82 replies to this topic

[Barristan]

Very clear photoes and videos, that is lots of brood! The major actually helps to carry brood in your video. Mine usually just sit around do nothing, other than food processing and storage. The majors are super strong, mine dragged the flies into the nest when they were desperate for food.

 

Thank you! It's just part of the brood the colony has a lot more. I hope the new nest will at least last for a month... . I also wondered why a major carried some brood. This species has a higher majors:minor worker ratio than my other Pheidole species I kept (Pheidole spathifera). When colony is bigger I will feed them a frozen baby mouse.

Edited by Barristan, February 12 2016 - 4:43 AM.

[Mdrogun]

 

Very clear photoes and videos, that is lots of brood! The major actually helps to carry brood in your video. Mine usually just sit around do nothing, other than food processing and storage. The majors are super strong, mine dragged the flies into the nest when they were desperate for food.

 

Thank you! It's just part of the brood the colony has a lot more. I hope the new nest will at least last for a month... . I also wondered why a major carried some brood. This species has a higher majors:minor worker ratio than my other Pheidole species I kept (Pheidole spathifera). When colony is bigger I will feed them a frozen baby mouse.

 

I cannot wait to see them eat a baby mouse.

[drtrmiller]

I fed some of my ants frozen pinky mice years ago, but that's an expensive diet to maintain.

[antmaniac]

 

Very clear photoes and videos, that is lots of brood! The major actually helps to carry brood in your video. Mine usually just sit around do nothing, other than food processing and storage. The majors are super strong, mine dragged the flies into the nest when they were desperate for food.

 

Thank you! It's just part of the brood the colony has a lot more. I hope the new nest will at least last for a month... . I also wondered why a major carried some brood. This species has a higher majors:minor worker ratio than my other Pheidole species I kept (Pheidole spathifera). When colony is bigger I will feed them a frozen baby mouse.

 

Wow, that would be massive!

[Barristan]

I fed some of my ants frozen pinky mice years ago, but that's an expensive diet to maintain.

 

Yes they're too expensive to feed them on a daily basis. But hopefully they're good for a nice time lapse video .

[Barristan]

deleted

Edited by Barristan, April 29 2017 - 1:18 PM.

[antmaniac]

Yeah, the Pheidole grows too fast! I have to limit the feeding, otherwise can't keep up with the expansion.

Edited by antmaniac, February 13 2016 - 7:24 PM.

[Barristan]

deleted

Edited by Barristan, April 29 2017 - 1:18 PM.

[LC3]

Looks like they've made a bunch of tunnels underneath the substrate.

[Barristan]

Yes they tried but the sand layer is only around 4 mm thick, so they can't dig a lot. But I have to build another nest nest week the old one is quite crowded. I will buy a 60x20x10 cm ytong brick and carve out tunnel and chambers on both long sides.

Edited by Barristan, February 19 2016 - 1:20 AM.

[LC3]

Sounds good.

[DAM1987]

Hi there, do you cover the whole nest with an heat mat ? also how often and how much do you give them water ?

do you have a thermostat at what temps .. i hope these questions are ok.

 

Thanks

[Barristan]

Hi there, do you cover the whole nest with an heat mat ? also how often and how much do you give them water ?

do you have a thermostat at what temps .. i hope these questions are ok.

 

Thanks

 

The heat mat covers almost the whole nest. The nest is 30 x 20 cm and the heat mat 28 x 14 cm. It's power is 7 Watts. The nest is always moist and in the outworld they have always a water source however they don't drink a lot in the outworld. I think they get most of the water needed from the moist nest. I don't have a thermostat but I can regulate the heat mat.

Edited by Barristan, February 21 2016 - 9:06 AM.

[Barristan]

deleted

Edited by Barristan, April 29 2017 - 1:18 PM.

[Barristan]

deleted

Edited by Barristan, April 29 2017 - 1:18 PM.

[Ants4fun]

Nice video. How did you timelapse it? A web program?

[Barristan]

Nice video. How did you timelapse it? A web program?

 

My camcorder does support it directly.

[dspdrew]

That's a cool video.

[Barristan]

deleted

Edited by Barristan, April 29 2017 - 1:19 PM.

[Ants4fun]

Nice. Unfortunately ytong is not easily accessible in America.