39 replies to this topic

[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).

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.

 

I guess when other queens lose their maternal instincts, formica queens lose all their instincts.

[Hunter]

that's a lot of colony's

[Connectimyrmex]

Thanks

[TennesseeAnts]

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.

How......? Howwwwwwwww?? Teach me your ways master!

[Connectimyrmex]

It's difficult and requires good hand-eye coordination
I was going to write a thread on it, but I got lazy and gave up.

[TennesseeAnts]

TELL ME MASTER?!??!! (please)

[TennesseeAnts]

Wait, you mixed species?! That is so cool! Tell me!
Did the have colonies?

[Connectimyrmex]

No, the queens died.

[Connectimyrmex]

Believe it or not, one queen is not in hibernation. One of my September/October queens, my Myrmica sp. queen, could not go into hibernation due to her egg cluster and pupa. She will probably join my other ants in the garage after her pupa ecloses and her eggs hatch. Until then, I'll update her status on this journal.

[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.

 

I guess when other queens lose their maternal instincts, formica queens lose all their instincts.

 

Well, I do have a small 6 worker F. subsericea colony, so I can document the queen's behaviors. 

[Connectimyrmex]

Cool! How'd you found your colony? I think that I might be missing something when I found them.

[Connectimyrmex]

TELL ME MASTER?!??!! (please)

Sometimes when you pick up a male ant, it releases a bit of sperm (when it gets frightened). At that moment, you can use tweezers to hold its gaster to a (sedated) queen's gaster. Sometimes, the reproductive organs will lock (takes practice). It rarely works, though (when the queen wakes from hibernation, she might discharge the sperm). I did get this to work with A. picea, though

[Mettcollsuss]

Cool! How'd you found your colony? I think that I might be missing something when I found them.

I founded it like you found found any fully-claustral species.

[Connectimyrmex]

I did as well, but my queens would always eat their pupae.

 

When I go to florida this year, I'm going to try to collect some ant workers to study their behavior. It's legal as long as I don't collect queens/males/gamergates, right? I'm pretty interested in seeing Odontomachus's trap-jaw in action.

Edited by Connectimyrmex, January 2 2018 - 10:14 AM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Her darkest pupa is now the perfect coloration for eclosing. She hasn't peeled the dormant nanitic's pupa exoskeleton yet, but I hope she does when I get home from school. 

 

I recently observed some interesting behavior. My Myrmica queen chewed a small hole into the test tube's filter paper-covered cotton, and I didn't know its purpose until recently. When I took her and her brood out for a test-tube cleanup, I found a large cluster of eggs stashed in the cotton. Since I have her in low light levels, it makes sense that she would keep her less sensitive (pupa and larvae) brood out in the open and her sensitive (eggs) brood in a humid and dark chamber.

[Connectimyrmex]

HER PUPA JUST ECLOSED! I'M SO HAPPY!

The nanitic is absolutely adorable. I love the size (she's tiny).

[Connectimyrmex]

I'm reviving this!

I took several of my colonies out of hibernation recently. My two Camponotus colonies (pennsylvanicus and chromaiodes) were in hibernation for about two months. The pennsylvanicus colony is feeding well, along with the chromaiodes. The chromaiodes colony is slightly more secretive, though.

 

My Myrmica queen is doing very well! I even saw her lay an egg yesterday! I have no idea when she'll stop laying and get ready to hibernate. I might have to reverse-hibernate her.

 

I've had two Lasius queens (alienus & nearcticus) out of hibernation for a while, and they haven't laid any eggs. I'm probably going to put them back into hibernation.

[KBant]

A little too early to take them out of hibernation? Here in Southern California, we’ve been experiencing a warm winter but since I can manipulate the temperature in my fridge I’m leaving my camponotus for the full 4 months to promote their health and longevity.

[Connectimyrmex]

Nah, not really. They went in VERY early. My C. pennsylvanicus has been in for 3 months, and chromaiodes for 2 1/2. The Tetramorium were in for a month, I had to take them out because the queen started laying in the middle of hibernation.

 

My Myrmica queen hasn't even been in hibernation. I'm waiting for her to stop laying. So far, she hasn't stopped.

[Connectimyrmex]

All of the ants are foraging well and in the open except for my pennsylvanicus. They're extremely shy, so I often have to give them a dead dubia or honey right before I go to bed so they can hunt under the cover of darkness. The queen has really fattened up!

The Myrmica queen's huge egg clutch is starting to hatch! I can now see a few tiny larvae! I'm kind of worried about them though, because my queen has a strange habit of coating them with her other eggs (so they're in the center of the brood ball).