177 replies to this topic

[sgheaton]

Hardy har har har. Just letting you have all the problems first.

Edited by sgheaton, April 24 2017 - 9:59 AM.

[sgheaton]

5/5/2017 - Feeding Update with pictures!

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Oh how ye' have no idea:

 

Someone(s) about to get fed!

 

Just you wait!

 

I ran into my neighbor last night who gave me two of his daughters crickets as she's got a tarantula among other exotic pets. Anyways...2 crickets!

 

The sun was setting and hitting the tank nicely that my phone kinda cooperated. Food corner with two old byformica feeders chillin, along with some brownie.

 

About this time they were all frantic and going crazy inside. Not because of the two crickets outside but probably more from the direct sunlight coming into their formicarium. I put the cover back into place at this point:

 

While I thought I more-or-less smashed the crickets heads, they proceeded to ...move and twitch around as more ants swarmed them. It was really interested to watch the sand ripple with the excitement of ants. I took some videos to show the beekeeper at work. Not sure how to go about posting them yet. Anyways I'd say 10 came out for each cricket, which is more than normal for me. Makes sense though as the colony size is increasing. Good till the next crickets!

 

Next activities are to clean the sponge magazine, pick up the leftover food pieces. ....Darn lid. 

Edited by sgheaton, May 5 2017 - 5:23 AM.

[sgheaton]

Forgot to take a picture of this, but they've more-or-less covered one cricket in sand. What and why?

 

They burrowed into the carcass of the other one from the head-hole down into the body. Mega-morbid and crazy to humans, super funtime-playland for ants. 

[XZero38]

My tetras do something similar to the water reservoir i have in their outworld they pile up their garbage around the base of it blocking off access to the water itself. I'm guessing its their way of showing they don't need that resource at the moment.

[sgheaton]

I'm just going to keep on pretending they are drying it out to make cricket-jerky. 

[sgheaton]

5/23/2017 - Simple Update

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Been messing around in the yard. Got tired of the zero landscape so I've been slowly working on it. Moving rocks and working sand away to dirt. Fairly certain the ants were not happy with my complete upheaval of their homes. Eh, I am not happy with their slanting my porch foundation so the feeling is mutual. What use to be the cats rolling dirt patch and the couple different ant colonies is now flowers:

 

I gave them a fresh lid of byFormica liquid feed. I actually saw some on the thing! Yes the old ones are still present in the tank, yes I need to remove/clean them. 

 

Otherwise the colony is still doing well:

/untilted

[sgheaton]

6/2/2017 - New month, new update

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Per usual I have things I need to do but haven't gotten around to it and so I will post in an attempt to force myself to do things.

Dang sponge magazine is moldin' up something fierce. I'll get in there and clean it this weekend (Will I?!)

 

The colony appears healthy and well. Lots of going ons whenever I look in on them. There are typically 4-6 at any given time venturing out in the outworld. I need to remove the extra sunflower shells and foods. 

 

I'm surprised at how much/frequently they move the eggs around. I'm assuming this is due to my sub-par design/amenities and their desire for optimum conditions.  The queen with in all her glory:


Room B:

[sgheaton]

6/5/2017 - Feeding Update

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Ran to Kohls yesterday which is conveniently next to Petsmart. Stopped in for a few things and to pick up a cricket. Went through this weekend and cleaned the formicariums "water area" with a q-tip to wipe off the black mold that I've got goin' there. Needed a ...hook thing. Oh well, much better now. Also picked up their sunflower shells and other dried chunked food pieces that I could. From the two crickets I gave last time... 1 is.. gone and I believe dissected and hanging out in piles inside the formicarium. At least this chamber has a leg and this one has a body and I didn't build them that way.... The other cricket is rather dried and buried in sand. It's thorax was missing as well so I guess they wanted that portion only. Either way, picked it up in my trash can.

 

Smashed the head and gave them the cricket in the super freshly cleaned food area!~ I'd give it alive and let them catch their food but 1) not sure they are quick enough/that many to get the cricket and 2) I don't want that thing escaping and stinkin' up my living room. 5 minutes later...all over that sunofagun. It was like a super feast. I kept picking it up and moving to an off ledge I am trying to coax them onto... Wasn't happenin'.

 

This morning....Can't find the cricket at all. Not sure where...they've moved it to. It's not like they moved it out from the tank somewhere.. Didn't see big..chunks in the formicarium either. So again, they have successfully hidden the food from me. doin''' quite well though. I'll take a picture and recount their numbers here soon. 

