19 replies to this topic

[Loops117]

Found a swarm of these guys in a flower box. Grabbed a few and let the rest go.

 

Any help on what these guys are?

 

 

 

 

[Loops117]

i know my phone records better quality, just wish it would upload that way.

Here's a video.

 

If that big ant is a queen, i have like 5 of them. I keep looking at that thorax, and it seems huge, and it looks like it's a little more muscular then the other worker thorax's. I'm wondering if maybe they were teamed up in this flower box?

Edited by Loops117, May 7 2016 - 11:12 PM.

[dermy]

You definitely have queens, I think [not an expert] but they look like Argentine ant, Linepithema humile but I'm not 100% sure.

[Loops117]

You definitely have queens, I think [not an expert] but they look like Argentine ant, Linepithema humile but I'm not 100% sure.

YUUUUUSSSS! I was really hoping a found a group of young queens

[Loops117]

Perhaps Lasius Niger

[dermy]

Perhaps Lasius Niger

I see at least 2 queens so no, last time I checked Lasius niger is a strictly Monogynous species, with only 1 queen per Colony.

[gcsnelling]

How bout Tapinoma?? Just a thought.

[dspdrew]

Yeah, they look more like T. sessile to me.

[Subverted]

i know my phone records better quality, just wish it would upload that way.

 

Sometimes you just have to wait awhile for youtube to finish fully processing the higher definition video. The video will be active but not full quality for a few minutes, maybe even half an hour. Looks like its pretty sharp and good quality to me!

[Loops117]

Thank you guys. Should i separate the queens? I was hoping to keep them together.

[dspdrew]

Those can be kept together. It's probably best that way.

[Loops117]

I feel like i should have collected more workers. I was in the process of cleaning my backyard, and really didn't think these were queens or i would have. For now i have this in a container with a nectar cotton ball, and a water cotton ball. I'm gonna throw a dead FF and cricket in there today to see if they take to it.

 

I keep reading that these guys are hard to keep although you've had success, along with a short list of others. I found a couple threads that you posted in about them, but couldn't find one made by you. Any ideas?

[Crystals]

If you go back to the same spot and find more workers, they can likely still be introduced to each other.

 

For Tapinoma, I found the key to success was a very warm corner in the formicarium.

Oh, and have fun containing them long term.  They are escape artists. 

[Loops117]

Ok, last night i converted a cupboard into my bug cupboard. I'm gonna put a heating pad on one of the shelves for my warmer bugs (not just ants). Also, the outworld and formi will be completely sealed except the lid that snaps to the top (i bought Model Car containers, and flipped them upside down). I plan on cutting a square/rectangle in the top, and replacing it with fine mesh screen. I'm gonna dip the top half inch of it in Fluon, should this help? The formi will be screwed onto an Acrylic base that will hold the outworld, formi, and water/food towers. Hopefully it will be completely sealed.

 

Also, i read that the queens live At Least 8 months. Is this an indicator that they have a much shorter life cycle, and will i have to keep adding new queens every couple of years?

[Mdrogun]

If you go back to the same spot and find more workers, they can likely still be introduced to each other.

 

For Tapinoma, I found the key to success was a very warm corner in the formicarium.

Oh, and have fun containing them long term.  They are escape artists. 

I just had a 6 queen colony with about 200 workers escape entirely when trying to move them   , this is the second colony this year.

[Crystals]

 

If you go back to the same spot and find more workers, they can likely still be introduced to each other.

 

For Tapinoma, I found the key to success was a very warm corner in the formicarium.

Oh, and have fun containing them long term.  They are escape artists. 

I just had a 6 queen colony with about 200 workers escape entirely when trying to move them   , this is the second colony this year.

 

I found that they were completely unwilling to walk upside down over olive oil; and as along as they were not in a full blown panic - they did not like to walk over it vertically either.  I used those plastic page protectors to make an upside down lip on my foraging areas and once covered in olive oil it works for all species I have tried so far.

[Loops117]

Yeah, i was thinking of something like that. When they scatter in complete panic, they run up the walls and that could be a mess if I'm working with hundreds or thousands.

Do you have a tut on that anywere? or perhaps some pictures?

 

Edit: I've noticed i have a lot of eggs in the small container nest i gave them. I though i didn't collect that many since i fished most of them out of water. Could the queens already be producing?

 

 

Another Edit: I guess after watching the first video, it doesn't look like much more eggs.

Edited by Loops117, May 10 2016 - 5:38 AM.

[Mdrogun]

Just make sure that the brood is developing. I have had colonies where they eat the brood or don't lay at all. The workers live 3 months at the max so you will run out of workers if new workers aren't being produced every couple of months.

Edited by Mdrogun, May 10 2016 - 5:45 AM.

[Loops117]

I'll keep a close eye on them. I noticed one queen not sticking around the rest of the queens in the nest, she just stands around by herself. I put the container next to my mantids for warmth last night and they're moving around a lot more now.

[Loops117]

Welp, i woke up this morning to my first death. The lone queen was in the garbage pile today. I noticed her standing alone with a single worker a lot. I feel like i should have put her with that single worker in her own container. One of the queens had a difficult transfer to the container upon collection, and I'm thinking this is her.