14 replies to this topic

[Somethinghmm]

Hi all,

I call this a journal, but really, it's already complete. I do not plan to post more updates after this initial post, but I will respond to questions.

 

I received this colony from ReignofRage in September 2022 shortly after they got nanitics. Their tube was rather dirty at the time, so I have no pictures of them then. Four months later, in December, I moved them into a 4x4 nest by cocdeshijie.

 

1/4/2023

 

 

 

 

2/14/2024

 

 

 

 

3/15/2023

 

 

 

 

5/9/2023

 

You'll notice a worker crawling under the glass in this photo- that's because the magnets started to rust. I noticed the colony refused to use the nest, aside from directly over the water tower. So, I watered the nest directly, which allowed them to make use of the entire nest.

 

 

 

6/18/2023

 

 

After I moved them into the new nest, the improperly mixed plaster allowed the colony to dig straight through the nest. As a result, I would have to swiftly move them into 2 smaller nests that I had laying around. These ants are very hydrophilic and also not the brightest so they ended up drowning a large portion of the colony in the water towers.

 

 

 

8/30/2023

 

New nest 2: Electric Boogaloo

The nest on the top is a Formisquarium from ArthropodAntics and the bottom is a cocdeshijie 4x4 

 

 

 

10/17/2023

 

The colony appeared to have reached max size as this point. Their brood pile was not growing and their worker count had stagnated for a few weeks, so, I stopped taking pictures of this colony until just recently. To this day, the colony has not noticeably grown.

 

 

5/18/2024

 

First male alate!

 

 

 

5/21/2024

 

First gyne alate!

 

That concludes this journal, I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to ask any questions about this species or journal!

Edited by Somethinghmm, May 21 2024 - 11:12 AM.

[bmb1bee]

I sure do hate improperly mixed plaster, who could’ve made such a thing…

Edited by bmb1bee, May 21 2024 - 12:32 PM.

[AntsCali098]

This species is so cool. What is their max size?

[rockaedward]

something5067

[Somethinghmm]

This species is so cool. What is their max size?

I'd guess it's around the 1k mark, but I could be very wrong. You can look at the picture and give it your best guess 

[SHmealer]

rockaedward


Very nice colony something

[rockaedward]

thank you

[AntsGodzilla]

Hi all,

I call this a journal, but really, it's already complete. I do not plan to post more updates after this initial post, but I will respond to questions.

 

I received this colony from ReignofRage in September 2022 shortly after they got nanitics. Their tube was rather dirty at the time, so I have no pictures of them then. Four months later, in December, I moved them into a 4x4 nest by cocdeshijie.

 

1/4/2023

 

 

 

 

 

2/14/2024

 

 

 

 

 

3/15/2023

 

 

 

 

 

5/9/2023

 

 

You'll notice a worker crawling under the glass in this photo- that's because the magnets started to rust. I noticed the colony refused to use the nest, aside from directly over the water tower. So, I watered the nest directly, which allowed them to make use of the entire nest.

 

 

 

6/18/2023

 

 

 

After I moved them into the new nest, the improperly mixed plaster allowed the colony to dig straight through the nest. As a result, I would have to swiftly move them into 2 smaller nests that I had laying around. These ants are very hydrophilic and also not the brightest so they ended up drowning a large portion of the colony in the water towers.

 

 

 

8/30/2023

 

 

New nest 2: Electric Boogaloo

The nest on the top is a Formisquarium from ArthropodAntics and the bottom is a cocdeshijie 4x4 

 

 

 

10/17/2023

 

 

The colony appeared to have reached max size as this point. Their brood pile was not growing and their worker count had stagnated for a few weeks, so, I stopped taking pictures of this colony until just recently. To this day, the colony has not noticeably grown.

 

 

5/18/2024

 

 

First male alate!

 

 

 

5/21/2024

 

 

First gyne alate!

 

That concludes this journal, I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to ask any questions about this species or journal!

I am thinking about getting this species, is there any special care I should know about? 

[Somethinghmm]

Please avoid quoting the entire original post because it makes a lot of unnecessary clutter.

 

As for special care for this species, just keep them warm, around 85 degrees, not hot. Give them seeds as they are granivorous. Lastly, make sure they have constant access to moisture. Hope this helps.

Edited by Somethinghmm, September 22 2024 - 1:12 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

I agree, I try to only quote the sentence I'm directly addressing and maybe some context, but not the whole thing, especially if it's long. I hate having to scroll through the entire long post I just finished reading again just to get to the next post.

[AntsGodzilla]

I agree, I try to only quote the sentence I'm directly addressing and maybe some context, but not the whole thing, especially if it's long. I hate having to scroll through the entire long post I just finished reading again just to get to the next post.

Yeah it is boring to scroll through the whole thing.

[RushmoreAnts]

 

This species is so cool. What is their max size?

I'd guess it's around the 1k mark, but I could be very wrong. You can look at the picture and give it your best guess 

 

In that last picture I counted roughly 50 workers, and eyeballing the frame of reference for the whole nest I would concur it looks to be about 1K workers, my range would be 800-1,500, depending on how many workers were in the outworld in the 5/21 picture.

Edited by RushmoreAnts, September 22 2024 - 1:38 PM.

[AntsGodzilla]

 

 

This species is so cool. What is their max size?

I'd guess it's around the 1k mark, but I could be very wrong. You can look at the picture and give it your best guess 

 

In that last picture I counted roughly 50 workers, and eyeballing the frame of reference for the whole nest I would concur it looks to be about 1K workers, my range would be 800-1,500, depending on how many workers were in the outworld in the 5/21 picture.

 

Yeah that looks manageable.

[RushmoreAnts]

Absolutely, personally my ideal max size for an ant colony is 1-3K workers.

[AntsGodzilla]

Not to large to contain and still big enough to see them make trails in the outworld.