35 replies to this topic

[skocko76]

The journey of my Messor barbarus colony. May be a short one...I'm just a beginner

Edited by skocko76, August 24 2017 - 7:40 AM.

[skocko76]

I got this queen from AntKit. She had only one nanitic. In a month's time, the number of workers increased to 20ish. I got my first big pupa... Probably a media worker, very excited. The queen was quite lively, they loved honey water and grasshoppers. Also loved protein jelly from AntKit.
The first problems begun, though. Last night, I took them out of thier little black box, and connected their test tube to a formicarium. The workers love exploring it, but the queen does not look good. This morning I found her tipped to the side, her head burried in cotton plug. I guess she's stressed out by the light. She's moving her legs occasionally, so I know she's alive. Have you had a similar thing happen to your queens?

 

Edited by skocko76, August 21 2017 - 2:20 AM.

[Serafine]

Messor queens are VERY sensitive to light and vibrations. They need it dark and calm, especially during early stages.
You should cover the tube before she digs so far into the cotton that the whole tube gets flooded.

Edited by Serafine, August 21 2017 - 3:13 AM.

[skocko76]

Thanks, I just did that. I was hoping she'd figure out there is a dark formicarium on the other side of the test tube. Instead, she is digging into the cotton...

[skocko76]

Today I tried to move them to the formicarium using cold towels.

They reacted quickly, workers moved, but the queen did not. In the end they decided to freeze loyal to their queen.

They started moving again once the temperature rose back.

Overall, it was a failure. 

At least the queen pulled her head out of her a$$. She is no longer lying on her side, burying her head in cotton.

[skocko76]

24/08/2017

Uncovered the part of formicarum the colony presently use as outworld. There are always 2-4 ants patrolling it, and they started throwing trash in it.

Luckily enough, they keep piling trash near an expansion port, making it easy for me to clean.

It's funny, they keep hanging around openings that are not covered by red acetate/tin foil and "stand guard".

The openings lead to a proper outworld, filled with dirt, but I blocked it off with some cotton until they move in and gain numbers.

I left them a few small seeds, a tiny blob of honey, one of AntKit protein jelly, and a mosquito.

I noticed they ravaged grasshoppers before, I'll have to catch some.

I'll leave them to settle for awhile, and then I'll try to move them by exposing their test tube to direct sunlight.

Here's a photo of my setup. It looks pretty ugly, covered in aluminum foil, but should be ok once they accept it.

 

 

[skocko76]

24/08/2017

 

I got a first escapee. The fellow just started exploring the desk in front of my eyes. I caught it in a spare test tube and put the little rascal back in.

I have no idea where she broke through, everything looks sealed shut.

While putting her back in, I noticed they have found the seeds I left for them. Looks like seed takes precedence over honey, protein jelly and insects as they were all over it, and showed no interest in the rest.

I will be covering the test tube in red acetate tomorrow to be able to monitor their behavior.

Edited by skocko76, August 24 2017 - 1:36 PM.

[Jonathan21700]

You plan on moving them in a gel ant farm?

[skocko76]

No, God forbid. It was bought as a gel ant farm, but I removed the gel and filled the container with dirt. I wrapped red acetate around to darken the surface if they decide to dig (to keep tunels where I can see them). Granted, it looks like red gel in the photo, but it's dirt.

[Jonathan21700]

Yeah! Now I saw what an illusion!  

[skocko76]

The queen seems to have gotten accustomed to desk vibrations - typing, mug placing etc. She doesn't seem to notice.

I think she started laying eggs, but I'm not sure, it's hard to see through a double layer of red acetate. She was tending to her gaster in a manner I saw in this video: https://www.youtube....h?v=TK61s_LOoWk

Anyway, my first media ant has enclosed. She keeps herself close to the brood pile, but I'm guessing, once she hardens, she'll be off to forage.

As I understand, minor workers tend to brood and media forage, right?

Some workers have found my blocked-off vertical entrance to the outworld and started pulling on the cotton. I won't allow them to explore further until they gain numbers.

Here's a photo of their current setup with red acetate:

 

[skocko76]

Instead of opening the top connection port to drip in water to an internal moisture sponge (cotton actually), I would like to try something different.

