13 replies to this topic

[Kit]

Hi everyone!

 

I am thinking of keeping Oecophylla smaragdina but have read on other non-English forums that it is a challenge to keep beyond one year.

 

I have been reading extensively on ant care and have been keenly observing the way people who farm this ant keep it in the asian countries where it is farmed for food. I have found many videos online about this, most noticeable from Indonesia. 

 

Here is a good video that shows successful husbandry conditions for this ant.

 

 

My personal view is that the reason people are failing with this ant is they are keeping them in test tubes, which are not breathable. While the Indonesian ant farmers are keeping them in upside down plastic containers with holes pricked in them, which allows the containers to breathe, and enables the ants to regulate the internal humidity of the containers themselves. Even keeping them in hollow tubes with both ends open allows air circulation, something you don't get in a test tube. Looking at these colonies in Indonesia and they seem to thrive with this method.

 

I am going to try and raise a colony using this method, and see if it is more successful than the test tubes. 

 

Also nice forum you have here, I much prefer the atmosphere here compared to the Yuku ant forum. Nothing worse when a moderator treats people like they are children constantly correcting their spelling mistakes.

 

Nobody here is a grammar Nazi are they?

 

 

[dspdrew]

Haha, thanks. An antfarm.yuku.com refugee I take it?

[Kit]

Haha. No I never joined the Yuku forum, but read a few posts about weaver/ green tree ants on there and to be honest got tired of always finding myself reading about unnecessary talk about spelling= headache. 

 

I am thinking of feeding any future colony sugar water, water and protein. But I want to do this as ethically as possible and ideally don't want to be killing insects.

 

Does anyone know if ants would accept freeze dried blood worms and invertebrate pellets made for shrimp?

 

I was thinking of possibly feeding these pellets http://www.theaquari...ean Formula 70g

 

Also I only plan on feeding the colony protein once every 2 weeks, as I have read extensively on this and they only need/take protein when they have brood. As my colony is in captivity I want to try and keep it small by limiting the amount of protein I feed them. What do you think, is this an ok strategy? 

 

If you still think they need insect protein I will go buy crickets/ meal worms and freeze them and feed them to the ants that way. I want to try and limit aggression and live food only exacerbates aggression in captive animals. Plus to my mind if your keeping something in artificial conditions why not feed artificial food.

Edited by Kit, September 13 2015 - 6:18 PM.

[William. T]

I am always interested about hearing new techniques about ant keeping. I visited China recently and found some massive module test tubes formicariums with plastic inserts to attach or remove, a dehydrated ant feed you just need to add water to, mini test tube heaters, a slow release feeder container for that allows worms to fall into containers at a nearly constant rate made for lizard terrariums, and lots more.

 

Limiting protein is sound to keep ant number regulated. I personally cut down the number of termites I feed some of my colonies if they become annoying. Ants in general like moist foods.

[Kit]

Oh wow really interesting info- thanks! I especially am interested in feeding them processed dehydrated foods, which I can always re-hydrate by soaking in water, like pellets or freeze dried blood worms.

 

I live in Townsville, Australia. I have read from various sources that these ants produce alate year round, but especially after the first rains of the wet season commence. So far we have had a very dry winter here in Townsville- also known as Brownsville around this time due to the lack of rain. The new rains should be commencing in October, so I am excited in anticipation to see if I can adopt a Queen I find walking on the footpath or around town, as that way at least I know it won't become a pest in someones yard and possibly killed later. 

 

At this time I have rung all the authorities here in Australia asking if I can keep this ant. The Australian Department of Agriculture and Fishers said it was fine, but that I should also call the Department of Environment and Heritage. I called the DEH but they never got back to me. So I assume they just think I am mad and it's a non-issue and not important enough to warrant a call back. What I have found is our Government is only concerned with people keeping invertebrates if it is for commercial purposes, as they don't have any rules about keeping them for private use like I am. I kind of find this offensive in a way, as they only care about the wildlife if they can make a quick buck harassing someone who has created a business out of it and has lots of commercial profits to sap from. They also have no rules regarding collecting ants on private and suburban land, well I can't find anything anyway. If you can make sense of their page about permit requirements good luck.

 

http://www.csiro.au/...it-requirements

 

I think I have seen Queens and males of this species in the past, but just thought they were some type of weird wasp, as I noticed them attracted to a light one night years ago and just dismissed them as some type of strange ant or wasp, I wasn't sure as both look so different to one another you don't automatically think they are related.

 

These ants are seen as pests here, people pay pest control exterminators to remove nests from their yards and dispose of them. I was always fascinated by these ants as a child, and would observe the workers for hours and was amazed how they can aim and squirt acid. I always wondered what the Queens looked like, and if they could also squirt acid. Anyway after reading about other peoples experiences of keeping them online on other non-English forums I have learnt a lot, and am amazed by the Queens of this species; they really seem to have a unique presence. All the novel behaviors this species engage in make them seem like really interesting and intelligent pets. 

 

Here is some information I have found that gives you a general outline of their life cycle and captive care requirements:

 

http://termitesandan...smaragdina.html

 

http://www.antweb.or...nt-farming.html

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC4429428/

 

Nutrition info for ants in general:

 

http://blog.wildabou...-ant-digestion/

 

http://www.antfinity...ydew-surrogate/

 

Here is a Queen during Physogastrism:

 

 

And here is a great set up someone in Europe has for them showing a colony with more than one Queen transferring to a new nesting site:

 

 

Ok so it's clear I am obsessed with these ants lol.

