check out my Youtube at https://www.youtube....ening935/videos and my instagram at @noahsantsandplants) 

I hope you enjoy  

 

[TheAntKid]

The ant colonies:

A cone ant queen w/ brood (bad picture)

A Monomorium minimum queen (possibly infertile)

1 Nylanderia queen with 2 callow nanitics (This was a two queen colony, but the other stared attacking the queen in the image)

2 Nylanderia queens with 4-5 callow nanitics in a test tube w/ wet sand.

1 Nylanderia queen with 0 nanitics

 

Sorry about some of the images 

[Stubyvast]

Cool colonies! In the last image I can see the headless remains of a winged nylanderia queen. I assume there was a fight for dominance here too? 

[TheAntKid]

Cool colonies! In the last image I can see the headless remains of a winged nylanderia queen. I assume there was a fight for dominance here too? 

No, there was one queen who had died, but I thought that she might be able to recover, and she ended up not recovering, and there was another queen, but I don't remember what happened to her, I think there might have been a fight, but again, I'm not sure.

[TheAntKid]

I checked on my Forelius mccooki queen and Tetramorium caespitum queen yesterday.

The Forelius queen has a nice brood pile.

The Tetramorium caespitum queen has some nice pupae, but when I was cleaning up some moldy karo syrup I tried to feed her a month and a half ago, one pupa fell out, and one larva looks smooshed, but she still has enough brood to get her colony started.

[TheAntKid]

I also caught two Hypoponera queens yesterday, so any tips on how to care for them would be much appreciated.

Edited by TheAntKid, July 3 2024 - 9:32 PM.

[ANTdrew]

In my experience with Nylanderia vividula, queens will not found colonies together. They do best alone. Also, they do not need any sand.

Edited by ANTdrew, July 4 2024 - 2:21 AM.

[michiganantsinmyyard]

I also caught two Hypoponera queens yesterday, so any tips on how to care for them would be much appreciated.

They don’t really need sugars at all, focus on feeding them proteins. Because of their size, it’s more convenient to feed them springtails, termites, pinhead crickets, fruit flies etc. They do need fairly high moisture, so I would recommend a little sterile sand for the tube. As Antdrew said, you really don’t have to fill the tube up with sand. In the situation with hypoponera, it would be even worse because their size limits the visibility you have, and makes it much harder for them to actually locate food. Feed them in the tube for as long as possible, these aren’t ants who forage on the surface regularly.

[TheAntKid]

Update:

My Tetramorium caespitum queen has her first workers. She has four of them right now and she has one more pupe that should hatch soon and they still have some brood. 

I currently have 3 Camponotus pennsylvanicus colonies and they all seem to be doing well. One colony has two workers+brood, another colony has two pupa and a nice amount of brood, and the other with just some brood. 

I have two Formica incerta queens and they each have gotten their first workers. One queen is on her second brood pile and has about 7 workers, and the other queen has two workers and some pupae that are still forming, as well as what might be a small pile of eggs. 

My Nyladeria colonies are still doing well although one colony that was living in a sand test tube did die because the sand collapsed on them. However, the other two colonies are doing pretty good and have both gotten their first workers and seem have some brood. 

My Forelius sp. queen is doing well with her first worker already foraging and still having a small batch of larvae and eggs. 

I have 3 solenopsis invicta colonies but there is one that I would like to put in the spotlight right now. That would be my 2 queen colony that has a nice pile of brood and two workers. 

[TheAntKid]

I also caught two Hypoponera queens yesterday, so any tips on how to care for them would be much appreciated.

These queens died, but i was recently able to collect a total of 4 hypoponera queens, and about 5-6 strumigenys queens, and 1 myrmecina americana queen. All of these queens are in terrariums, with the exception of 1 hypoponera queen, whom i am trying to raise in a test tube with soil.

They all seem healthy, and I hope that these colonies thrive. 
BTW, I have 3 terrariums in total, 1 housing the myrmecina americana queen, 2 hypoponera queens, and 2-3 strumigenys queens. The second is housing 1 hypoponera queen, and 2 strumigenys queens. The third is housing a monomorium minimum queen, and a strumigenys queen.

Edited by TheAntKid, July 15 2024 - 1:48 PM.

[TheAntKid]

I fed all of the colonies today, and I was able to see a strumigenys queen carrying a freshly caught springtail.
BTW, there is some mold in one of the terrariums, I know that the springtails and isopods should clean it up, but if it gets bad, what course of action should I take?

[ANTdrew]

I fed all of the colonies today, and I was able to see a strumigenys queen carrying a freshly caught springtail.
BTW, there is some mold in one of the terrariums, I know that the springtails and isopods should clean it up, but if it gets bad, what course of action should I take?

Increase ventilation and let the setup dry out some more.

[TheAntKid]

Just caught a camponotus casteanus queen with 1 pupa (it got a little squeezed in transport), and a tapinoma sessile queen with 5-7 workers and a larva a couple hours ago, but the queen seems darker than most tapinoma sessile queens that I usually see, any ideas for what she is?

Edited by TheAntKid, July 18 2024 - 5:55 PM.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

Any pics?

[TheAntKid]

No, but upon further inspection, she is tapinoma sessile, and for some reason, her workers died. I put her in a homemade plaster test tube setup, and she should be fine.

[ANTdrew]

Why keep Tapinoma sessile?

[michiganantsinmyyard]

No, but upon further inspection, she is tapinoma sessile, and for some reason, her workers died. I put her in a homemade plaster test tube setup, and she should be fine.

If her workers are all dead, and there aren’t going to be new ones soon then her chances of survival are low. You’re probably going to have to feed her proteins and sugars so she can survive. Even then chances are pretty low she’ll make it.

[TheAntKid]

 

No, but upon further inspection, she is tapinoma sessile, and for some reason, her workers died. I put her in a homemade plaster test tube setup, and she should be fine.

If her workers are all dead, and there aren’t going to be new ones soon then her chances of survival are low. You’re probably going to have to feed her proteins and sugars so she can survive. Even then chances are pretty low she’ll make it.

 

I tried to get some workers by putting her test tube on the ground next to a Tapinoma sessile colony that was moving, but it seems like she just ended up joining them.

[TheAntKid]

Why keep Tapinoma sessile?

I had a colony before, but ended up having to release them, because they kept finding ways to escape the nest that I had them in. What about Tapinoma sessile makes you ask that?

Edited by TheAntKid, July 29 2024 - 2:51 AM.

[TheAntKid]

The last Formica sub. queen in my care died, l assume during Saturday. Though I really love this species (the first queen in my care to ever get her 1st workers was Formica sub., and their golden shine on their abdomen is cool), I do have 2 other Formica colonies, both are doing great.
Update:
"Formica incerta 1": 7-8 workers, 1 queen, larvae and eggs
"Formica incerta 2": 3 workers, 1 queen, larvae and eggs
I will say though, these Formica's really developed faster than my last Formica colony, with "Formica incerta 1" getting their 1st workers in about 1 month and a half, and the other colony getting theirs shortly after.
My "Terrarium 2" colonies are doing good. I found the founding chamber of the 2-3 strumigenys queens. It's about as big as this emoticon  . One day when I was checking on the terrarium, one hypoponera queen used the corners of the container to crawl up and fall out, so now its just 1 hypoponera queen in there. By the way, does anyone have some information on myrmecina americana and their founding? 
My Brachymyrmes patagonicus colony has about 8-12 workers, and some cocoons w/ other stages of brood. By the way, what foods should I feed them? I gave them some honey, and 1 worker drowned, but now more workers are trying to go out and forage.

Edited by TheAntKid, July 29 2024 - 3:11 AM.