Edited by sgheaton, June 5 2017 - 5:57 AM.

[sgheaton]

6/12/2017 -  Status Update

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'Bout that time! I'm actually nearing my year...or I passed it.. either way.. got this dialed in pretty well for with Tetramoriums. Was walking into work feeling that it was just hot/muggy enough that Tets should be flying. Looked down and sure enough: 

Snagged this gal just for the heck of it. I figure I'll brood boost if anything. I don't really need another Tet queen but would pass her to another Colorado Anter if they can't stumble upon these things. I thought I took a picture of the colony that exploded in my front yard but I can't seem to locate it this morning. Oh well. I came across 6 ant hills in my front yard. You've all seen that thing before. Nothing exciting. 

 

Neighbor had a graduation party for his niece, aka his daughter had an opportunity to give me another cricket. Turns out there was a big noisy bugger she wanted to get rid of and was very eager to give it to me. Was kinda humorous because her (11 year old friend) was giving a stink about how, "She's putting it in a bag and sealing the top which will suffocate it!!!" and I wasn't going to tell her I actually smash their heads before giving them to my ant colony which will most likely eviscerate it beyond recognition. That's what older brothers are for. 

 

I previous cricket is still buried in "food corner" which can be seen here:

While I really didn't need the cricket -- I was doing a little liquid feed testing as it was -- but wasn't going to say no to a free cricket. I imagine they will bury this one as well(?). I had it on the platform which of course it kicked...twitched off of to the otherside of the tank.

 

I think they are slowly dragging it back though...

 

They have..... made this one of their entrances which I DO NOT WANT .... 

That's the sponge magazine..mold highway! ...darnet. They've got all sorts of stuff stuck in it too. Sunflower shells, a cricket leg was there this morning.. ugh.... stupids.. 

 

Overall they are doing really well though:

 

Edit:
Found another Tetramorium queen outside of building 3. Left her alone because....I don't need another one on my work desk. And it begins, Colorado Tetramorium Distribution INC open for business. 
 

Edited by sgheaton, June 12 2017 - 9:06 AM.

[swayvos-ants]

I've been reading your journal from the start i loved watching your colony grow, I've caught a tetra queen I've had her for about 4 days now and i know she has eggs but i don't know how many exactly but i know its over 3-4. this is only my second time ( the first was years ago when i was in like 7th ) keeping tetras my other colony failed due to me trying to brood boost with workers too. i though that if i cooled the workers off to where they slept i could slip them in with my queen. (this was before i knew how ants work). i want to try brood boosting this tetra queen , i just wanted to know what anyone thought about it 

[sgheaton]

I don't think workers from another queen are so easily accepted as compared to the eggs/larva of another same species queen. If you're wanting to brood boost, capture a queen and pilfer larva from her. That was my plan with one of the queens I captured at work...2 days ago? Upon inspection this morning, it was dead. The colony is really bumpin' though. I'll need to take a new picture. 

[swayvos-ants]

ill think ill try and find a way to boost with workers FOR THE ANT COMMUNITY !!! plus I'm gonna try it with all different forms of larva and egg to see what stage shell take most too. 

[sgheaton]

My original plan last year was to brood boost one queen with all of the other captured tetramorium queens I had, though quite honestly I'm fairly certain they (Tets) grow rather quick'n'steadily and so brood boosting isn't entirely necessary to have a good colony. Every time I look in on my current colony, I'm amazed at how much more ...mass there is. They are a fast growing species. 

[swayvos-ants]

so i went out today to get brood to boost and i went to scoop some brood up with a big spoon and i got all the brood, when i got home to sort through the brood n and workers i found a queen so i captured a whole tet colony i put them in a test tube they have around 15 workers and alot of brood (kinda boosted them before even capturing them from brood collecting from another colony before i found them ). I still have the other tet queen ( first one i found) and i don't wanna put her in there but i do want to because it could become bigger faster honestly if i find another one ill do it. i do want to start a full colony from a single queen with out boosting or anything. ( ill upload pictures soon) 

[sgheaton]

6/16/2017 - Status Update

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Rough dates but it is looking like I captured the Tank-Tetramorium queen on July 2, 2016.

Going to officially renamed her to Zagara, the overqueen of the Zerg Swarm, as the original Zagara couldn't swim. 

I allowed them to move into the fish tank on September 22, 2016 though they didn't officially make it into the formicarium until September 29, 2016. 

 

After (roughly) a year things are looking like this:

 

All the sand they've put in between the glass and hydrostone wall acts as a very impressive barrier even though its messy as all get out. 

