38 replies to this topic

[mete]

Update week #6

 

I found one dead worker this week. As far as I can see there are 3-4 larvae, so I still think the death(s) (4-5 in last weeks) are from natural causes.

 

They always become more active in the outworld in the evening, I observe this everyday. Timelapse shows also activity during the night. In the morning I do not see that much activity and during the day there is always less activity.

 

This week I received the byformica liquid feeders. I installed a mini 3ml and a maxi 10ml in the outworld. My first impression is I like it better than the antcube 20ml liquid feeder, it is easier to use. I think the base is 3D printed and it is said that it might melt in hot water, so this is the part I do not like, I am used to using boiling water for cleaning. Also my first impression is the ants like the 3ml version more than 10ml. Maybe it is because the colony is small and there are no majors. I refilled the 3ml a few times until now, but 10ml still has water inside. I wonder if this is mainly due to ant's preference or due to evaporation. Does the 10ml version (with mesh inside) have considerably less evaporation ? 

 

I also still keep the small water pond I made last week, it is a metal bottle cap filled with small stones. As far as I can see ants also use that. TBH, I do like something like this more than the liquid feeders. I can fill it without removing it (I just drop water into it from the top) and it looks more natural to me. However, because it is totally open to the air, evaporation is very high, it lasts only a day. I want to improve this a bit and hope using something like this in the future.

 

Something I wrote in another post. I wondered if I can use wild flower seeds sold for gardening as food for ants. They are organic. There are two similar products I found, and I asked to both manufacturers. One manufacturer said it can be used as ant food. The other said they cannot say anything since they are not familiar with ants (or ant food etc.). Not sure if I can totally trust the first manufacturer's answer, because I was also not expecting a direct positive answer. I still have some amount of seeds I purchased as ant food when I purchased the formicarium. So this is not urgent but I need to figure this out in the future.

 

This week I offered and they accepted a spider and 3 fruit flies not surprisingly. I also first time tried boiled chicken meat. They accepted I think but took a very small amount.

 

A few larvae:

 

 

There is an irregular mass like a sponge at the bottom of their tunnel, not white but not as yellow as it looks in the photo below. Is this ant bread ?

 

 

 

Edited by mete, September 22 2024 - 2:01 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Why not gather seeds yourself from natural areas?

[mete]

Why not gather seeds yourself from natural areas?

No idea where and how I would do that.

[ANTdrew]

Any meadows near your house?

[mete]

Any meadows near your house?

 

I can't think of anything nearby other than the artificial ones, and for the others I need to figure out if there is a regulation (which can be difficult with my much worse German skills).

[Ernteameise]

Well, it is not that hard.

You can collect Dandelion (Löwenzahn) seed pretty much everywhere, in parks and gardens.

Also lots of grass seed around, all of these will be safe (you just pick the ripe grasses and give them into the outworld, the ants will pick of the seed and leave the rest for you to clean up).

Same as for poppy (Mohn) seed (just collect the ripe seed capsules after the flower pedals fell off and dry).

However.

Make sure you do not collect next to agricultural areas. Not in heavily cultivated areas where there could be spraying (fields, flower beds in parks).

Vegetation and grass strips in parks, gardens and abandoned sites should be fine, but be careful with anything you collect in fields, because this might still have pesticide in it.

You could also harvest next to animal paddocks (cow paddock for example) because cows won't be allowed on there if it has recently been sprayed, so as soon as you see cows grazing, feel free to collect.

I just came back from a short stay in Switzerland (I wanted to drive to Italy for holiday, but my car broke down in Switzerland and my holiday did not happen, I could however spend 2 days in Switzerland) and if you are NOT short of something, it is cow paddocks. There is cows everywhere.

And as far as I know there is no regulation concerning picking grass and dandelion.

If in doubt, do a google search how grasses in your region look.

Just do not pick something like "Edelweiss" (or other protected plants), that is VERY intensely protected, and charges will be high.

It was already protected during the Second World War, and there is this romantic story going around my family of my granddad (who was an German Alpine Pioneer in the war) who spend 3 days in jail because he had picked an Edelweiss as a romantic gesture for my grandma. Yes, he spend 3 days in jail, but grandma indeed got her flower and had it framed on the wall.

