6 replies to this topic

[Buster81]

Hi all,

I'm Buster, hailing from the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Really glad to be here, and stoked that I'm finally making a return to Myrmecology after all these years.

I'm in the process of building two new Ytong nests for the colonies I currently have. One is a Messor Barbarus colony containing a queen and roughly 35 workers. The other is a Myrmica Rubra colony consisting of 3 queens and 40 or so worker.
I'm fairly confident in the design process that I'll be adopting and have the required basics including the ytong blocks, dremel tool with assorted heads, two small aquariums (30 X 20 X 20 and 25 X 15 X 15 respecitvely), grout to accept a layer of sand for the outworld and a range of other items. 

The questions I have are as follows;

1)As I'll be placing the ytong nests directly into the aquariums I was wondering if I would be best served sealing the edges of the nest to the glass of the aquarium using silicone to prevent the slight possibility of small gaps between the ytong and the glass, into which my ants may filter. Is this something anyone would recommend? Or will I be ok to just place the nest into the aquarium flush against the glass? Hope that makes sense.

2) I'm very keen to get the humidity right with these two species. I know the Messor Barbarus, whilst still needing a moisture gradient, prefer dryer conditions to the Myrmica, who are of course a moisture loving species. Would it be a good idea to purchase a small digital hygrometer/thermometer (with probe) and build the probe into my design? And would something like this cheap digital piece of kit suffice - http://www.ebay.co.u...vwAAMXQUmFSkJBP

3) Again, regarding moisture what would be the best approach to hydrating these nests? I was thinking about making a resevoir close to one end of the nest, which would run closely behind the nest chambers/tunnels at that end. This would be accessible from the surface (and covered with a carved stone plug to hide it). I would fill this with sponge that has been cut to shape and add water to this, adjusting accordingly until perfected. Would this be ok, or am I going to be better off using another method? If so any suggestions you could offer would be brilliant, thanks.

4) This one is probably more of a preferential thing, individual to each ant keeper but, do you prefer a horizontal format where your ants leave to forage via a hole in the side of the nest, or a vertical nest structure where the ants leave via a hole that leads upwards into the foraging area? I know in the wild a vertial nest with a surface exit/entrance may be more normal to encounter but if people have found side entrance/exits better (perhaps with the hole at the bottom of the nest as seen with the Tar Heel Ant fortress and stronghold nests) then I would really be keen to know.

5) Last but not least, has anyone got any knowledge on the growth rates for Messor Barbarus and Myrmica Rubra taking into a consideration a plentiful supply of protein for the developing brood and all other conditions being optimal, or as optimal as can be.

Hope I've not asked too much there but I'm really keen to get it as right as I possibly can and knowledge is power after all I guess. The idea is that I'll keep them in these nests until they're ready to move into a much larger nest by which time I would have already built new ones. I'll also be adding Lasius Niger to my collection in a couple of months if all goes well.

Hope you're all well and must say, I love this forum. Been following it for a while now and it has really been the driving factor in my wanting to get back into myrmecology.

Sorry for an extremely long post, I really hope someone will have the patience to look through it all. I appreciate any advice I can get.

Thanks guys and girls.

Buster.

Edited by Buster81, May 28 2017 - 5:26 PM.

[Spamdy]

You've got a double post btw.

[Buster81]

You've got a double post btw.

 

Hi Spamdy.

 

Yeah I realised that. I did leave a message on my other post hinting at a moderator to pull the original post in the other forum.

 

Any suggestions for my above questions? Really hoping I can get some feedback from those who have more time under their belt than me. 

Failing that I'll go ahead and build the nests based on research I've already carried out, and go with what I feel is best where my above questions are concerned. 

 

Hopefully I can get some opinions however. That'll save me from making any needless mistakes and enable me to get this as right as possible from the start.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up again Spamdy, appreciate it buddy.

 

Buster

[Martialis]

Here's some for you:

 

1. Ya, sealing it against the glass is probably a good idea. A member known as CrazyLegs will probably be able to help with all of these.
2. The link leads back to Formiculture. It is ideal, but not necessary.
3. Sounds like it'll work.
4. Personally, I have only used horizontal nests.
5. Both protein and sugars should be available to the ants, most species appreciate a heat gradient.
6. You didn't ask too much at all! Good luck with your ant keeping endeavors!

[Buster81]

 

Here's some for you:

 

1. Ya, sealing it against the glass is probably a good idea. A member known as CrazyLegs will probably be able to help with all of these.
2. The link leads back to Formiculture. It is ideal, but not necessary.
3. Sounds like it'll work.
4. Personally, I have only used horizontal nests.
5. Both protein and sugars should be available to the ants, most species appreciate a heat gradient.
6. You didn't ask too much at all! Good luck with your ant keeping endeavors!

 

 

Hi again Martialis.

 

That's brilliant thanks. I'm doing everything within my power to make sure that, once these small colonies are introduced to the new nests, that things will be as optimal as possible. They're living creatures after all so I take it as my responsibility to do as much research as I can for their benefit.

 

I'll go ahead and purchase two of the digital hygrometer/thermometers then. I was leaning towards a nest with an exit at its base that opens up directly into the outworld, so that's kind of confirmed it for me. Glad to hear from someone else that my idea for the water reservoir seems sound enough, so depending on any other feedback I get here, I'll go ahead and incorporate that into my nests. I did come close to building water towers, as seen in the Tar Heel Ants range of nests but as I'm building mine and then citing them directly within the outworld against the glass, accessing them might be a bit more of a pain.

I'll probably also go ahead and seal the nests to the sides of the glass using grout or silicone then as well. I did wonder about this one as I had images of the ants moving between the glass and the ytong, which wouldn't have been ideal.

 

One last point, I'm led to believe that Myrmica rubra and Lasius niger have fast growth rates once the Queen has a few workers. As the Myrmica rubra has 3 queens and about 40 workers or so, and the Lasius niger colony consists of a queen and around 10-20 workers, I'm guessing I can look forward to reasonably rapid expansion of both colonies now am I correct?

 

Again many thanks Martialis, and in advance to anyone else who replies. So glad to be involved with this pastime again as to be honest, it's absolutely fascinating. Found myself sat watching the Messor barbarus at work today and lost 3 hours doing so. 

 

Many thanks again,

 

Buster.

Edited by Buster81, May 28 2017 - 5:58 PM.

[Martialis]

Honestly, I don't have experience with either species, although I would expect reasonable growth from them. Nowhere near a Solenoopsis invicta colony, obviously.

[Buster81]

Agreed. I watched a video on the growth rates and spread of Solenopsis invicta and to be fair I was amazed at how fast their colonies expand.