9 replies to this topic

[MyrmecologyMaven]

I purchased this colony from antopiausa over the weekend. They arrived safely with some brood, 6 workers, and a big healthy queen. I changed them into a 20mm glass test-tube to give the queen some more room to move around. Then I put them into a little plaster bottom enclosure I have had since I first joined the hobby. I believe the person who made it is on this forum but I forget who. I used to have a colony of this species a few years ago but sadly lost them when I left the hobby in 2023. I am excited to watch this colony grow and create those huge majors! 

 

When the colony first arrived.

 

The colony in the new test tube.

 

The plaster bottom setup.

[ANTdrew]

That looks like one of Nurbs’ pencil case formicaria.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

That looks like one of Nurbs’ pencil case formicaria.

Yes that was it! A friend of mine gave it to me a few years back. The colony seems to be settled in the setup now. I fed them and they are already pretty far into the mealworm.

[AntsGodzilla]

Nice to see another Ca-02 journal! Looking forward to seeing them more!

[MyrmecologyMaven]

Nice to see another Ca-02 journal! Looking forward to seeing them more!

I’ll be updating them in a few weeks! They have a bunch of eggs, small larvae, and a couple big larvae! The colony has a very good feeding response for sugar water and mealworms. After a feeding you can see how filled the workers gasters are! Super fun species so far, glad to finally get my hands on another colony.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

Quick update:

The colony is doing well. The queens abdomen is very plump compared to when I first got the colony. She has pumped out over 20 eggs and one of the larvae that came with the colony have pupated. My old colony of this species I had before I left the hobby never produced this many eggs at once. I guess this shows how the health of a colony is dependent on the quality of the queen. This colony is very fun to watch because of how large they are! I can observe trophallaxis between workers and see the abdomen sizes change. The feeding response is very good with this colony. They finish mealworms very fast and drink lots of sugar water.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

The colony is doing well with lots of brood and a larger worker count. I took some photos with my new Nikon d7200 with a 50mm macro lens. I didn't have the best lighting so the photos are aren't as good as they could be. The plastic is also dirty from fluon.

 

 

 

 

[MyrmecologyMaven]

I moved the colony into a new outworld yesterday because they always run out of the small formicarium whenever I open it to feed them. This is one of Ants_Dakota's outworlds he gave me as a freebie with some ants I ordered a little while back. I really like the look of it! The color contrast is much better compared to the color of the old outworld. It works great as a tubs and tubes style setup! 

 

The setup.

 

The colony in their tube.

 

The colony now has around 15 workers with lots of brood. This colony has been progressing really well. Once they hit around 80+ workers I'll move them into an old Ants Canada hybrid 2.0 nest I got as a present years back.

 

 

[Ants_Dakota]

Glad to see some use out of that outworld! I would recommend stuffing the opening of the test tube with cotton and then slipping part of a straw in to keep the entrance covered or else the ants will try themselves in a less clean manner... That or come up with another creative solution (or just purchase a Tubs and Tubes adapter from Por Amor Art).

[MyrmecologyMaven]

Glad to see some use out of that outworld! I would recommend stuffing the opening of the test tube with cotton and then slipping part of a straw in to keep the entrance covered or else the ants will try themselves in a less clean manner... That or come up with another creative solution (or just purchase a Tubs and Tubes adapter from Por Amor Art).

Planning to mess around with my 3d printer this weekend and make something for the entrance. If I don't get around to it I'll just stuff some cotton with a big boba straw by the entrance.