111 replies to this topic

[Hikari]

So, I've been busy these last few days...

- (6-13-17) Spent my afternoon digging up a small ant colony I found under a log destined for our burn pile. They weren't in the wood, but directly under it in the dirt. I was so hyped when I saw the queen. I wanna say they're a Formica species based on what I could find online, but I'll probably get an ID check just to make sure. Trying my best to learn how to tell the differences myself, but it's hard when they're so tiny. Anyways, I managed to snag as many of the workers as I could manage (they were FAST, omg), and any brood I could find. There wasn't a whole lot, TBH. Must be a newer colony. Anyways, it was totally worth dealing with 90°F temps and the humidity (a rarity for Ohio it seems, lol).

 

I took some pics while I had the queen mostly separated from the other workers while I caught the rest of them:

 

 

Anyways, I'm working on a bigger outworld with a bit of sand on the base, but in the meantime, I have them in this:

 

Not the prettiest thing, but it'll work. Two tubes have plain water, one's honey water, and the other sugar water. I gave them a mealworm as a welcoming gift. The colony is all pretty much concentrated in the tube covered in tin foil. It's crowded, but they don't seem to mind:



You can just make out the queen's gaster poking out near the cotton, lol.

Another thing I've noticed is they actually seem to hate the heating pad, so I've been keeping them off of it. I guess since they live in dirt, they probably like the cooler temps (unlike my Camponotus who LOVE the heating pad).

 

Oh yeah, I guess I have another queen to name, lol. I plan on keeping my maybe-Formica ants, so I want to pick something I like.

 

- (6-14-17) Started work on a new outworld and liquid feeders. I was busy taking care of my corn snake more of the day, so the ant stuff got started later. I'll hopefully get it finished soon.

I checked on the Camponotus today, and I saw larvae!

 

Maya here has the most, and she's taking good care of them. I also spied one in Onyxia's tube, which was tricky since she's also scattered her eggs all over again...   Freya and Terra will probably take a bit more time, which is fine. They were caught more recently.

[Hikari]

- (6-15-17) I ditched the crappy mini-outworld in favor of a new outworld made out of an old betta bowl thing I had lying around. The mini-outworld actually cracked when I was taking out the test tubes, so I'll have to find something else for my Camponotus when the time comes. Luckily, I have plans.

 

 

 

Nothing fancy, just put some holes along the bottom for tubing, and placed the nest tube on the side. I also made some container waterers since they take up much less space than the test tubes. They have normal, honey, and sugar water in them. Right now a handful of workers are checking it out. One made a small attempt to dig in the aquarium sand I lined the bottom with, but it's not very deep, so she didn't get very far. Anyways, this will be their final set-up for the foreseeable future. I think it should last them quite a while. One thing I do probably need to consider is getting fluon at some point, but right now the olive oil+lid is doing the job. I don't think the oil will cut it once the Camponotus start needing outworlds though, so it's probably only a matter of time before I get some.

Edited by Hikari, June 15 2017 - 7:57 PM.

[Hikari]

- (6-18-17) Bad news on the Formica front. Not sure what happened, but I checked on the ants this morning, and almost all of them were dead. It's weird, they seemed to be doing so well. I have no idea what happened. The queen is still alive, but barely. It's not looking good. I have the queen and three surviving workers in a pill bottle on some damp paper towel to see if that can help, but I'm not getting my hopes up. She's just twitching and can't really stand. Man, this sucks... 

 

I suppose there's always the possibility of snagging a founding queen during flights, but I haven't had much luck while deliberately queen hunting. Been keeping an eye out for Tetramorium too, with no luck. So far, all the queens I've found were by accident. Guess there's nothing left to do but try though. I do still have my Camponotus though, and I know they'll be keeping me busy in about a month or so once workers start to arrive. I know if anything happens to Maya (my first queen) in particular, I'll be heartbroken. I plan on keeping her out of the lot if all goes well.

[Hikari]

Quick update: Formica queen is still hanging in there. Her legs still twitch, but she's currently able to stand and walk on her own again if she needs to. Right now, she's resting. I currently have her in what I've dubbed the "hospital tube". A new, clean test tube with lots of wet cotton for humidity along the bottom as well as the water plug, so she can rest horizontally and get fresh water with minimal effort. I have a clear red cover over it to not spook her, but I can still monitor her. Her remaining workers have been attending her. Speaking of which, shortly after I moved her to the new tube, I realized three more of them were hiding in the exit tubing of the outworld. I'm surprised they didn't try and make a break for it when the old tube got disconnected! I added them in with the others, so she's got six workers alongside her now. I do worry about how long they'll last though...and I lost the brood as well when I cleaned out the old tube. I'm still trying not to get my hopes up, but I am rooting for her. I've done all I can to make her and the workers comfortable, so all I can do now is watch and wait. Still, I do wonder what the heck it was that caused the problem in the first place?

