79 replies to this topic

[Retroman]

Adult queens and workers are perfectly capable of removing the seed coat of Nyger and Poppy seeds on their own. Crushing them and then giving the opened contents to the ants is not really necessary. That's the beauty of the seed coat. It protects the seed contents until the ants need them.

 

As an aside, I have seen males and queens of P. tenuispina. rugosus and montanus consume small particles of crushed raisin bran flakes. I suspect the generalization that no adult ants can consume solid food may not be universally true for every species. I was surpised to see the Pogonomyrmex tenuispina males do this as most written material seems to indicate that males must be fed by their sisters.

 

I currently have an adult colony of P. tenuispina raised from a few fertile queens on supermarket-sourced Poppy seeds, Black Nyger seeds and crushed-up dried 'All Living Things' brand of Freeze Dried Medley for Bearded Dragons. (Pet Smart) Except for crushing-up the whole freeze-dried insects, the ants themselves have processed all the food themselves. I don't see a need to crush-up seeds for them. All Pogonomyrmex colonies store the seeds whole until right before they are feed to the brood. The exposed contents start to spoil from oxidation and microbial activity. These seeds sustain the queen through the initial brood production until her new workers start feeding her. I am certain my high success rate raising delate Pogonomyrmex queens is partially due to supplying them with seeds, even if they are suspected or known for being fully-claustral.

[antsinmypants]

Thanks, Retroman, for the information. I have a question. Of my 6 remaining colonies of Pogonomyrmex, each colony has only 0 - 4 nanitics, a couple or no larvae, and 1 - 4 eggs each. Should I let them hibernate over the winter or keep them toasty at 80 - 86 degrees over the winter? What is the optimal temperature to raise a colony of Pogonomyrmex? I don't think the nanitics will survive over the winter as they don't survive more than 2 - 3 months at the most, leaving the queens to tend for their larvae and eggs all by themselves.

[Retroman]

Pogonomyrmex will cease normal activities in November regardless of the temperature. I stop warming mine with an overhead lamp around this time and let them go through the end of February at room temperature. I continue to provide a small amount of moisture every other week but no feeding.

 

Several years ago, I had a small colony of P. tenuispina die because of a lack of moisture. (1 queen and 4 nanitic workers'.) I found them all above-ground and the soil was bone-dry. A successful queen stops all above-ground activity once the first workers' appear, so I know they were all searching for water.

 

I have tried a few times in the distant past taking them through the Winter at higher temperatures to see what happens. A few workers will continue activity but the vast majority will become inactive. Depending on the particular species, you may continue see a few larvae produced but these will 'disappear' before getting too large.

[Retroman]

In my experience, the nanitic workers live through the winter and should be productive the next spring.

[antsinmypants]

Thanks again, Retroman. More questions now for you. Is it normal to have a Pogonomyrmex queen with only 3 or 4 nanitics, a few eggs and larvae going into the winter months? Should I have expected a more productive queen had I been taking care of her properly? I collected the queens the first few weeks of March. With the care guidelines that you have provided, what can I expect to see in her second year as queen ant this coming spring of 2015? Will her colony double in size during her second year? I am still feeding my queens live mealworms, but should I stop and go with the All Living Things?

[Gregory2455]

Look, it all depends on location. .. I have a P.subinitus queen that's had larvae before, but they died and she hasn't layed anything for two months.

[Retroman]

Under ideal conditions, Pogonomyrmex colonies can experience prodigous growth depending on the species. I once had a P. rugosus queen raise 8-10 nanitics the first summer/fall and then into the hundred + the second season. The nanitics all came through the winter diapause just fine. However, I use large enclosures with a range of temperature and humidity gradients to choose from. I use soil from near where the queens were found. The one large enclosure I'm using now is 30" wide, 23" tall with 1 inch separating the plate glass panels. I had a piece of Laxan cut with a hole drilled in the top for the ants to use as an entrance/exit. I can then vacuum the extra soil and detritus piles when the ants are inactive without drawing out too much soil by accident. I use an overhead lamp on a timer which is on about 10 hours a day. The lamp gets shut off during the winter and the enclosure is indoors with ambient temperatures between 60-72 degrees F. I've done very well with this set-up and have had significant population growth every year.

[Retroman]

Thanks again, Retroman. More questions now for you. Is it normal to have a Pogonomyrmex queen with only 3 or 4 nanitics, a few eggs and larvae going into the winter months? Should I have expected a more productive queen had I been taking care of her properly? I collected the queens the first few weeks of March. With the care guidelines that you have provided, what can I expect to see in her second year as queen ant this coming spring of 2015? Will her colony double in size during her second year? I am still feeding my queens live mealworms, but should I stop and go with the All Living Things?

This partly depends on which Pogonomyrmex species you have. Let's say P. californicus. Under good conditions, you could see the 4 workers grow to 50-60, possibly more. Freshly-killed mealworms are good; I would also add small amounts of All Living Things (freeze-dried crickets and grasshoppers), Poppy seeds, Nyger seeds and Kentucky Blue Grass seeds. I've tried the generic bird seed mix and they simply cannot physically handle some of those seed species, especially the perfectly round varieties. So, I've narrowed-down the selection of seeds I use, but some variety is important...just as with humans. Some seeds have a higher carbohydrate content, some a higher fat or protien content and this can be important at different times of the year.

Edited by Retroman, September 5 2014 - 6:47 PM.

[dspdrew]

Yeah, I think replicating the ants' natural habitat and climate will probably give the best results.

