11 replies to this topic

[RapaNui]

This is my first experience with this species.

 

References:

0 - https://en.wikipedia...iki/Tetraponera

1 - http://www.antwiki.o...onera_rufonigra

2 - http://www.alexander...ra/Tetraponera/

3 - http://www.myantshop...Tetraponera.htm

4 - http://www.antstore....-rufonigra.html

5 - https://www.antstore...66.html#p145716

6 - https://www.youtube....h?v=cd3xIlGP9Uk

7 - https://www.youtube....h?v=xKmrsav_pNk

 

Experience:

 

I always wanted to have this species. It is a very good looking species.

They came inside a test tube. Very jammed (i don't know how the supplier did that). And almost escaping!!

I had my nest well prepared this time. I had a hollow branch all the way. I had dry wood chips for soil and dried oak leaves.

I also placed a water tower, and a small test tube with cotton and water just in case. Later I added sugar and water.

Zero chance with this species. As soon as I tried to open the cotton cover, they all rushed outside and tried to "conquer" the space and kill any possible threats. I had to close the cover and wait for them to calm down.

Queen in the process of moving.

After initial scouting, they started to move the whole colony into the hollow branch.

What ended up happening was that the colony was too big for the hollow branch, and through out the days, they relocated the larvae to the original test tube and the puppae to the hollow branch. This species also does not cocoon.

 

I underestimated the size vs activity level of the colony since they were completely packed inside the test tube.

They are clearly overwhelming the small formicarium. And so based on some references photos, I have made the following nest.

Medium tank with compost soil and dry wood chips, two bamboo sections with a softwood cover lid on the end, and with a small opening.

I am waiting for an acrylic custom made cover for this tank to move the colony in.

 

Behaviour:

 

This species does not react actively to small movements of the nest. But will over react to shadows movements.

They have good vision, and if they notice movement they will change to alert state, where they will start scouting the air and surrounding for intruders.

Normally they are occupied on their daily activities, brood caring, scouting and foraging, and they do it in a normal pace, but if agitated they will speed up and rush everywhere. Its not a time when you want to attend them.

They are super aggressive, they will actively hunt down all moving prey, and handle it in 10 minutes. Where there won't be anymore traces of the insect.

Because their sting is said to be extremely painful, extra care is needed towards escape prevention. You don't want to go back home and find this species roaming around!

They have very strong mandibles, soft wood, soft plastic, cotton, etc can and will be eaten/destroyed. One worker chew a plastic cover easily. I wouldn't go for plaster as well.

I advise using acrylic or glass for containing purposes.

 

When I transfer them into the new nest I will post more photos.

Edited by RapaNui, November 9 2015 - 7:12 PM.

[LC3]

Reminds me a N. American ant genera known as Pseudomyrmex.

[RapaNui]

Yes, they are also Pseudomyrmecinae, same subfamily.

[RapaNui]

Update:

 

I transferred the colony into their new setup last Friday 20th November. The transfer was smooth, the ants were calm and gave me enough time to use both pincers to transfer the glass test tube and wooden hollow branch inside the nest setup.

 

 

There were some foragers on the old setup that took some time to move onto the new one. One thing I noticed was that when these ants were placed inside the new setup they would simply stop, no movement whatsoever, I guessed it was due to the lack of trails and replaced them near the hollow branch were the queen was located. Soon enough, all ants began to roam around and investigate every corner.

 

Within 2 hours, the ants moved all the brood inside the new bamboo nest, they chose the one with the smaller opening (what else?)

A funny thing was that there seemed to be dedicated brood caring ants and these were also transported into the new nest like the rest of the brood. You can see it on the videos.

 

 

Hunting became more difficult for them, it takes longer, but they manage. I am convinced that in the wild they would easily sense vibrations from the branches, but in this setup, the hunt is done on the ground and they don't seem so efficient.

 

I have noticed that they have an early morning and a end of afternoon major scouts. During their moving I counted 1Queen + 25Workers. On these scouts, they will send 10 workers to forage the whole setup. 

 

You can see some videos on the link below.

https://www.youtube....njf8RQBpE0mzVC1

 

With this setup I am giving up complete visibility of the colony and will need to test a few things:

 

1 - preferred foods (for now just crickets and mealworm puppae, I want to try other things to see how is their reaction)

2 - number of workers per insect

3 - number of workers per forage

4 - and when they start using the other available bamboo nest

 

Since I will not have view of the number of brood, I need to estimate the colony food needs based on what I see.

Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[LC3]

Is there an opening or something that let's you see what they're doing in their chunk of wood or is visibility not much of a concern for you?

[RapaNui]

No opening. And for now it is ok to have it like this.

If I feel the need to see inside I will provide them with a half section bamboo stick/fix it to the tank glass and open the current bamboo nest (I made sure the nails were easily removable) to make them move. 

Pseudomyrmecinae live in hollow structures of plants and trees, such as thorns or branches, so I was trying to mimic this as much as possible.

Looking inside is a double edge knife for me. I have managed to ruin some colonies by disturbing them so much just by wanting to look and take photos.

I also have my Messor Barbarus in a complete soil nest (can't see a thing inside) and feel quite well with this. Excitement comes from the structures they develop with soil, their hunting/gathering and their adaptability etc.. I just learned to shift to what they provide me with.

The ants always choose what pleases them most, and they went immediately to the bamboo nest. They remain inside for a few hours, so why not respect that and let them be? Also, they have big eyes and can see some movement and shadows, I don't want to continuously agitate the colony. 

[LC3]

Ah ok. Makes sense.

[yen_saw]

Pseudomyrmecinae species don't do well in test tube but for observation purpose you can still use vinyl tube wrap in red transparent tape or a transparent straw covered by piece of aluminium foil (just lift the foil and you can see everything inside). I use either method to keep Pseudomyrmex gracilis and they do alright. If you use a piece of hollow branch from outdoor it is best to make sure there is no other living invert like mites, spiders, pseudoscorpian, other ants, etc  pre-occupied the space before giving it to your ants. 

[RapaNui]

dear yen_saw, thank you for your feedback. 

Can I ask you, what do you feed your P.Gracilis with? And would you mind to share a few photos for reference? 

It is always good to see what other ant keepers are doing, it gives a lot of good ideas for the future. regards

[yen_saw]

They feed on any insects and sweet liquid really, i use cricket and honey. I use vinyl tube where i can see the inside. I don't have a pic with aluminium foil on top of it but you get the idea.

 

 

 

[RapaNui]

dear yen_saw, thank you for the photos!! interesting.

But I guess your species don't react the same way {?} to shadows and movement?

If i move in front of the tank, they will see me and react with alert mode. Do yours do this?

Regards

[yen_saw]

Yes they are very alert of my presence. Pseudomyrmecinae have great eyesight in general.