 

I did stumble across a potential solution to my formicarium problem at least. I plan on making a formicarium based off a tutorial I found here: http://www.formicult...c/2657-3-tower/

It's cheap, easy, and effective. I can make multiples of them for very little money. It's perfect. If the Formica pull through, they'll get the first one. Either way, I plan on making enough for the Camponotus queens too, for when their workers arrive.

[Hikari]

- (6-19-17) So, by some miracle, it seems the Formica queen may actually pull through. She's looking back to normal, and I saw that she doesn't seem to have any problems moving around, and her legs have stopped twitching. The workers are all still healthy-looking as well, if not a bit timid in wanting to leave their tube. They're re-connected to their outworld, after I gave it a good scrub and emptied it of all but enough sand to make a ramp to their tube, and have fresh sugar water in their feeder, so hopefully I've gotten rid of whatever it was that caused the problem in the first place. I'm not counting them out of the woods yet until I see new brood though.

 

Meanwhile, Maya is doing well. She has her first pupa!

 

My heart melts every time I see her look up at me like that and wiggle her antennae. I didn't know it was possible to be so fond of an ant, but she's adorable when she does that. She also wasn't too mad at me when I accidentally filled her water reservoir a liiittle too high, and the floors and walls of the formicarium got a bit wet. Actually, she might have enjoyed it, I saw her go over to hang out where the water was leaking from...might have been drinking it, lol. Either way, the extra water has dried up, and her brood were never in any danger since they were higher along the wall. Still, I really do need to be more careful filling that thing. One thing I hate is how hard it is to judge how full it is. I won't have that problem when I make my own.

Now, I am a little concerned for the other queens. A lot of Onyxia's eggs are turning brown. I'm not sure why. They're scattered all over the tube as well. I also don't know what happened to the larva I saw in there earlier. Freya's eggs weren't looking too great either. I pulled them back from the heat a bit, and loosened the cotton plugs a little to make sure it wasn't getting too warm, and that they were getting enough air circulation. I can see water making it to the other side of their water plugs, so I don't think lack of hydration's the problem. I think once I get their new formicaria finished, I'll hook their test tubes up to them, and let them decide if they want to move in early or not. Luckily, Terra's looking okay, but her eggs are younger, so they'll hopefully be spared any issues.

 

I plan on going ant hunting tomorrow. It's been storming/raining on and off for two days, and tomorrow's supposed to be sunny and relatively warm in the morning/afternoon, so I'd think something may be flying. I figure if I go out around 11am-noonish, I might be able to find something. Still probably early for Formica to be flying, but maybe I'll be able to snag a Tetramorium. Tomorrow evening will be the start of formicarium-making!

[Spamdy]

Amazing journal! I caught a Camponotus Pennsylvanicus about a month before you, you would think she would have workers by now, but NO. Due to extreme amouts of noobism, the last time I checked she still had eggs. By the time I come back from vacation I expect stage 2 larvae...  Even though my queen is miles behind I'd still like to compare queen and colony growths.

I'm going to say though, Onyxia looks unfertile from the information given...  Or it is some disturbance hence the dent. ；-；Glad to see Formica stabilizing though, and some of the other queens. Also, where did you get those feeders, did you make them by yourself or did you buy it, I think I have seen something similar to that. Thanks!

 

Again, amazing journal!                                                                    

Edited by Spamdy, June 22 2017 - 12:39 AM.

[Hikari]

Amazing journal! I caught a Camponotus Pennsylvanicus about a month before you, you would think she would have workers by now, but NO. Due to extreme amouts of noobism, the last time I checked she still had eggs. By the time I come back from vacation I expect stage 2 larvae...  Even though my queen is miles behind I'd still like to compare queen and colony growths.

I'm going to say though, Onyxia looks unfertile from the information given...  Or it is some disturbance hence the dent. ；-；Glad to see Formica stabilizing though, and some of the other queens. Also, where did you get those feeders, did you make them by yourself or did you buy it, I think I have seen something similar to that. Thanks!

