172 replies to this topic

[dean_k]

Jan 6 2015:

 

Another worker passed away. But I think it was also a natural death. It seems the old guards are being replaced with new generation. At the same time, I can see why it becomes hard for Myrmica to increase in numbers.

 

 

There are two videos in this update.

 

The first video starts when I placed two semi-dead fruit flies at the entrance of the nest. An ant is trying to drag it to the queen's chamber and its behavior seems to have a pattern. It takes a break and appears to make sure she remembers where the next entrance is before trying to drag the fly into the next chamber. This behavior is seen from 1:20 to 1:40 and then again from 2:30 to 3:05 and again few more times afterwards.

 

 

 

The second video is short. I took it with bright LED light source when I saw the dominant queen was coming out to take a bite. Seeing there are larvae of various sizes from tiny to big, there should be eggs. You can see few of the eggs at 1:10 but I can't tell how many eggs there actually are. Hopefully when I get new Tar Heel ants nest, I will be able to observe easier.

 

[benjiwuf]

I can't wait until my queen's brood ecloses! they'll be next on the cam when they start getting close! should both queens with workers at roughly the same time. your videos have made me want a myrmica colony more than if I only had my own I think, they definitely interest me more now than previously anyway.

Edited by benjiwuf, January 6 2015 - 5:52 PM.

[dean_k]

Jan 9, 2015

 

Just another routine video for the colony. Nothing really to report. The two queens have been fairly inactively lately and seem to stay very close to the water foam (Probably to focus laying eggs). Good news is that I can finally see a new big egg file.

 

They were having larvae feeding frenzy.

 

[dean_k]

Jan 12, 2015

 

There have been some deaths in both workers and larvae. From the last update, 2 more workers died and they've taken out 5 dried up larvae. Not all at once, but in span of 3 days, that's how many died. There was no change in their diet and I add water to foam daily. I can only rule out workers' death as natural and death of larvae as neglection.

 

I counted the colony with pictures and I counted 15 workers and of course 2 queens. I can see how this colony has a hard time growing in size.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, it's been a long time for me to see both of the queens hanging out together.

 

Edited by dean_k, January 12 2015 - 4:25 PM.

[dean_k]

Jan 17, 2015

 

No more workers died but they've taken out more dried up larvae. So, the total dried up larvae reached 7 and I felt it was too many to be considered neglect. After carefully inspecting the AntsCanada omni nest, I think I found what has been causing the issue.

 

 

The water hole is only 1mm in diameter and appears to be prone to clogging. What I am saying is that I thought I was adding water to the foam but I wasn't really. I add water in a sink and must have missed that most of water I was injecting simply overflew. After unclogging the hole with a toothpick, I carefully added water. Needless to say, the foam absorbed a lot more water than usual.

I hope this solves larvae being dried up issue.

 

 

 

As of late, they've seen them trying to dig in the queen's chamber. I am not sure what this implies. It could be due to lack of moisture lately.

 

 

 

They've started to accept blue 100 once again. Though I must note that these are new generation of foragers. The old generation have all died off.

Edited by dean_k, January 17 2015 - 8:26 AM.

[Antboy888]

My Myrmica cf. ruginodis colony has also had some of their larvae 'dry up'. I can't really put my finger on what is happening, my own colony's diet basically the same as yours (apart from the Blue 100). Could it be that the colony purposely neglects some larvae so that protein can be fed to other, stronger larvae to produce stronger/larger workers instead of a larger amount of weaker/smaller workers? 

[dean_k]

The larvae dry up tendency did not used to occur at this frequency. But, yes, from the very beginning, they sometimes had a larvae dried up but it was a rather rare occurrence and I did not put too much thoughts in that.

 

Now that you say that it is also happening to your Myrmica cf colony, I guess there is more to this than just neglect. I did collect the dried up larvae and placed them under a microscope. They looked as if they've been had their fluids sucked dry (like vampire victims :0 ). The dried up larvae are also rock hard.