[mete]

Well, it is not that hard.

You can collect Dandelion (Löwenzahn) seed pretty much everywhere, in parks and gardens.

Also lots of grass seed around, all of these will be safe (you just pick the ripe grasses and give them into the outworld, the ants will pick of the seed and leave the rest for you to clean up).

Same as for poppy (Mohn) seed (just collect the ripe seed capsules after the flower pedals fell off and dry).

 

These sounds OK. I grew up in a large city, so I am used to enjoying the nature but not collecting something.

 

 

However.

Make sure you do not collect next to agricultural areas. Not in heavily cultivated areas where there could be spraying (fields, flower beds in parks).

Vegetation and grass strips in parks, gardens and abandoned sites should be fine, but be careful with anything you collect in fields, because this might still have pesticide in it.

You could also harvest next to animal paddocks (cow paddock for example) because cows won't be allowed on there if it has recently been sprayed, so as soon as you see cows grazing, feel free to collect.

I just came back from a short stay in Switzerland (I wanted to drive to Italy for holiday, but my car broke down in Switzerland and my holiday did not happen, I could however spend 2 days in Switzerland) and if you are NOT short of something, it is cow paddocks. There is cows everywhere.

 

Got it. I need to look outside from this perspective next time I go somewhere green. The most reasonable is public parks. There are lots of pastures but not very close to me, naturally slightly out of cities.

 

Just do not pick something like "Edelweiss" (or other protected plants), that is VERY intensely protected, and charges will be high.

 

I read Edelweiss is protected but for example I cannot find where it writes that it is protected. In the protected plants list, for example, there is Alpine-Mohn, which can also have red flowers if I remember well. So one should be careful with poppy too. There are also differences among Kantons and regions.

 

Edit: I found this in national broadcasters website about the protection status of Edelweiss: "In Switzerland it does not enjoy protection at the national level, but it does in the 14 cantons where it is found, namely Ticino, Graubünden, Valais, Vaud, Fribourg, Bern, Appenzell and the whole of central Switzerland."

 

It was already protected during the Second World War, and there is this romantic story going around my family of my granddad (who was an German Alpine Pioneer in the war) who spend 3 days in jail because he had picked an Edelweiss as a romantic gesture for my grandma. Yes, he spend 3 days in jail, but grandma indeed got her flower and had it framed on the wall.

 

Nice story

Edited by mete, September 25 2024 - 11:41 AM.

[mete]

Update week #7

 

I again had the impression the nest got too dry and added some water with pipette. They jumped to water drops so I guess they were thirsty. I observed the queen drinking and finishing two small water drops. I also tried adding heat to the nest (through a 10W resistor) and they I think like it. The room is always around 22C, so I was not thinking it would make a big difference but I think I will stick a low power heatmat to the nest also.

 

While I was trying ways to add water to nest, I saw one worker not moving in a small but bigger than a drop water pooled somewhere. I read before they can survive some time submerging under water. So I took her out from there and put to outworld. After a few minutes, she started moving normal.

 

Maybe due to the increased activity in the nest, there was some outworld seed collecting activity this week. For the first time I put poppy seeds together with hemp seeds. They liked hemp a lot a few weeks ago but this time they literally collected all the poppy seeds. I think they are collecting only the different seeds now, because they have collected enough seeds and stored them in different places.

 

I still observe they like byformica 3ml more than 10ml.

 

As usual I offered and they accepted a few fruit flies.

[Ernteameise]

 

.

 

I still observe they like byformica 3ml more than 10ml.

 

 

 

I also made the observation that my Messor barbarus have one favorite drinker. It is always empty the earliest.

It first had a 3ml water-reservoir, but now I increased the water reservoir up to 5ml (the bottom is still the same) and no matter where I place this certain drinker, they ants find it and continue to favor it.

Weird form of attachment?

Part of territorial behaviour?

[mete]

.
 
I still observe they like byformica 3ml more than 10ml.

I also made the observation that my Messor barbarus have one favorite drinker. It is always empty the earliest.
It first had a 3ml water-reservoir, but now I increased the water reservoir up to 5ml (the bottom is still the same) and no matter where I place this certain drinker, they ants find it and continue to favor it.
Weird form of attachment?
Part of territorial behaviour?