I believe the queen finally has lost her wings. I don't recall exactly when this happened but I think it was AFTER hibernation. My pictures could be an indicator as to when.

 

Counted 13 scouts (zerg drones?) in the outworld this morning. One cricket is buried (I believe) or they've moved a pile of sand close to their entrance. Other cricket is ...getting hollowed out. A 3rd cricket ... is getting pulled closer to the others but is just a shell of an insect that I don't think they really care about it. 

 

I can't even begin to describe everything I've learned over the year, how much fun I've had, all the names, pictures, videos, experiences. The pure excitement at becoming King of the Zerg BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT WORKS IN MY HOUSE!

 

I feel like the best advice is, "Welcome! Prepare to experience a miniature world unlike your own. But also prepare to do things incorrectly/wrong because you won't get this right the first time, or second, but you're in the right place to learn more than you ever thought possible."

 

Future Plans

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Construct a lid  + a light perhaps. 

Start a "insect food" colony.... maybe....

........Assemble the Pogonomyrmex formicarium 

Edited by sgheaton, June 16 2017 - 5:25 AM.

[sgheaton]

6/26/2017 - TETRAMORIA!

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About a year ago I decided that I would contain ants in the spare fish tank I had. Quickly realized the grand scheme of that project is for someone with 5+ years of experience. Settled for a 20gal fish tank that was $13 from Wal-Mart. And well, with a little bit of effort and acknowledgements, I'm sittin' with:

& 

 

They've made the sponge in the bottom left their entrance of sorts and through the sheer power of increasing their numbers, I'm beginning to see chunks of food getting hauled up into the formicarium. Unfortunately this is the mold and dirty area now... so....way to go girls! Gave you a ramp of sorts to the entrance that I constructed halfway up the formicarium for some reason. Was that not enough?! Noted for next formicarium....

 

The Problem

I think I'm watching an escape begin to unfold.  They've discovered the silicon railways that hold the tank together. 

 

This really isn't good because I've seen workers all over them. All weekend I had to keep flipping them off. I even decided to crush one of the workers hoping her body would be a deterent to the others and maybe some stress danger chemical was released then. Nope! Finding more and more all the dang time!

 

I've applied a new coating of fluon this morning but they don't seem too bothered with the silicon acting as a ladder. That being said I'm thinking I might cut the silicon out of the tank. 2" down just cut parrallel to the floor cleanly and peel the top rest away. That would be easiest & quickest. Plan B is to get a lid constructed. Stat.

[Antking117]

yeah id cut i tout, make sure you are putting the fluon on thinly and evenly too, there shouldn't be all those drops of it going down the tank that i see in your pictures, try practicing a little on something before you apply ot the tank. if put on unevenly and thickly it cracks and can allow easier access out of the tank.

[Kevin]

You could add some packing tape as a brim around the top and fluon that, it should work better than on the silicone. 

[sgheaton]

Thanks for the reminder with the fluon. Recent applications have been in a bit of a hurried panic naturally. I had the tape idea this morning but I will definitely need a more permanent solution. Plan C is if they get too unruly is to just take an aluminum drip tray, outline the square top in silicon myself, and then line up and apply weights on top. Idea being weight on top smashes the silicon tightly enough that they won't fit through at which point I'll curse at them, remove the lid, and flick the grouping back in. that's a C solution. 

[sgheaton]

6/28/2017

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Didn't like the pictures I took this morning so just pretend. Look, ants!

 

Using the sharpest dewalt exactoblade ever, very easily cut out an inch segment from the silicon railways. I was only going to do the two but I had a thought that, "Drew didn't stop at just coating two of his 4 ant cabinet legs. Gunna do it, do it right and do it now while you're already doing it..." Fine. All 4 segments cut. Applied Fluon to the spots and will deal with it later... *famous words*

 

Decided they are probably hungry as I don't remember the last time I actually fed them. Gave a new byformica liquid feeder and ...within... I dunno. 2 minutes(?) there were a dozen on it. Additionally I gave them some Cichlid pellets. Tried fish food in the past but this time, again, that 2 minutes was enough to have a crew moving these chiclid ...food discs on the move. Was kinda fun watching one flip it in the most inefficient way possible to get it closer to the entrance, but they seem to enjoy them. They had moved all 5-6 of the discs off the plate by the time I left for work. Some more research will have to go into what kind of fish food these lil buggers like and don't like. 

 

Hopefully the scavengers were simply that and will calm down for a day now that they have food.