63 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

Update 12-20-2014
 
The largest colony has eight workers now, and still has a huge pile of brood. The other one in the foraging container is down to one worker now for some reason. I also moved the other colony with one worker into a foraging container too now.

[dspdrew]

Update 2-6-2015
 
Just a little picture update on my largest colony. Other than the new cocoon in this colony, not much else has changed with any of them, except the size of their larvae.
 

 

[Alza]

why is the queens gaster red ?

[dspdrew]

She's been drinking lots of hummingbird nectar.

[Vendayn]

Actually looks pretty cool, her red gaster. Kind of would be a good Halloween look if it was Halloween.

[InsideAntz]

Man those are so good shots... can't wait for the weather to break!

[dspdrew]

[dspdrew]

Update 2-14-2015
 
Just last week on 2-8-2015 I found two more of these queens out in the desert after they had a mating flight sometime the first week of February. I had no idea any Myrmecocystus species would fly in February, or possibly even January--pretty amazing! Both of these new queens have little piles of eggs already.

 

Edit: I think these were actually M. creightoni, but both of them died.

Edited by dspdrew, March 31 2015 - 7:41 PM.

[Chromerust]

Any eggs? One of mine that didn't lay eggs died a few days later. Need to update the journal myself....

PS the sounds in your apartment make me sleepy so relaxing

[dspdrew]

Any eggs? One of mine that didn't lay eggs died a few days later. Need to update the journal myself....

 

Oh yeah, I guess they both have little piles of eggs now. I'll have to add that to the journal update.

 

 

PS the sounds in your apartment make me sleepy so relaxing

 

Haha, it's the sound of my HEPA air filter, trickling water in my paludarium, and the chillout music I usually have playing. Not sure what happened to the end of the video though; It sounded like I was suddenly murdered.

[Chromerust]

Remember how last years Yumas were throwing their eggs around all over the test tube? This year those same queens have a nice neat little pile.

[dspdrew]

I don't know... I've seen them start out really nice and neat and then end up a complete disaster, kind of like my apartment.

[dspdrew]

Update 3-31-2015
 
The test tube flooded a while back and killed all of the brood, and a few workers. Since then all the rest of the workers have died off.

 

I moved the queen into one of my small ant farm boxes, but it wouldn't dig. It seems like Myrmecocystus queens get really lazy once they have workers, so I took this queen out and put another one in. So far the queen in there now still hasn't started digging either.

[Miles]

 It seems like Myrmecocystus queens get really lazy once they have workers, so I took this queen out and put another one in.

My Myrmecocystus mexicanus colony's queen is super lazy.  This colony is now deceased.

Edited by Miles, January 30 2018 - 9:33 AM.

[dspdrew]

Update 4-8-2015
 
The queen in the ant farm box died a few days ago. Today I put the remaining test tubed queen in to see how she does. The specific box I put her in had a little nest already dug in it by one of my recently deceased Myrmecocystus cf. placodops queens.

[dspdrew]

Update 4-30-2015
 
I no longer saw any movement from the queen in the ant farm box so I assumed she was probably dead. Chromerust gave me the one M. yuma he had left, so I put that one and the one I had in the test tube/foraging container setup together in one of the ant farm boxes yesterday.

[dspdrew]

Update 5-7-2015
 
Both remaining queens are now dead. That's it for this species.

[dspdrew]

Update 5-13-2015
 
I just noticed that there actually is a queen still alive in that little ant farm box. I think she might even have some eggs too.

[dspdrew]

Update 5-24-2015
 
I'm pretty sure that last queen is dead now.

[Ants4fun]

All your Myrmecocystus colonies/queens die! I wonder why...