 

So, it may be possible that they are choosing to sacrifice some larvae (By sucking up their body fluids?) for reasons unknown to us currently. I do not think nutrition is the issue here since they are being fed well. They take fruit flies, spiders, mealworms, maggots, and blue 100.

Edited by dean_k, January 17 2015 - 9:53 AM.

[drtrmiller]

Is the top picture of the blue sponge the top of the nest?

 

One concern may be if you are adding mineralized water—that is, anything other than distilled, ionized, or RO water.

 

Even bottled water usually contains natural or added minerals "for flavor." These minerals are left behind as the water evaporates and is replaced by more water, eventually forming blockages in the fine network of the sponge, similar to a cross between fibrosis and renal calculus.

 

I sometimes see dried larvae, and I believe there to be several possible causes, the most likely of which are:

 

1) Sunlight, or, in particular, UV.  Soft-bodied larvae lack any pigmentation for absorbing UV and converting it to heat energy.  Larvae will yellow quickly if exposed to UV.

 

2) More likely, cool, dry air.  Soft-bodied larvae have little protection from drying out in low RH (relative humidity) environments.

 

While I can't speak for the AC nest you own, I can say that "acrylic nests" in general, that is, any nest made with multiple layers of fabricated plastic, and lacking a sealant between the layers, are generally prone to drying out because they are so well-ventilated. Tiny air molecules bombarding the outside are able to penetrate the infinitesimally small gaps between the layers of plastic, and cause the RH inside the nest to be closer to the room's RH.  

 

If you take a look at the nest, you will see some particles of old food and debris between the front and back panels, and the floor panels of each row of chambers.  While the majority of these particles are too big to fit down the gap, some are small enough so as to drop some ways down.  Air particles are far smaller, and thus have more liberty to flow from one chamber to another, outside to in, and from inside to out.

 

The fact that these ants basically put their larvae as close as they can to the sponge, further reinforces the fact that this nest may have a critical humidity control issue with the overarching design.  

 

Another reinforcement would be the fact that you have said your ants have been drinking much more than usual. Ants are mostly water, and producing new ants is very water-intensive.  If access to a potable water source (also food of sufficient nutrition) is scarce or difficult, ants may choose to sacrifice larvae and assimilate the nutrients back into the nest, recycling them for a time in the future when food and water are more plentiful.

[Antboy888]

DrTrMiller, what you have said about UV light is interesting, I cannot remember if I covered my Myrmica cf. ruginodis colony up at the time, (no idea if UV can penetrate basic clothing fabric). Also, if this is the answer then surely other species should be having the same problem. Like you, I think that your second point is more likely because mine and Dean's nesting areas were relatively dry. It would be interesting to see if any more of these larvae appear after you have unclogged your watering hole Dean.

[Crystals]

I have always found Myrmica to heavily utilize the waterers, even if they are in a test tube with just a 1/4 piece of tubing connecting them to the outworld.  I have yet to see any dried up larvae in any of my colonies however.

My nests usually have a bit of condensation on the ceiling due to the high humidity and the heating cable at one end.

[dean_k]

At this point, I will just have to observe. The water hole was clogged, so the nest was getting very little water for nearly a week.

 

Still, the colony will be relocated when I receive a new nest.

[dean_k]

Jan 19. 2015

 

It's been 2 days and I have yet to see a dried up larva yet. It is a good sign but I had to water them more.

By "more", I mean I am watering them twice a day now, once in morning and another in evening.

 

There is also another issue with AntsCanada Omni nest vertical.

 

 

 

It's hard to tell by just the photos but the outer acrylic plastic that is holding the blue foam is bending. I believe this is due to the constant contact with water. The bottom portion has a significant bend and it is literally leaking moisture.

 

 

A funny moment

 

 

I thought I froze 4 fruit flies but apparently one managed to survive and started to walk around about ten seconds later. It seemed to like Blue 100 and stayed on it until an ant jumped on it.