I would like to connect the port to a test tube full of water. That would ensure hydration for longer and less disturbance to brood chamber which is intended to be right below. Check the photo in my previous post to see what I mean.

It would be of smaller diameter, plugged with a cotton ball. I wouldn't want to accidentally flood the chamber, though.

Can a test tube full of water be placed upside down without leakage? 

[AntsMaryland]

If you want to add more humidity than just fill the test tube with water and plug it with a cotton ball and than hook it up. Shine a light ONLY on the water part of the test tube so their is light heat (or get a heating cable). This causes the water to very slowly evaporate, increasing humidity. You can also do this without a heating source, but I would recommend it. Please let me know if this was helpful. Best Regards!

 

-AntsMaryland

[skocko76]

If you want to add more humidity than just fill the test tube with water and plug it with a cotton ball and than hook it up. Shine a light ONLY on the water part of the test tube so their is light heat (or get a heating cable). This causes the water to very slowly evaporate, increasing humidity. You can also do this without a heating source, but I would recommend it. Please let me know if this was helpful. Best Regards!

 

-AntsMaryland

 

Thanks AntMaryland! That  is indeed a helpful tip for increasing humidity level.

But, would an upside-down test tube be leak proof?

I don't need a lot of moisture, I am just trying to set up a longer lasting hydration system than dripping water from a pipette every couple of days. 

I have a convenient port on the formicarium roof that is intended to be opened, and water dripped from there. I intend to place an upside down test-tube on top of that port. See that plug in the center of the "fortress roof"? That's it.

 

 

[AntsMaryland]

That would work perfectly.

[skocko76]

Crap. An upside-down turned tube does drip water. I made sure the cotton plug is not touching anything but water, but it still drips... unless there is a negative pressure above the water. I had the tube opened on the top, and that made the water dribble through the cotton below. Seems kind of obvious now.

I put a rubber stopper on the top and now it is ok. I always intended to close up the top, so it is technically the same as a test tube, but more convenient to refill.

 

 

I connected it to the formicarium and they immediately explored the new addition. It seems they are excited about it as their test tube is getting dry.

 

 

In the photo, to the left, you can see a little bugger trying to open the cotton plug blocking passage to the outworld filled with dirt. There is always one or two pulling at the cotton.

They count about 20 workers, do you think it is safe to let them out? Will they get lost in that little space?

I understand they are probably trying to escape because they don't like my office desk environment. Speaking of that, I had 2 escapees through a tiny crack between two moving parts of the formicarium. I made it tighter and I haven't seen them out since.

 

[lucas3431]

 

They count about 20 workers, do you think it is safe to let them out? Will they get lost in that little space?

 

They're pulling at the wool so they must be eager to explore some more, with 20 workers I'm sure it's fine.

 

My concern would be that they might nest in the outworld....if that's what you want?

Edited by lucas3431, August 31 2017 - 9:40 AM.

[skocko76]

 

 

My concern would be that they might nest in the outworld....if that's what you want?

 

 

If they decide to do that, I'm all for it. The outworld is pretty thin and curved, so I'm sure some corridors and chambers will be visible. I also put red acetate around the dirt to increase the chance of a visible tunnel.

I was unsure to let them roam, as most of the workers keep close to brood, never leaving, 5-6 explore the formicarium, and only two of them pull at the cotton. I'm pretty sure it's always the same two. I guess it's their role in the colony.

Thanks Lucas, I will be removing the plug and let them explore. 

Edited by skocko76, August 31 2017 - 11:31 AM.

[Jonathan21700]

Actually expect minor workers to forage the most and majors staying close to the queen but that's in the beginning when the colony is still small.

[Serafine]

Usually the older workers do the foraging, size does not matter. My Camponotus have around 10 majors (out of about 200 workers) and they have never left the nest, they usally stay close the the queen and the brood. Messor majors are also used to crack larger seeds carried in by the smaller workers.

And you don't need to worry about giving your ants lots of space to roam, they won't get lost and probably won't wander off too far anyway.

 

Messor barabrus btw benefits from a heat source or a warm room, they are meditarranian ants and the difference in development time between 25°C and 30°C is pretty extreme (basically cuts it by half).

Edited by Serafine, August 31 2017 - 3:49 PM.