132 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

Update 4-4-2017
 
It looks like these guys might be completely moved into their new home soon; I saw them moving food and brood. Once I get the entire colony into the vase, I'm planning to sell it.

[dspdrew]

Update 4-28-2017
 
I sold this colony to SoySauce . I've always wanted the bicolor variety, but these were not completely pure bicolor variety. They were found in Palmdale, CA, an area close to where the all-red variety could be found, so I'm pretty sure they are slightly mixed. They did not act as wasp-like as the ones much deeper in the desert. They are slightly smaller than them, and their gasters were not completely black either. I figured if my goal is to get a colony of the pure bicolor variety, there's no point keeping these. I have enough colonies to take care of anyway.

[YsTheAnt]

Do you remember where in Palmdale you caught these queens? I'm planning on making a trip to that area during their nuptial flights.

[dspdrew]

They're pretty much everywhere in that area. I found these right off the 18, but there's really no need to go to that exact spot; you'll want to go wherever it rains.

[AntsCalifornia]

Update 3-8-2017
 
It's only been a couple of days, and they've already dug this much.
 

Wait a second. That's a huge difference. There are two cylinders, one with your Pogonomyrmex and one from a mystery species. The mystery ant cylinder is so much clearer and easier to view. Have you seen a difference between visibility and species? If so could you comment on species and visibility. That would be very helpful as I like how easy it is to see the mystery species but hate the difficulty I have trying to spot your Pogonomyrmex ants. I would like to keep ants that are easier to view in natural nests, as those types of nests are the best.

[dspdrew]

Wait a second. That's a huge difference. There are two cylinders, one with your pogo and one from a mystery species. The mystery ant cylinder is so much clearer and easier to view. Have you seen a difference between visibility and species? If so could you comment on species and visibility. That would be very helpful as I like how easy it is to see the mystery species but hate the difficulty I have trying to spot your pogo ants. I would like to keep ants that are easier to view in natural nests, as those types of nests are the best.

 

The other one has Myrmecocystus mexicanus in it.

[dspdrew]

Update 5-26-2019
 
Well it's been a while since I had a colony of these. I knew the conditions were perfect for these to fly out near Calico close to Barstow yesterday, so I drove all the way out there to look for some. It didn't take long before I found them in the process of digging their nests. Some were already closed up, so I assume those probably flew the day before.
 

 

 

 
 
I was hoping to find the more "purebred" bicolor variety, but looking at the queens and some of the workers I saw running around there, I can see they weren't quite as large and wasp-like, and their gasters weren't 100% black. I'm now starting to realize the ones I want all seem to be closer to Arizona, like anywhere east of Palm Springs. Some day I will get them.
 
For now, I think I will start another colony of these. I only collected about 30 of them, mainly because I'm out of Dirt Box formicariums, and those seem to be the only things I have that this species does any good in. Never the less, I'm still going to try alternative setups again.
 
I put six of them in the six vacant Dirt Box formicariums I had, six of them in my little starter formicariums, and the rest in test tubes with dirt added.

[dspdrew]

Update 6-5-2019
 
I found another two of these out in Landers, CA the other day, since they flew out there the day before. I noticed the two queens I got still had some red on their gasters, but less than any of the queens from Calico. It almost seems like the further east you go, the larger and more wasp-like they are, and the more purely black the gaster is and red the rest of them are.

 

So far of all these queens, not a single one in the test tubes has laid any eggs, but every one I put in a formicarium has a big pile of eggs, probably 40 or so. Because of this, I put a few more of these in my small starter formicariums.

[TennesseeAnts]

These are beautiful! I want one so bad now...

[Alacom]

I just caught one of these in a pool and I’m trying to feed her seeds from a mix-seed bird bar. So far she only shows interest in killing the cotton lol. I don’t have much space available in my garage for another Queen since I already have 4 colonies, so I’m wondering what I should do with her. Any ideas?

[Alacom]

Oof I just scared her whilst feeding a different queen and her new workers, causing her to immediately devour the two eggs she just laid.

[FSTP]

a monthly update ?

[dspdrew]

Update 7-13-2019
 
Many of these colonies got their first workers about two weeks ago.

[dspdrew]

Update 8-4-2019
 
These colonies are doing fairly well. On average they have about five workers, with the largest colony having 17 workers. That large colony also has a lot more brood than most of the others too.

[TennesseeAnts]

Update?

[dspdrew]

Update 11-7-2019
 
These have done amazingly well. I've sold a few of them, and for now have decided to keep the three largest for myself. Worker counts are 40, 100, and 100. The two with 100 workers I just recently moved into my large starter formicariums.

 

 

 

 

Can you tell what their favorite seeds are?

 

Apparently Poppy seeds and Amaranth.

 

[ponerinecat]

that queen is beautiful, the gaster is reminiscent of S. richteri

[Broncos]

How do these guys do in a tubs and tubes setup


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[FSTP]

How do these guys do in a tubs and tubes setup


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In my experience they seem to do just ok. From this year I had half my queuens in dirt setups and the other half in T&T set ups and while they all produced and grew the ones I had in dirt setups grew in numbers much much faster. While the T&T ones increased in worker numbers at about half the rate of the dirt ones. Right now I'm in the midst of moving my T&T colonies to dirt setups to see if they will speed up in growth. These are queens all from t he same location, for what its worth.

[Karma]

Sorry if you get this question a lot Drew but where do you get those containers?

Edited by Karma, November 24 2019 - 3:24 PM.