31 replies to this topic

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

You will need a more consistent protein source for them to thrive. Freeze a bunch of crickets from the pet store or consider raising mealworms.

Sadly I cannot keep any feeder insects and the agreement was to just keep ants, I don’t thinks that I can ask my mom because she is also very scared of insects and would be very upset if I kept other things than ants, so I don’t really know what to do during the winter But one thing for sure is that during the summer, we have an infinite supply of Japanese beetles,Tetramorium love them the most

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

​New worker enclosed so here is some photos from my trash IPad Pro camera, real update tomorrow.

 

Here is the custom outworld I made

​

 

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, January 28 2025 - 7:07 PM.

[jabasson]

 

You will need a more consistent protein source for them to thrive. Freeze a bunch of crickets from the pet store or consider raising mealworms.

Sadly I cannot keep any feeder insects and the agreement was to just keep ants, I don’t thinks that I can ask my mom because she is also very scared of insects and would be very upset if I kept other things than ants, so I don’t really know what to do during the winter But one thing for sure is that during the summer, we have an infinite supply of Japanese beetles,Tetramorium love them the most

 

I just leave the crickets in the freezer and I don't raise them, and it seems to be about the only thing my M. mexicanus are willing to eat. You could easily do the same with mealworms, I just keep them alive because they take literally almost no effort to keep alive. I put them in the fridge and they can last up to a month without even feeding, although you should take them out to feed them once a week. You can also freeze wild caught insects I think. They will last quite some time before spoiling. I'm not sure how long they will last but so far I put in a cricket that I had in the freezer for about a month and a half, and the ants definitely messed with it because it moved spots (they usually don't touch mealworms at all). Of course if your mother would be put off by insects in the freezer this won't work. Maybe use a non see through container to make it less gross, but still tell your mom they are there. 

Edited by jabasson, January 29 2025 - 12:07 PM.

[AntBoi3030]

I agree. Ants need a consistent source of protein. And it's beneficial for a colony's growth to have insect protein. I've even frozen fruit flies. I got one culture, tapped out a couple dozen flies every few days and stuck them in the freezer. After a few weeks, I had a couple of hundred frozen fruit flies that lasted forever. The culture itself is just in a little cup. I also always buy a cup of 50 mealworms and keep them in the freezer, and that lasts for a while.

Edited by AntBoi3030, January 29 2025 - 12:42 PM.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

She would never let me put insects in the freezer or fridge, I don’t even think I can even negotiate with her, Probably the only solution is to wait for summer or wait till I’m older and move out  . I mean they do eat occasionally dog food…

 

Also With that, here is an ​short UPDATE: (day late because I have exams right now)

The pupa emerged right after I had dinner and she was upside down for and extended period of time, I helped her but the reason she was upside down is because she still had that glue stuff that they had during their pupa stage and with my experience, I didn’t want to remove it because most of the time they get damaged or mangled in the process because their exoskeleton is soft. I thought that they would eat her (because all my colonies do that when that happens) but surprisingly they did not and I found her chilling on the brood pile without that glue stuff.

I gave them a fungus gnat right now but they didn’t accept it very fast and left it sit for a while before they ate some and threw out the rest. The problem with my colony is that they throw out everything that they eat, including stuff they didn’t even eat… Other than that they are a very healthy colony (somehow…)

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, January 30 2025 - 1:22 PM.

[Canadian anter]

I will specify that when these girls slow down, I would highly suggest hibernating them. At the end of the day they are still a Canadian population.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Small update
I disconnected their nest from their outworld cuz they like to explore, but not bring food back to the nest…   Now I shove the food in their nest and everyone eats… 

Also one of the pupa is grey but it looks like it died, no third worker soon at least   

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

​Small update:

​I gave my ants some crystallized honey and they enjoyed it.

The presumably “dead” pupa is still in the nest and the other pupa is close to enclosing, about 1-2 days

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

​Small update:

The colony just got some new larva and the third worker just enclosed day before yesterday, the other pupa that I presumed dead is actually dead, I don’t know the cause though, does anyone have any ideas?

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, February 14 2025 - 7:14 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Are they warm enough? Pupae stuck in that stage too long will die.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Are they warm enough? Pupae stuck in that stage too long will die.

They are warm enough, this pupa developed around 2-4 days apart from the other one that enclosed day before yesterday

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, February 14 2025 - 7:16 PM.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

​Small Update:

So they have a small pile of larva of all sizes and it is growing nicely, I’ve recently started to heat them so it can boost their population growth