174 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

Where did I say that?

[Gregory2455]

A while back.

[dspdrew]

I don't know why I would have said that. Maybe it was someone else.

[Gregory2455]

No it was absolutely you in chat.

[Gregory2455]

Update: 9/18/2014

The one that escaped while I was diving died today. They lost too many workers (19/22) when they escaped they just were not able to make the comeback.

Also, another one of these is being sold to Alza, which will leave me with three.

Edited by Gregory2455, September 18 2014 - 3:26 PM.

[Alza]

update on the number of pupae 

[dspdrew]

No it was absolutely you in chat.

Nope.. wouldn't have said that.

[Gregory2455]

Never mind, I checked the dead colony today, I do not know why, but I doused them in water (Like I usually do to make sure they are dead) to make sure they were dead and the queen showed signs of life. I took them out of the test tube, and salvaged all the brood i could, washed them off, and they are ok. They still act lethargic though for some reason.

Here they are:

[Alza]

magnificent queen. Bright red body, with nice shaped mandibles. 

[Gregory2455]

Yeah, I am glad I was mistaken and she is alive, I have an idea what was doing this to them ant they are in a safe place now.

[Alza]

what's happening with them right now ?

[Gregory2455]

They are doing good, I still do not have the feeding processes straight with all my colonies, but I am getting close. These guys are well fed, but thanks to all the recent trauma I have not seen the queen lay any eggs yet.

[Gregory2455]

                                                                            Experiment!

 

I am going to experiment with these. I want to see what factors makes the colony produce more major workers, and I have two theories. 

ONE: More food = More majors to help in the effort to gather food.

TWO: More stress to colony = More majors in the effort to protect the colony.

 

Since I will have 3 after giving one to Alza, I am going to make my smaller colony (The escapees) the control group.

The control group will be fed everything in one liquid blend, so protein, sugar AND water will be supplied by this.

 

My two evenly populated colonies will be the ones tested on.

 

Colony #1: Will be given the same blended food as the control group, but significantly more food, this will probably result in leftovers.

Colony #2: Will be given sugar water, and protein in the form of LIVE insects (Fruitflies, mealworms, crickets, ect.) Live food will stimulate threats to the colony.

 

I will start these tests once my control group gets significantly close to worker population of my other two, who are both at 25+ workers now. I will even out the populations by taking brood from the other two colonies and boosting the control group. After they are all even, I will stop taking brood from the two large colonies, and wait a week or two for the stress of brood taken from the colony is eliminated. By the time the three colonies are at even size, they will probably be producing majors already anyway.

Edited by Gregory2455, September 19 2014 - 4:17 PM.

[Alza]

interesting 

[Gregory2455]

Update: 9/22/2014

That small colony is down to 3 workers, and the queen is still not laying eggs, it may be all up to the boost brood, but they did eat two fruit flies today so that is a good sign.

The other three are doing very well, I should count the workers soon, I think the biggest one is coming up on fifty workers.

[Gregory2455]

As I went to feed my largest colony today, to my horror, I found the entire test tube flooded. I do not know what happened. Miraculously, everything except a couple workers survived. Also a while back, the queen of this same colony must have been injured because I looked at her today and her thorax has a large dent on the top, I hope this didn't happen now when this colony flooded...

[Alza]

update on the others 

[Gregory2455]

They are all fine, but doesn't look like this one colony will make it.

Edited by Gregory2455, September 24 2014 - 10:51 PM.

[dspdrew]

I had that happen to one of my M. mexicanus colonies.

[Gregory2455]

The queen is still ok, she is basically a cripple, but if her digestive tract was not hurt, she can still do her queenly duty of laying eggs, and if needed, the workers carry her as they have been doing.