39 replies to this topic

[Connectimyrmex]

February 2, 2018 (other ants in hibernation)

Myrmica sp. (pinetorum?)- Egg cluster, larva, pupa, and worker

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus- Larva cluster, small group of workers

 

Camponotus chromaiodes- Large group of workers

 

Tetramorium immigrans- Small group of workers

 

Formica subseriscea

 

Lasius nearcticus

Lasius alienus (going back into hibernation)

Edited by Connectimyrmex, February 5 2018 - 8:00 AM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Update:

1: A new Brachymyrmex alate queen recently eclosed. 

2: I caught two founding Tetramorium queens under a placemat. 

3: My Camponotus Chromaiodes queen 1 has her first larva.

[ctantkeeper]

CT ant keepers unite!!! lol, just kidding. Anyways, awesome journal! like how everything is neat and organized

Edited by ctantkeeper, July 23 2017 - 9:07 PM.

[Connectimyrmex]

CT ant keepers unite!!! lol, just kidding. Anyways, awesome journal! like how everything is neat and organized

 

Yay, first comment! #ctanterswilltakeovertheworld

 

I learned that my "Lasius Interjectus" group was actually Lasius Nearcticus. One of the alate pupae eclosed today!

 

Also, I flipped a huge rock and saw a clueless Formica Subseriscea queen staring back at me amongst thousands of workers. A worker soon dragged her away (I considered catching her and the colony but I realized that I'm not prepared for keeping a large colony of a large ant).

[ctantkeeper]

 

CT ant keepers unite!!! lol, just kidding. Anyways, awesome journal! like how everything is neat and organized

 

Yay, first comment! #ctanterswilltakeovertheworld

 

I learned that my "Lasius Interjectus" group was actually Lasius Nearcticus. One of the alate pupae eclosed today!

 

Also, I flipped a huge rock and saw a clueless Formica Subseriscea queen staring back at me amongst thousands of workers. A worker soon dragged her away (I considered catching her and the colony but I realized that I'm not prepared for keeping a large colony of a large ant).

 

Hmm, #ctanterswilltakeovertheworld" has a nice ring to it lol. Congrats on your new alate btw!!! Anyways, I feel as though you made the right call. It is best not to collect things impulsively (although it may be very tempting) without first knowing how they may be stored or kept. A colony like that would probably succumb to stress pretty early on after being captured. I would put more focus on starting colonies in captivity as opposed to collecting them from the wild (No brood boosting this time .). This is not to say that you can't do both though, some species handle the transition into captivity quite seamlessly. 

Edited by ctantkeeper, July 24 2017 - 8:05 AM.

[Salmon]

CT ant keepers unite!!! lol, just kidding. Anyways, awesome journal! like how everything is neat and organized

 
Yay, first comment! #ctanterswilltakeovertheworld
 
I learned that my "Lasius Interjectus" group was actually Lasius Nearcticus. One of the alate pupae eclosed today!
 
Also, I flipped a huge rock and saw a clueless Formica Subseriscea queen staring back at me amongst thousands of workers. A worker soon dragged her away (I considered catching her and the colony but I realized that I'm not prepared for keeping a large colony of a large ant).

Don't regret missing that opportunity... a couple months ago the same exact thing happened to me, except there were two queens so I took one along with a bunch of workers. They couldn't handle the stress and were dead within a week.

[Connectimyrmex]

Thanks, guys. I'm glad I didn't catch her.

I also ordered a THA Mini Hearth for my 6 worker (going on 13!) Camponotus Nearcticus colony. I also ordered some THA test tubes, because my plastic tubes from Michael's were way too small for my other Camponotus queens.

[Connectimyrmex]

I nearly swallowed a Citronella Ant when my Aspirator broke... They taste terrible...

Lasius species started flying! I caught myself a beautiful Lasius Murphyi queen!

[Connectimyrmex]

I put her with my Lasius Nearcticus workers and they are getting along fine.

[Connectimyrmex]

Pheidole queen caught today! She has a very wide head and a small gaster.

Edited by Connectimyrmex, July 27 2017 - 5:28 PM.

[Connectimyrmex]

New queens:

Solenopsis Molesta

Camponotus Pennsylvanicus

[Connectimyrmex]

New queens:
Formica Subseriscea

 

I moved my current Aphaenogaster Picea colony into a THA Mini Hearth. I am very pleased with the purchase!

I also artificially inseminated two Formica Incerta alates with two Formica Subseriscea males as a small experiment. So far, one of the queens laid an egg.

[Connectimyrmex]

I updated the first post.

NEWS:
Camponotus Nearcticus colony just had two workers eclose

Tetramorium Caespitum & Aphaenogaster Picea queen had first two nanitics

Camponotus Chromaiodes queen was brood boosted and moved into a Mini Hearth formicarium

[T.C.]

Pictures would make it alot more interesting.

[Connectimyrmex]

Photo updates coming soon.

 

News: 
Myrmica queen caught, she died a few minutes ago

Camponotus chromaiodes founding colony caught, 1 nanitic

 

Two colonies released:
Brachymyrmex depilis

Lasius latipes x alienus

Edited by Connectimyrmex, August 22 2017 - 12:05 PM.

[Connectimyrmex]

New queen!
Lasius umbratus

[Connectimyrmex]

I caught a C. pennsylvanicus queen and she laid an egg.

[Connectimyrmex]

Woah, I havent updated this in forever!

My first C. chromaiodes colony died, leaving me with the wild caught colony. The colony now has seven workers!
Ponera pennsylvanica, Stigmatomma pallipes, Brachymyrmex depilis, Lasius neoniger x 11, Lasius claviger, Aphaenogaster rudis, and a three worker colony of Aphaenogaster picea caught!

 

The Aphaenogaster rudis queen has seven eggs, three larvae, and two pupae!

I also caught a Blacknose Dace, Spring Peeper, and round-wing katydid.

[Connectimyrmex]

I collected a C. pennsylvanicus colony with approximately 30 workers, as well as a Formica species colony with about ten workers.

All of my ants are in hibernation as of now.

 

Also, my living Myrmica queen has ten eggs and a hatchling larva!

[Mettcollsuss]

CT ant keepers unite!!! lol, just kidding. Anyways, awesome journal! like how everything is neat and organized

Yay, first comment! #ctanterswilltakeovertheworld

I learned that my "Lasius Interjectus" group was actually Lasius Nearcticus. One of the alate pupae eclosed today!

Also, I flipped a huge rock and saw a clueless Formica Subseriscea queen staring back at me amongst thousands of workers. A worker soon dragged her away (I considered catching her and the colony but I realized that I'm not prepared for keeping a large colony of a large ant).

Yeah, I've noticed that F. subsericea queens aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. While lifting large stones to look for founding chambers, I came across a massive F. subsericea colony. The brood was carried away instantly, but the queen just stood there for a second, then ran AWAY from the nest. I tried to catch her to put her back in the colony, but failed. I guess she found her way back on her own, because when I lifted the rock again a few days later, the exact same thing happened, except this time I was able to get her back to the colony. Once she was back at the entrance, she just stood there until a worker dragged her back into the nest.