[Retroman]

Here's what I do. I get soil from near an adult colony or where the queen was found. They are very site-selective and know where they need to be to thrive; who am I to question millions of years of successful evolution? I sift the soil thorugh a spagetti strainer to remove stones, twigs, bits of broken glass, etc. I mix a portion in a bucket with some water so the soil is moist, but not muddy. I pack it in sections in the enclosure as I process it. I press it down with a block of wood or something similiar to compact the soil. In this way, when it dries-out it will be very stable and the tunnels will not collapse. Once the enclosure is filled-up to the point I want to take it, I even-out the top soil so its level and provide a starter hole. If they don't like where its located in relation to the overhead lamp, they will choose another location.

 

An overhead lamp with a 60-watt incandescent bulb can provide the necessary heat they need for brood development. Plus, it allows them to regulate their metalbolic rate as necessary. You will see many of them settle under the lamp above and below ground and just soak-up the heat. Of course, you don't want the soil temperature to get too hot either. If you can stand to leave your finger on the soil under the lamp for more than a few seconds without feeling uncomfortable/'too hot to touch', the temp is likely ok. (I use a clip-on lamp with a 'bell' for focusing the light from Home Depot/Lowes.) I think its important to give them enough physical space so there is a temperature gradient to choose from. It it gets too warm, they can move away from the area that is too hot.

 

You don't want to let all the soil get completely dehydrated. On the other hand, too much moisture will allow mold and fungus to grow and this can also cause problems, especially if their seed stores get wet. I usually add the water slowly with a turkey baster away from under the lamp and away from where any brood chambers might be. Depending on the size of the enclosure, I may add anywhere from one to several ounces of filtered water (no floride) every other week or once a month. In my aquariums, I also place a small medicine bottle cap in the top soil which I fill with water for them to drink once or twice a week. I put a few small stones in the cap in case some ants crawl-in so they don't drown.

 

All of these things require experimentation and experience to get them just right. Not too much heat and soil water, but enough to allow them to thrive. A large enclosure is 'more forgiving' and allows them to move out of an area that is sub-optimal or stressful in temperature and/or moisture. These are all things I've learned over 30 years of captive ant studies. I hope this advice is helpful.

Edited by Retroman, September 5 2014 - 7:16 PM.

[dspdrew]

That is exactly how I'm planning to design my "ant farm" style formicarium for my Pogonomyrmex. Wet clay dirt allowed to dry between two plates of glass should be plenty strong enough to keep from collapsing.

[Gregory2455]

So am I, with that double pane formicarium.

Edited by Gregory2455, September 6 2014 - 2:14 PM.

[antsinmypants]

Thank you all for your input. Of my remaining 6 colonies, only two have several nanitics, a few eggs,larvae and pupae. Why some of the more productive colonies now are back down to only one nanitic is beyond me. It seems like it is hit-or-miss with this hobby. I do not know if I will be able to pick up more newly mated queens next March as the developers have already started leveling out and putting stakes in the ground on the adjacent land where I caught 60 + queens. These queens were within a hundred feet or so of several established, presumably parent, colonies.

[antsinmypants]

Horror of horrors: Last night I discovered that a pupa that was unable to be fully released from it's pupa form, i.e. it was still in a semi-flexed position at the joints, was still alive. I noticed it flicker one of its legs and that it had become redder in pigmentation. The other nanitics already moved it outside of the nesting chamber several days ago. How did this happen to the pupa? Was it a lack of proper humidity? Shall I euthanize it?

[Crystals]

Look closely at its feet.  It isn't uncommon for some of the cocoon threads to bind their legs.  I have often seen young colonies whose workers aren't experienced enough to remove the threads.

I use very fine jewelry tweezers to remove the threads - it isn't the most gentle process, but it is the only that gives the worker a chance assuming its exoskeleton hasn't completely solidified. 

I see this quite often with parasitic Formica queens and their first 10 workers.  The queen doesn't know better, and none of the workers are old enough to have figured it out.

[Gregory2455]

My second Crematogaster sp. nanitic has tangled legs, and I believe it is dead...

Edited by Gregory2455, October 28 2014 - 9:48 PM.

[antsinmypants]

Thanks for the advice, Crystals. Unfortunately, the deformed nanitic passed away. But on a more positive note, I did observe that the Pogonomyrmex larvae are able to directly eat from a unprocessed poppy seed without prior mastication from the nanitics. However, this particular larva did have rudimentary jaws. A smaller, more immature larva does not have those, so I would assume the queen or nanitics would have to feed her by trophallaxis.

[dspdrew]

I have been watching a lot of my ants feed their larvae, and I do notice them sucking all the fluids out of eggs, and then feeding the left over skin (solid part) to the larvae. They also use their mandibles to chew solid dry food into little teeny tiny bits that they feed to the larvae also.

[antsinmypants]

It seems like such a waste of energy to lay eggs and then feed them to the larvae, or in the case I described earler, feed a pupa to a larva. To borrow a verse from Isaiah 55:8 New King James Version (NKJV) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” ----- only an ant can understand what an ant does, especially when there are other food sources clearly available in their set-up.

[Foogoo]

Am I being paranoid or is it normal for Pogonomyrmex workers to die regularly?

 

I got a queen with about 10 workers almost 2 weeks ago from dspdrew. They seem happy and I've fed them seeds, freeze dried worms, live insects, etc. There's a few larvae and pupae but I've noticed at least 3 workers have died in the last week. Is this normal or could I be doing something wrong?