24 replies to this topic

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

For sure queen larva there. Congrats!

I agree with that, as soon as it turns into a pupa, update the journal! I also find that the test tube formicarium array is actually really good, I have one myself and one of my colonies got big enough to fit in them and they really liked it.

 

Also don't ant colonies like that get alates because of overfeeding? just a question

[RushmoreAnts]

Also don't ant colonies like that get alates because of overfeeding? just a question

 

I've never heard that, it's just a sign that a colony is healthy and maturing. Considering the max size of these colonies is only 3,000 workers (in which case a colony would produce dozens of queen alates), it is conceivable a colony of 200 soon to be 500, if properly fed, could produce 1.

[AntBoi3030]

Congrats on the alate! My colony is somewhere in the 300-400 worker count. No alates from them quite yet. Excited to see more of your colony!

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 7

April 19, 2025

 

The BRIGADE

The BRIGADE has gone through some major (no pun intended) changes within the past couple weeks.

 

Firstly, the colony outgrew their nest, and over 100 workers and majors were forced to live outside under the test tube. As such, I bought a spare Por Amor Array Formicarium Ants_Dakota had lying around and yesterday I moved them in by plugging their current test tube into the Array. Now they have two full-sized culture tubes at their disposal. Each culture tube has significantly more space than a cryptic insert, so they were all able to fit into one of the tubes. I kept the second tube so I wouldn't have to worry about them running out of space for a decent while yet. Their outworld didn't have tubing holes, so I bought an outworld from Ants_Dakota as well. There are a few stragglers in their old outworld I need to tap into the new outworld, but most of the ~350 workers are in the new setup. I believe they have around 500 large larvae and pupae as well, so they may catch up to my Tetras soon.

 

Today I fed them two large crickets. They sent out a party of around 80 workers to process them. I've noticed this species is keen on forming distinct, organized trails, even when compared to other species. Of all the trails I've observed keeping ants, this colony's is the most succinct and visible. These ants are also extremely fast and nimble for small Myrmicinaes, and are quite aggressive. Their feeding response is rapid, as it took less than 10 minutes to fully assemble their hunting party I described earlier, which includes several large majors. When feeding, the majors often gorge themselves, becoming like mini repletes. Their gasters are most often translucent and swollen with food.

 

Finally, the alate larva pupated and has since eclosed! It actually turned out to be a male, however. I was a little disappointed, but still proud they got their first alate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't that centerpiece just stunning? I thought it would match well with the Pheidole's red majors and contrast well with their black workers. There are still several unique outworlds in stock on Ants_Dakota's shop. You should go check them out!

Edited by RushmoreAnts, Today, 4:08 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Looking great and nice setup!