Edited by Kit, September 13 2015 - 7:06 PM.

[Kit]

I read about a study where researches provided the African variety of these ants with supplement feeding on a Cashew plantation to boost their numbers, and fed them fish and sugar water separately. So perhaps those fish based shrimp pellets would be an ok source of protein, as the fish didn't seem to harm the colony in the study. 

 

http://pure.au.dk/po...fee1cc7b8).html

 

One thing that amazes me, is how these ants are seen as pests here in Australia and Africa. Luckily people in Asia value these ants and we can lean much about there care from copying the ant farmers. In China these ants have had a relationship with people and been kept for a very long time as biological pest control, why that hasn't translated to Africa/ Australia is an interesting question. I was also considering giving the ants cricket flour, which has become a much talked about topic recently. 

 

Some people mention feeding them protein jelly, which I assume is gelatin. Some people also feed them a 50/50 mix of water/ maple syrup mixed with chocolate flavored whey protein, while others have said to be careful about using milk products. Some people feed them meat and hard boiled eggs. But I also read these products are dangerous for beginners to use. 

 

I also read weaver ants naturally live on citrus and Mango trees. They are the only pollinators of trees on the Cape York peninsular here in Australia as we have no bee pollinators living there. 

 

Also they taste quite nice, as Gordon Ramsay found out  

[Kit]

I am unsure if I should keep these ants in an Exo Terra Flexarium or a Exo Terra Cricket Keeper.

 

So far I have only found the Flexarium online, and it retails for more than I expected to pay for an enclosure http://www.ebay.com....=item419abc5c24

 

While I can buy 3 Cricket Keepers for the price of one Flexarium and convert the slots in the side of the tank into air vents by covering them with mesh- which should provide adequate air flow. The only problem is the ants have much less space to move about in the Cricket Keeper as opposed to the Flexarium. 

 

http://www.petbarn.c...eper-large.html

 

If I was thinking about this from the ants perspective I would go with the Flexarium, but from my own perspective I want to be able to observe the ants and think that may be easier in the clear Cricket Keeper. I will go and have a look around tomorrow and see what I can find.

[William. T]

I love Exo Terras. Hagen has 10 patents at least on that thing. Beautiful way to showcase your pets, but pricey. Cricket Keepers scratch too often.

[Kit]

I went browsing those cheap shops where they sell tacky items for nothing but couldn't find any suitable containers. They had a few large storage boxes but the plastic was cloudy and so I didn't bother purchasing anything.

 

I did go into a local Pet Barn and found the cricket keepers, but opted to just buy two of the smallest plastic critter keepers instead. They are just tacky and small but my thinking is I will find 2 Queens( in case one dies I have a back up)  and keep them in those for a year, and if the colonies survive beyond a year I will house them in a proper Exo Terra Flexarium.

 

The top of the critter keeper has gaps that I think will allow the ants to escape, so I purchased some fly mesh from Bunnings. I also plan to glue plastic chinese food containers or a strawberry container cut in half on one or two of the sides so the ants turn them into a nest yet I am still able to observe the Queen at all times and ensure she and the colony is healthy. For me the joy of keeping ants its to be able to observe the Queen controlling her domain, and to watch the going ons inside the colony. 

 

I'm hoping these plastic containers will act in a similar way to the upturned bottles used by the ant farmers, and allow the ants to create their own micro-climate that ensures they are happy. I am scared they will grow restless as the keeper is very small, only about 15cm long, but what can I do. 

 

I went into a local aquarium shop but couldn't find freeze dried blood worms or those shrimp pellets, so maybe I will just have to feed them crickets instead. 

Edited by Kit, September 14 2015 - 11:00 PM.

[weetbix]

There's a lot of Oecophylla smaragdina around the house, I'll try to catch some queen later on, I saw a few on the leaf.

I wasn't sure people keep and have interest with them, since I'm very new to ant keeping. these ants are used as bird feed here.

[James C. Trager]

Great collection of videos, Kit. (The spelling in a couple of them was awful, haha! Oh yeah, not English.) This is a really fascinating thread. I've always particularly liked formicine ants, and think Oecophylla smaragdina is truly the ultimate super ant in the subfamily. 

One thing I did want to make a little correction to, though: "They are the only pollinators of trees on the Cape York peninsular here in Australia as we have no bee pollinators living there." Australia in fact has quite a rich native bee fauna, an amazing array of solitary bee species, and also the highly social stingless honey bees. With your level of enthusiasm, I have a feeling that if you started looking into the stingless bees, you'd find them (almost) as fascinating as these ants, and might even want to start rearing them. Here's a place to start, if you wish: http://www.aussiebee.com.au/. (There's also this about Mayan people raising stingless bees in Central America:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_pjoDxwYS8.)
One thing I wonder about, though, is how the bees of your area negotiate around weaver ants, which aggressively defend the whole tree and are reputed to attack and prey on nearly every insect that lights on the trees they inhabit. 

[weetbix]

Couldn't find any queen, but I've managed to locate a small Oecophylla smaragdina nest at hands reach. Will try to extract the queen later.

Edited by weetbix, November 18 2015 - 5:29 PM.

[antmaniac]

They are like those leafrollers.

[weetbix]

Yes, they're quiet easy to find on trees here, just look for a curled leaf with webbing inside, some nest are huge, as big as a soccer ball. For those huge nest, I see locals using large fine net to harvest them.