 

Again, amazing journal!                                                                    

 

Aww, thanks! I'm glad this journal is entertaining at least.

Don't feel bad about only having eggs. Outside of Maya, my other queens are all in the same boat. I plan on moving them into their new DIY formicarium as soon as they're finished to see if that helps. I don't think they like the test tubes very much. That might be why Maya is doing so well, she's in a proper formicarium.
Onyxia is my problem queen...she was injured when I got her, and while it doesn't seem to hinder her ability to lay eggs, it may be affecting her in other ways. I'm going to wait and see if things improve.
My Formica are stable, but not out of the wood yet. I'm not sure if any of the remaining workers are coming out to forage. I left them sugar water, a drop of honey, and a small dead spider near their outworld entrance though, so it's there if they need it. They're another group I'm looking forward to moving into a new formicarium. I think the extra privacy will do them well.

As for the feeders, I made them! You can find the tutorial here: http://www.formicult...-liquid-feeder/
The tutorial for the formicarium I'm making is here: http://www.formicult...c/2657-3-tower/. I'm modifying it a bit though tomake them less see-through, I'll post finished pics of my version on here when they're done.

[Hikari]

- (6-23-17) So, quick update. On the Camponotus front, Maya is still doing well. Three pupa now.

I'm debating on letting Onyxia go. She's such a hot mess right now, and I'm still not even sure if she'll be capable of raising brood. As it is, her test tube was such a mess and covered in dead eggs and mold that I moved her into a clean one. If a fresh start doesn't help, then I think she's probably a lost cause. Now that I have Freya and Terra, and with Maya doing so well, I'm not really as desperate for Camponotus queens.

Formica are down to three workers. One died in a drop of honey, and two were just found dead. Two others are acting funny. I decided to chuck the outworld I'd made, since the workers were fine til they went into it to forage. Though I don't know if that's the cause, I'm playing it safe. Anyways, if I lose those two, that'll leave just the queen and a single worker. Queen hasn't laid any new eggs either. If the last worker dies, I'll still keep the queen, but not sure if she'll survive on her own. Guess time will tell what happens.

I got a bit behind on the homemade formicaria front. The grout I'd put in the bead containers fell out and cracked...ooops. Welp, lesson learned. I think I'm just gonna hot glue aquarium sand to the bottom instead. That sticks quite well to plastics. It doesn't have to be a very thick layer either, just enough to cover the bottom of each "floor". At least the drilling is all done. Making holes big enough for Camponotus in such a small container was a bit tricky. I work all weekend, but I'm hoping I can manage to put the finishing touches on the formicaria by Sunday night.

Edited by Hikari, June 23 2017 - 11:10 PM.

[Hikari]

The two Formica workers died, so now I'm down to the one and the queen. Not sure how useful the last worker will be either, as on inspection, she has a gaster injury. *sighs* I also wonder if the queen will lay anymore eggs, or if she's just given up at this point. Hard to say. The DIY formicaria that I'm making hit a little bit of a hiccup, so I'm behind schedule on making those. It's been a learning experience. Waiting for more grout to dry, then depending on if that is ant-worthy, they'll just need some finishing touches. Then I can put the Formica queen in one to see if that helps anything, and Freya and Terra will get the other two. If Onyxia starts doing better, I'll make one for her later.

 

It's been so wet and rainy lately that I don't think I'll have a chance to catch any ant flights for a while. I just hope things improve for July, when the Formica queens are supposed to fly. I really want to raise some, and with my current queen in questionable condition, it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to catch a founding queen. I know we have Formica species in our yard too...might see abut acquiring a cheap blacklight to try and attract them when the weather seems favorable. Or, at the very least, maybe a small kiddie pool since they seem to like landing in pools, lol.

[Hikari]

So, my Formica queen lost her last worker today. She's now on her own. Not really sure what to do at this point. I did make her a new set-up though, to see if I could get her comfortable enough to start laying eggs again.

 

It's two of the smallest bead containers I had, and I shaped a small chamber and hydration hole in it. There's a cap that goes over the formicarium part too, of course. Luckily the dirt here has a lot of clay, so it stays put really easily. I actually had to add some sand, cause sometimes it gets TOO hard. At this point, I'm just going to treat her like a semi-claustral founding queen, and see if anything happens. Pity I don't know exactly what Formica species she is, or I might try finding her some brood (granted, I suck at IDing ants so I might not even get the right brood anyways).

