209 replies to this topic

[Connectimyrmex]

Did the soldiers have funky looking crocodile mandibles?

[FeedTheAnts]

Here are some pics

[FeedTheAnts]

Update: The Carpenter ants now have 8-9 eggs, and the Crematogaster have got their first larvae.

[Connectimyrmex]

They are good old Reticulitermes, but the "workers" all appear to be reproductive nymphs. You should have kept a few and bred them!

[FeedTheAnts]

They are good old Reticulitermes, but the "workers" all appear to be reproductive nymphs. You should have kept a few and bred them

Good eye! I did notice hat the workers seemed to have stubby white wings, I didn't think to mention it though. Sadly, they are all gone now. I fed my ants most of them and the rest died, even though I gave them wood. Probably due to a lack of moisture. I didn't plan on keeping them anyways though, just as long as it took me to feed them to my ants.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update-3/5/18

The Carpenter ants have about 11 eggs now. The AbdoLemons have multiple clumps of eggs, probably totaling out to around 45. Here's a pic with the AbdoLemon queen and one of their clumps of eggs. 

 

Edited by TennesseeAnts, March 5 2018 - 11:49 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:
I added a second adorable outworld to the Abdo-Lemons setup, to be used only for sweets. Here is a video about of it.
My Ant's Second Outworld-SugarStation - YouTube

Edited by TennesseeAnts, March 11 2018 - 10:40 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

The second outworld has been really put on the map so to speak. There are lots and lots of ants in it drinking honey. I put a live spider in it to see how they would respond(actually just because they weren't in the other outworld, and I was just itching to film). The outworld didn't explode with ants going crazy like it usually does, so it was pretty much one on one with the spider until a very large worker came to help out(there is a good bit of size difference in the workers).

What Happens When A Spider Intrudes Sugar Station - YouTube

Edited by TennesseeAnts, March 11 2018 - 10:42 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

The Abdo-Lemons now have larvae. some of them are pretty large, so I must have missed them the last couple of days. 

The Carpenter Ant queen has been an egg laying machine, they are now up to probably 14 eggs. No larvae yet though.

The Winter Ant queens I caught a few weeks ago have finally laid eggs as well.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update: 

The Crematogaster now have pupae looking larvae(I really can't tell what they are, they look kinda like larvae but have slight protrusions like they are growing legs). The colony also looks as if it has been eating some of it's brood(it's kinda iffy).

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

The Valentine Soldiers now have pupae that are beginning to darken, man that was quick!

The Carpenter Ants have multiple larvae. I can't really tell the difference between eggs and larvae very well so there may be more then I think.

The Abdo-lemons have a few very large larvae, and still lots of eggs.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

Lots has happened. First off, the Valentine Soldiers have gotten their first worker of 2018(actually first three), and there are lots more on the way. They are gonna have a population boost in no time!

I've also created a formicarium for my Carpenter ants. It's nothing special or complicated, just a cross section of a branch shoved up against glass. Here's a video showing it, any thoughts or input appreciated.

Homemade Wooden Formicarium For My Carpenter Ants - YouTube

Edited by TennesseeAnts, March 24 2018 - 3:34 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Looks cool, but doesn't look like it will hold many ants?

[FeedTheAnts]

Looks cool, but doesn't look like it will hold many ants?

It won't. I only plan on having them in there for about six months at the most. It can easily hold about 30-35 ants comfortably though, and that is how large the colony will most likely be by the time the wood begins to rot.

Edited by TennesseeAnts, March 25 2018 - 9:07 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

I've just caught a new Camponotus pennsylvanicus colony! when I first broke the piece of wood they were in and saw a worker I thought they were Formica subcericea, but then I saw the queen. The colony is obviously a very young colony with about 15 workers and about 20 something eggs. I'm going to make them a wooden nest like a did for my other colony as soon as I can. Speaking of the wooden nests, after moving my Camponotus chromaiodes colony into one two days ago and seeing how much they loved it, I made a larger one. This time taking my time on it and adding dirt to the setup, which makes i look a ton better as a whole. I then moved the colony out of the wood nest they had only been in for about a day and into the new one. A little too much stress then I'm comfortable with my ants having but now I get to have them in a nicer setup for the next couple of months. Anyways, back to the new Carpenter Ant colony. I'll update once I get their wooden nest built and I them moved in.

 

As a side note, the Abdo-Lemons now have pupae that are beginning to spin cocoons, which is really cool to see.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

Here are some pics of both my Carpenter Ant colonies in their wood nest

 

 

The original colony(chromaiodes)

 

 

The new colony(pennsylvanicus.... maybe?)

 

[Dnail]

wow... wood nest... will they dig it?

[FeedTheAnts]

wow... wood nest... will they dig it?

Ya, they dig it!

just in case you meant to ask if they will dig in it, yes, one of the colonies like to stack dirt around the entrances of the nest to help with moisture and humidity. 

Edited by TennesseeAnts, March 27 2018 - 9:18 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

The Abdo-Lemons now have five pupae! Two of the pupae bare though, which is really weird looking. Is this normal for this species to have bare and cocooned pupae? Last year I noticed a lot of bare pupae, especially later in the year.

Edited by TennesseeAnts, March 27 2018 - 3:45 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

Update:
The Abdo-Lemons now have five pupae! Two of the pupae bare though, which is really weird looking. Is this normal for this species to have bare and cocooned pupae? Last year I noticed a lot of bare pupae, especially later in the year.

Yeah, formica have both bare and cocooned pupae. Nice journal by the way, keep up the good work.