21 replies to this topic

[Nincadaguy]

So it rained pretty hard this morning and Monomorium had a nuptial flight in Tulsa, so I found 3 queens (two of which were mating on the sidewalk when I found them). Since there polygenic I decided to put them together in a test tube, and i have them a little honey as a boost 

 

Edited by Nincadaguy, June 30 2017 - 9:50 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Good luck with them, I don't think this is a very commonly kept species. They are very interesting to watch in the wild, and I think they will even accept queens from other colonies, which is very good if you have access to wild colonies to dig into and take queens.

[Nincadaguy]

Good luck with them, I don't think this is a very commonly kept species. They are very interesting to watch in the wild, and I think they will even accept queens from other colonies, which is very good if you have access to wild colonies to dig into and take queens.

 

 

cool, I know 3 Monomorium colonies that are a few feet away from my apartment. Infact I found another dealate while i was walking to a store, and she seems to be getting along well with the other 3 queens 

[VoidElecent]

Monomorium is on the top of my wish list this anting season, do you have any suggestions on how to catch them?

[Nincadaguy]

Monomorium is on the top of my wish list this anting season, do you have any suggestions on how to catch them?

 

• Try to note were monomorium colonies are 
• if you see a colony preparing for a flight, try to note what direction the queens/drones are flying 
• from what i've seen, the ants will mate on the the ground, and that males tend to fly off afterwards 

 

that's as good as I've got, this was my first time catching monomorium and seeing them fly

[VoidElecent]

 

Monomorium is on the top of my wish list this anting season, do you have any suggestions on how to catch them?

 

• Try to note were monomorium colonies are 
• if you see a colony preparing for a flight, try to note what direction the queens/drones are flying 
• from what i've seen, the ants will mate on the the ground, and that males tend to fly off afterwards 

 

that's as good as I've got, this was my first time catching monomorium and seeing them fly

 

 

I see, that makes sense. How far away from the nest did you observe the reproductives swarming?

[Nincadaguy]

I didn't see any mating swarms, but one of the nest was on a street curb, and I saw queens and drone mating on the opposite side of the street on the sidewalk 

[Nincadaguy]

Quick update, I found two more queens and added them to the test tube. Right all 6 queens are huddled together. 

[Nanos]

i just caught a few Monomorium Minimum queens this is my first time raising these guys, do you know if they are semi or fully claustral species. Also do you have any info on the life cycle?

thanks.

[YsTheAnt]

i just caught a few Monomorium Minimum queens this is my first time raising these guys, do you know if they are semi or fully claustral species. Also do you have any info on the life cycle?
thanks.

They are fully claustral and will exept workers, queens, and brood from other colonies. I am not sure about the lifetime of a queen, but the 'life cycle' is the same as any other ant (egg, larva, pupa, worker) if that is what you mean .

[ponerinecat]

I have a large colony of 12 queens. You can actively dig up their nests, taking some queens, workers, and brood and leaving some behind to keep the colony going. I once found a log with a 30+ queen colony inside!

[Nanos]

 

i just caught a few Monomorium Minimum queens this is my first time raising these guys, do you know if they are semi or fully claustral species. Also do you have any info on the life cycle?
thanks.

They are fully claustral and will exept workers, queens, and brood from other colonies. I am not sure about the lifetime of a queen, but the 'life cycle' is the same as any other ant (egg, larva, pupa, worker) if that is what you mean .

thanks for the reply, that is good to know, i can stop worrying now. i was thinking more on the line of how long it takes to develop from egg to adult, i haven't been able to find much information on them at all. i'm guessing not that many people keep these guys since they are small and can escape easily. Also any tip on diet, i'm planning on giving them dead insects (fruit flies, meal-worm, and anything else i find outside) and honey and maple syrup. Also how is your colony doing?

[AntsMaryland]

I would love to keep this species! Question: how do you keep ants that are really small like Monomorium minimum or Solenopsis molesta? I always find these smaller ants have a tendency to drown themselves in their test tube set-ups.

[YsTheAnt]

When setting up the tube, push the cotton to the point where about 1mm is left dry. It will gradually wick through, providing the ants with necessary hydration, without risking them drowning. This has worked for my colony of Monomorium quite well.

[Kaelwizard]

For some possible information watch TarHeelAnts on youtube. He keeps them.

[DJoseph98]

Hey any updates? I read on antwiki that the queens of this species only live a year and since I just caught one I was wondering if you ran into this roadblock

[Nincadaguy]

Wow, it's been nearly 6.5 years since I started this journal (although it was almost entirely empty). A lot has happened in my life since then since then. But I wanted to restart this journal to help provide an experience. Monomorium Minimum isn't nearly as well documented compared to other species, in terms of care.

Onto the meat.

Sometime during mid to late summer, a nuptial flight occured right in front of apartment. I scooped up any queens that I saw along with males (as I observed that males would still mate on the ground). I caught a total of six queens. I kept three queens per tube with the males that I caught for about a day before I eventually moved all the queens into a test tube with a Genesis insert.

Fast forward to now and the colony has a good amount of workers. I ordered the total hearth package form THA, so I expect to have a bifurcated Mini Hearth for them late January to early February.

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[ANTdrew]

Welcome back! Seems like there is very little water in those tubes. That may be a good thing because every colony I’ve had eventually tunnels back into their water and floods it.

[BleepingBleepers]

O, can't wait to see pictures of your ants in the mini hearth, that's what both of my ant species are in right now and they've been doing pretty decent.

 

I want to keep large ants for easier observation, so I'll just observe yours from your journal.

[Nincadaguy]

Hello everyone,

 

Thank you for your kind words. Today I finally got my Total Hearth Package in the mail. Everything looks great. Bone really shines as a color when paired with other bone-colored formicaria.

 

 

A picture of the interior. 

 

 

For moving the colony, I chose to dump them in as I couldn't foresee any downsides to doing so. It went alright with only a few stubborn stragglers. Here's a picture of the colony, you can spot 5 of the 6 queens.

 

 

If you look at the top chamber, you can see the sixth queen. she must've found here way there during the scramble.

 

 

I apologize for my lack of wordiness. if there's any questions, i'm happy to answer.