The construction is different so I think they just like or find it easier to use.

Is it safe to use any plastic for this or is it printed from something like food safe plastic do you know ?

[Ernteameise]

 

 

.
 
I still observe they like byformica 3ml more than 10ml.

I also made the observation that my Messor barbarus have one favorite drinker. It is always empty the earliest.
It first had a 3ml water-reservoir, but now I increased the water reservoir up to 5ml (the bottom is still the same) and no matter where I place this certain drinker, they ants find it and continue to favor it.
Weird form of attachment?
Part of territorial behaviour?

The construction is different so I think they just like or find it easier to use.

Is it safe to use any plastic for this or is it printed from something like food safe plastic do you know ?

 

I have no idea.

But all ant stores sell some variant of these 3D printed drinkers, and I have several different kinds of different stores, and none of them has shown any issues so far.

Seem all save for ants.

[mete]

I have no idea.

But all ant stores sell some variant of these 3D printed drinkers, and I have several different kinds of different stores, and none of them has shown any issues so far.

Seem all save for ants.

 

Good to know, then I can also print some utensils.

[mete]

Update week #9

 

So the major change since week #7 is I installed another (same, low power, 4W) heating mat behind the nest. I guess this is helpful.

 

They seem to be staying less in the outworld but I am not 100% sure. There is some activity in the nest for sure, there are a few pupae (one quite large) and a few larvae.

 

 

 

[Ernteameise]

Update week #9

 

So the major change since week #7 is I installed another (same, low power, 4W) heating mat behind the nest. I guess this is helpful.

 

They seem to be staying less in the outworld but I am not 100% sure. There is some activity in the nest for sure, there are a few pupae (one quite large) and a few larvae.

 

20241013-1.jpg

 

20241013-2.jpg

Just make sure you give them a cooler winter period.

They do not have a real hibernation, but they need a cooler period of 2-3 months for the queen to rest. Otherwise, her life expectancy will go down, and she will lay less eggs next year.

I personally switch their heat mat off and have them in my badly insulated living room, where I only have the heater on when I am home.

[mete]

Just make sure you give them a cooler winter period.

 

 

They do not have a real hibernation, but they need a cooler period of 2-3 months for the queen to rest. Otherwise, her life expectancy will go down, and she will lay less eggs next year.

I personally switch their heat mat off and have them in my badly insulated living room, where I only have the heater on when I am home.

 

 

I have not decided yet what I do about the winter period, but it is difficult to find somewhere in my place under 18C, so I think the only solution is to get them to the storage area downstairs.

[mete]

Update week #14

 

Update after a long break. I gave almost no fresh protein/spiders/fruit flies last weeks. The ants seem to be fine, there have been quite a number of larvae and I cannot count how many they are anymore. There are also some large ones, not sure they are majors, but I can distinguish three different size of workers now.

 

I do not see them much outside the nest and I was thinking maybe they are slowing down but 2 weeks ago they started to extend their tunnel. A few days ago I realized they advanced it quite a lot.

 

~4 weeks ago:

 

 

~2 weeks ago:

 

 

today:

 

 

[Nare]

I'm curious about the digfix. I've never seen the stuff in-person but I like how clean it stays. What does it feel like? Is it a bit like floral foam or something?

[mete]

I'm curious about the digfix. I've never seen the stuff in-person but I like how clean it stays. What does it feel like? Is it a bit like floral foam or something?

 

If I remember well, it was like a slightly hard foam. I purchased them through a distributor here and they were already mounted to the nest, so I have a little idea about how it feels directly but I poked it a few times with a tooth stick, it felt like a slightly hard/brittle foam.

[Darko]

I have the same setup with Messor capitatus, but I am never sure how often should I moist the digfix. How often do you moist it and what amount of water do you add?

And another question. I have this colony 9 weeks and they only dug in the wet digfix. The queen is there with a few workers. Some 15-20 workes with eggs, larvae and pupae are in the hose between the two digfixes. They still didn't dug in the dry digfix. Instead, they store the grain in the hose between the dry digfix and the arena. Do your ants dig the dry digfix?

Edited by Darko, November 24 2024 - 8:56 PM.