Edited by dean_k, January 19 2015 - 4:48 PM.

[dean_k]

Jan 21, 2015

 

No larvae dry up for 3 days and half. I think it's safe to say that the Omni nest does have humidity (or lack of) issue.

 

I decided to take a short video using a new microscope I purchased. The ants didn't take the bright light well and ran out for a bit. I had to calm them down before resuming taking the video. I actually saw a huge egg file when they were running around and I saw them hide the egg file below a pupae file.

 

They will be moving to a new nest in few days.

 

Edited by dean_k, January 21 2015 - 12:57 AM.

[dean_k]

Jan 21, 2015

 

It's been a long evening. I chose to relocate the colony from AntsCanada omni nest to THA Hearth.

 

What I did was fairly simple. I dismantled the omni nest and poured them into Hearth's outworld. And then I blew my breath into the outworld and kept disturbing them. It took 2 hours but the relocation dragging occurred. I am really tired right now.

 

I will let the videos speak for itself. (P.S. My videos have no audio.)

 

 

 

 

 

I can see clearly that they are trying to dig. I should keep my eyes on in case they do manage to dig through the seal although the gap isn't big enough for ants to pass through.

Edited by dean_k, January 21 2015 - 7:54 PM.

[drtrmiller]

Ha! You're having to use a flashlight, now. 

 

I'm sure the ants will appreciate the increased privacy over the crystal clear Omni Nest.

[dean_k]

It's an expected compromise.

 

Now I won't have to water the nest 2 times a day. Seeing I have yet to water my Lacius since December, I think once every 2 weeks will be more than enough.

 

Some visibility is lost but acrylic had its own issues with bending and getting dirty. I washed the Omni nest piece by piece and few longer pieces have bent. Thankfully, my new microscope has its own LED that cannot be turned off...

[ToeNhi]

Nice videos. Thanks for sharing. Personally, for the price of the Hearth, I would have purchased another Nucleus.

[Gregory2455]

Man Dean, you spend a lot of time with your ants! All these videos. There are days that I do not even look at some of my colonies! I guess that is what you get for catching so many queens...

Edited by Gregory2455, January 21 2015 - 11:19 PM.

[dean_k]

Nucleus is too big for this colony. I liked the Hearth's simple layout. The ants had hard enough time navigating with Omni nest. At least they won't be slipping like they did with Omni nest.

 

I will be giving them minimum food for a week or so. They took 2 full weeks to start using their Omni nest effectively, so it will take another 2 weeks for them to fully get used to the Hearth.

 

Because of its much taller outworld, I am now able to use taller liquid feeder as well. I won't probably have to refill the tall feeder as often as before (refill every 3 days). There appears to be much less air flow also because Blue 100 is still moist. It usually dried out in ten hours in Omni nest.

 

 

 

 

Washing omni nest was an ordeal itself. It ... stank bad.

 

They tried to dig a lot last night but their urge to dig seems to have subsided.

Edited by dean_k, January 22 2015 - 6:23 AM.

[dean_k]

Jan 22, 2015

 

The girls are doing well. They are adapting well to their entirely new environment. They've also chosen an interesting spot for their garbage disposal site.

 

 

 

They've taken dead fruit flies to an external connector port. The hole is meant to be used in case someone wants to add a test tube to transfer a colony or in case someone wants to connect to another formicarium for further expansion. Nevertheless, it is a good spot for me. I can just open it and take the garbage out with ease. I also can probably add food through this hole also.

 

 

I've taken two short videos (Again, no audio)

 

The ants are exploring outworld in numbers and remain very active underground. A big egg file cannot be seen but it should be in the deepest part of the nest. Larvae are currently distributed in 3 places all of which are around the water reservoir. I will no longer be able to know the exact number of larvae and existence of egg files.

Few ants are still trying to dig through the gap between the removable side glass and the brick but the number is significantly less compared to last night.

 

 

Edited by dean_k, January 22 2015 - 4:50 PM.