Still drives me nuts that I managed to lose an entire colony though. *sighs*

[Antking117]

So, my Formica queen lost her last worker today. She's now on her own. Not really sure what to do at this point. I did make her a new set-up though, to see if I could get her comfortable enough to start laying eggs again.

 

It's two of the smallest bead containers I had, and I shaped a small chamber and hydration hole in it. There's a cap that goes over the formicarium part too, of course. Luckily the dirt here has a lot of clay, so it stays put really easily. I actually had to add some sand, cause sometimes it gets TOO hard. At this point, I'm just going to treat her like a semi-claustral founding queen, and see if anything happens. Pity I don't know exactly what Formica species she is, or I might try finding her some brood (granted, I suck at IDing ants so I might not even get the right brood anyways).

Still drives me nuts that I managed to lose an entire colony though. *sighs*

It happens, yeah def try and find some brood usually queens can't bounce back from being alone because they start relying on their workers! She might be different, but good luck!

FYI cool setup though

Edited by antking117, June 25 2017 - 9:08 PM.

[Hikari]

So, it seems every time I refill the reservoir in Maya's THA formicarium, the humidity spike causes condensation no matter what. An amusing side effect was watching her lick said condensation off of the acrylic roof. It was so cute. She lost her grip at one point and tumbled over, lol. Silly ant. It's not like she doesn't have a water tube (and I know it works).

[Hikari]

It happens, yeah def try and find some brood usually queens can't bounce back from being alone because they start relying on their workers! She might be different, but good luck!

 

 

FYI cool setup though

 

Yeah, I might try and hunt for brood. Problem is the weather has been horrible lately. Summer storms have made the temps dip into the high 60s even during the day, and the nights are chilly. I haven't seen any ants out and about because of that, so I wouldn't even know where to start looking. The one big Formica colony I know of is probably the wrong species given that the workers are almost the size of my Formica queen. Plus, rain is pretty likely almost every day this week, so I'd hate to disturb a wild colony then have them get poured rain on.

At this point, I'm just looking forward to when it tends to warm and dry up around mid-late July to go looking for queens again. I'm not giving up on my current queen just yet, but I am very well aware she's probably done for (especially if I can't get her to eat anything I offer her), and I'd be best just starting from scratch.

[Hikari]

- (6-26-17) I put the finishing touches on my DIY formicaria. They're done! I have three so far. These were based of PTAntFan's post here: http://www.formicult...c/2657-3-tower/

 

The coolest thing is that you can add or remove layers. For just the founding queens, I reduced it to just two, and the top one is cottoned off til workers arrive, so it still feels like a claustral chamber. 

 

Unlike the original tutorial, I "painted" (literally) a 50/50 grout/sand mix on the bottom of each later, both for privacy and something to feel a bit more textured for the ants' feet. Also put a bit up the walls where the ants move between layers for traction. The hydration system also works perfectly, and the grout helps spread the moisture. The wicking medium also doubles as a drinking device, which is perfect. Each layer has a tubing port, just in case I need it. Otherwise, it at least helps for ventilation. I can refill the water chamber through a small hole near the top, just like my THA one.



And the moment of truth!



I moved Terra and Freya just like I did Maya. I know it's a bit jarring to have them disturbed, but Maya managed okay, and seems to have flourished in her formicarium, so I wanted to give the other queens the same opportunity. I moved them the same way...put the queen in a small container, moved the eggs from the test tube ever so carefully, then introduced the queen. Like Maya, they were all "OMGWTF???!!!" til they realized their brood was safe and sound. They've already rearranged them to their liking, placing them at the far back near the climbing wall (no surprise there, it's the darkest and warmest side), and are now pretty much just casually poking around their new homes, testing the cotton and the like. I think they'll enjoy them.

I have one more that's currently being unused that'll probably be home to whichever new queen I find next. If I need more, now that I have the initial costs for base materials taken care of, they'll be dirt cheap to make. Only downside is the visibility isn't the best, since the plastic in these isn't the best quality and the ants can look a bit distorted through it, but it does the job it needs to at an amazingly low cost. I think I spent maybe $40 on all the materials and equipment for the first run, and I got three formicaria out of it. I have PLENTY of grout and sand left, so I could make several more for a base price of $1.50-$3 per bead stack container depending on which coupons are running at the craft stores too. Time will tell how many I'll eventually need.

Oh, and on the Formica queen front, I have mixed up a sugar water/whey protein mix (banana flavored!) for her to eat, dispensing it via q-tip. Everything else is up to her now.

