35 replies to this topic

[Mathiacus]

I will try to get a picture later but it is in the corner of the reservoir away from the water inlet. On the back side of the block in the second last picture of the donor colony above. It is buried right at the bottom of the tank. :-( now that I know this colony is reproducing I may have to build them a nicer nest to use so I can deconstruct this one and repair it.

Since building this one I have become better at cutting glass and I have learned to drill holes in glass too. I am just a bit worried about moving them again. They have all moved nest twice at my hands.

[Crystals]

Might not be possible with the ants inside of the nest.  Not sure if this would work with your setup. But I have fixed inaccessible corners by squirting a thick grout mixture at the corner with a syringe or turkey baster.  The thick grout mix can't get into the tunnels, but will stop ants (and only allow water a slow absorption). I like a ketchup consistency for this.  You probably would have to tilt the nest while adding the grout, give it a few shakes/bumps to settle it, and leave it at an angle while letting it set (6-12 hours).  Or you could use a runny consistency and just put the nest on end so it seals everything, but that may block your water tunnel unless you used a pipe cleaner to keep it open while things set.

Not sure how much work it would be to re-construct the nest.

[dspdrew]

Sorry for the post spam but I got a little excited! I decided to have a good look at the colony under a bright light when I found this girl carrying a cluster of eggs! I did not collect any eggs! A few larvae but no eggs! This colony IS a working colony!

Awesome. Hopefully they aren't just trophic eggs.

[Mathiacus]

the temporary home for these guys. The sandcastles in tubs are there to provide a place for them to dig a nest but allow me to easily remove them to a new nest when I get one ready. Each has a single hole drilled at ground level and a pin hole up top for watering.
this is the entire colony minus a few that got smashed during the deconstruction of their previous nest. I was counting but gave up at 120.
not long after tipping them into the new nest. They are all runni g in and out of the sand castles. I hope they accept them as good places to dig. The one at the bottom left is directly on top of the heat pad.

[Mathiacus]

They are already digging nests in all containers.

I captures a few that were left over outside in the original nest. After 2 weeks the still recognize and accept their former nestmates.

[dspdrew]

Did you flip that thing over, or did those queens dig to the top like that?

[Mathiacus]

I am fairly certain that they are the males. Apparently alate queens are ridiculously rare in this species. They have totally different feet from the workers and are the only ones of the species who can climb smooth surfaces. They climbed to the top and drowned themselves in the little water pools up top.

The rest have successfully dug tunnels and chambers up to the top inside the containers now though.

[Mathiacus]

Ok. I have kept these guys for a while now.. I have decided I do not like them. I have witnessed multiple murders in this colony and they all seem to be a bit psychotic. The only thing making me keep them is my curiosity about the pile of eggs they have.

[Gregory2455]

I will take them!

[dspdrew]

A lot of murdering goes on in ant colonies.

[Mathiacus]

I let the colony of larger ones go. Away from the house. They took two days to leave but they are gone now.

The colony I had in my original upright nest were taken to where I caught them and the pipe from the nest to the outworld was removed. This was over a week ago. They will not move out. The nest recieves full sunlight during the day but they have just plugged the hole there the pipe was and are going about their business as if nothing happened. The only change is they forage for their own food now. I will give them a while before I force them out. I want to put some M.nigrocincta in there to watch them dig.

[dspdrew]

[Mathiacus]

They finally moved out. My adventures with this species are over.

[antmaniac]

Found this article in search. I guess I am that back from future guy who may be looking for just that very information and ends up finding the same species.Very nice formicarium setup you have there. One thing though, the queen I caught for this species seems be quite clumsy when comes to smooth surfaces.

[EvilRobotSanta1]

https://wikivisually.../Green-head_ant
This is a great resource I will use to establish a new colony.
I am going to collect some workers from my area and try to develop.

[Rstheant]

Neat Hebel/ytong formicarium.