[Antking117]

Very cool, and good luck with the formica queen! if you can get her any brood to eat too would be good

[Hikari]

Very cool, and good luck with the formica queen! if you can get her any brood to eat too would be good

Brood to...eat? Like, just collect up any type of eggs and let her eat them?

Edited by Hikari, June 26 2017 - 10:47 PM.

[Antking117]

 

Very cool, and good luck with the formica queen! if you can get her any brood to eat too would be good

Brood to...eat? Like, just collect up any type of eggs and let her eat them?

 

Yes

[Hikari]

- (6/29/17) So, today I decided to let Onyxia go. She just wasn't doing anything, and the two eggs I managed to salvage were also rotting. I released her under a rotting tree with lots of wood she could burrow in if she decides to. I don't think she's gonna make it considering her gaster dent, but I figure she can at least have her taste of freedom if she doesn't instead of wasting away in a test tube.

Also, the Formica ants that live under our burnpile were out and about, and I decided to go poking around their colony. I lifted a few decent sized pieces of rock and found pupa! They were quick to try moving them, but I managed to snag a few for my Formica queen, as well as some eggs and a few larva that got caught in the scuffle. I went for the smaller worker-sized pupa, but they also had a bunch that were huge! I wonder if those were majors or alates? Kinda hoping they're the latter, cause I really am hoping they have a nuptial flight around my yard later this year. At any rate, my Formica queen has been brood-boosted, though I don't know if that'll help anything or not. She seems to be avoiding them like the plague at the moment...though I imagine they probably smell a bit like the colony they came from. Hope she warms up to them. I got bit up pretty good by angry worker ants for her (my poor ankles...).

[Hikari]

- (6-30-17) It seems the Formica queen has accepted her new brood. I saw her perched on top of the pupa earlier, and just a bit ago I noticed she had moved the larva to a separate area and seemed to be giving them some attention. No idea on the status of the eggs, they're too hard to see in that thing, but I'm actually hoping she ate them to get her strength up. I'm still providing her a sugar/protein mix via cotton as well, though lord knows if she's actually drinking it. Either way, I'm hoping with this new development, she may yet still surprise me.

All the remaining C. pennsylvanicus queens are still doing well. Terra and Freya took little time in getting used to their new homes, and like to hang out on the back side of the bottom level where it's warmest. I decided to add the top layer back on, so they now have the option to go to the middle level, in case they want someplace drier, but they seem content where they are. The top level is cottoned off. I'll open it once workers arrive. I'm still debating on if I want it to double as a small outworld or not (though for a handful of workers, it'd probably be perfect).

[Hikari]

- (7-3-17) Tonight was an excellent night for anting! The weather was perfect, and it managed to not rain so the temp and humidity stayed higher into the night. Took my dog on a walk and saw this epic battle:

I also caught three Tetramorium sp.e queens during the walk!


(here's one of them)

I do plan on keeping one of them, I've heard they're fun.

I also caught a very angry, bitey C. pennsylvanicus queen, bringing my total back up to four after releasing Onyxia:

 

(The tips of her wings were torn in the scuffle and she's currently pulling at the cotton on her tube. Given my track record with this species, might just toss her in the bead container formicarium right off the bat to see what happens.)

Also, last night I made a Walmart run to aquire a cheap 24" blacklight and a white sheet. The set-up is simple, but effective:
 

 

And lo and behold, there was a flight tonight! I managed to catch four Temnothorax curvispinosus queens! They were still winged when I found them, but wasted no time getting rid of them, and were all wingless by the time they were put in their individual test tubes. Not sure yet if I want to try keeping any or not, but it might be fun seeing as they'd be my only yellow-colored ants in my collection. Their size might also make things tricky, but I figure if I can keep the Tetramorium contained, they should be fine too.


(unfortunately, this was the best I could do picturewise. They are pretty small at only 4mm, and my camera struggles with anything like that. Google the species if you want to see better pics)

So yeah, I was excited. After so many tries and no luck, I've gotten two new species! I'm really happy I have wooded areas and stuff in my yard, cause it really seems to help with the ant diversity. I keep finding so many different kinds. It's gonna be even more fun now that I can blacklight for them.

P.S. - No activity on the current queen front, though I am hoping to see Maya's first nanitic within the next two weeks. I need to start figuring out how I want to design her colony's outworld.

Edited by Hikari, July 3 2017 - 10:02 PM.