209 replies to this topic

[FeedTheAnts]

Not much of an update, just have to tell something interesting that is going on in the Abdo-Lemons new terrarium. It turns out there is an Aphaenogaster colony that snuck in through cavities inside of the rock. At first when I noticed a few workers I thought that that was possibly all there was to them, just a few lone workers. But no matter how many I smashed there was always more. Then, this morning I noticed Aphaenogasters carrying brood! I don't know if there is a queen, but I'm smashing any workers I see. Hopefully at some point they won't have enough workers to collect food and will die.

 

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

No doubt about it, the Crematogaster queen has been laying a ridiculous amount of eggs. They didn't even have hardly any pupae left about a week ago(it had nearly all eclosed), but now they are all stocked up again on pupae because the brood is developing so quickly.

Here is a pic showing just how much eggs the queen has been laying.

 

[YsTheAnt]

Good Lord, look at all those eggs.

[CoolColJ]

It's like the production chain goes from left to right

[ken14400]

how old is your crematogaster colony?

[Mettcollsuss]

Wow... That is an INSANE amount of brood.

[FeedTheAnts]

how old is your crematogaster colony?

The queen was caught in may or June last year.

[ken14400]

 

how old is your crematogaster colony?

The queen was caught in may or June last year.

 

oh wow.. i got mine like last year on September and she only has 2 workers right now 

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

Here to update you on the Abdo-Lemons terrarium. Most of the lentils have sprouted up and are already having to be trimmed back to keep the ants from escaping. The Violet blooms are all gone, but the plants themselves are healthy and growing. There is really not much more I could say so here are the pics.

 

First grasshopper they've had in a while

 

I fed them two of these huge beetles that were crawling on my house

 

 

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

I should mention that the Camponotus chromaiodes colony and the Camponotus castaneus colony are now both in test tubes. The wooden nest that the Camponotus chromaiodes was in had some mold growing, and I thought it was time for something new for them. the Camponotus castaneus colony's dirt nest gave me almost no visibility, which meant I had no way of knowing really how good the colony was doing. I haven't really updated on the C. castaneus because of this, but it appears as thought they are doing good. They have 8-9 pupae, a few small larvae and eggs, and one large larvae. Last time I updated on the C. chromaiodes colony I had said that two pupae had eclosed.... now 10 have! One worker died though, so the colony is up to 14 workers.

 

Today I caught a ridiculously huge spider (Giant Huntsman I believe) that crawled out of my shoe! Somehow it didn't get smashed and it plopped right down on the concrete, where I then caught it. Stupid me forgot to take a picture of it before i went and snipped it's legs off to prepare it for my ants (I even got the camera ready and then went right along with killing without taking a pic). But this is what it looked like all prepared

 

 

Anyways, the Valentine Soldiers brood pile is still huge, except now there is also a lot of pupae. This stuff develops fast!

Edited by TennesseeAnts, May 6 2018 - 4:40 PM.

[AntsAreUs]

Wow, how much are your Valentine Soldier's eating?

[FeedTheAnts]

Wow, how much are your Valentine Soldier's eating?

A bug a day. Usually wild crickets and spiders.

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

So while taking the trash to the road I found a young, relatively small colony of Aphaenogaster tennesseensis(or lamelladins). I couldn't have been more lucky, they were just sitting there under the trash can in a clump on top of the ground. I scooped them all up and threw them in a bucket, and then into a test tube. I'm super excited about this colony, it is one of my favorite species. They have a little bit of brood, mostly eggs, and about 150 workers. I'll post some pics as soon as the colony settles into their setup completely.

 

Ever wonder what is inside of a giant spider egg sac? Well, apparently a hundred tiny spiders that are all alive but nearly completely inactive. I found this egg sac on the back of a Wolf Spider(who turned into ant food as well), put a few slits in it, and gave it to the Valentine Soldiers. The ants obviously quickly started toting off the baby spiders back to the nest.

 

[CoolColJ]

It's like a pinata

Edited by CoolColJ, May 8 2018 - 4:15 PM.

[FeedTheAnts]

It's like a pinata

Wow, that's the funniest thing I'v heard all day!

[FeedTheAnts]

Update:

The Camponotus castaneus colony has unfortunately lost two workers, and I have no idea why they died. Luckily they have a good pile of brood now, but no pupae have eclosed yet. they also have not been eating really anything(well, protein sources that is), which I'm kinda worried about. Hopefully their health will improve in the next few days. I would hate to see another worker die.

 

the new Aphaenogaster colony(I'm pretty sure it is A. fulva) is doing rather well and have a good bit of brood. These ants are super timid and they can all rush out of the outworld super fast if I spook them.

 

The Valentine Soldiers have dropped in population beginning around three weeks ago. Now there are only about 35 workers. I'm totally not worried though, because as you all know, their brood pile is huge. No doubt if you counted it all up there is easily hundreds of ants in the making, and given the fact that they develop from eggs to workers in a little over a month... I'm not worried about this colony doing well and getting large.

 

To end with some really good news, the Camponotus chromaiodes colony is doing super good with lots of brood, and I think one of their many pupae might be a major, or at least a larger worker then the rest.

Edited by TennesseeAnts, May 14 2018 - 1:34 PM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Small Update:

Great news. The Valentine Soldiers are right about to have a big population boost. A lot of their pupae is turning orange all at once, and quite a few workers have already eclosed! I'm really hoping they can break 150 workers in the next two weeks.

 

[FeedTheAnts]

Just pics

 

(Aphaenogaster fulva colony)

Edited by TennesseeAnts, May 18 2018 - 10:13 AM.

[YsTheAnt]

Those aphaenogaster look like so much fun to keep... I wish we had cool aphaenogaster here, all we got is A. Occidentalis, decent but not nearly as cool as Aphaenogaster fulva and tennesesis. Keep up the great work!

[FeedTheAnts]

Those aphaenogaster look like so much fun to keep... I wish we had cool aphaenogaster here, all we got is A. Occidentalis, decent but not nearly as cool as Aphaenogaster fulva and tennesesis. Keep up the great work!

They are super fun. My favorite part about them is that the way they move their antennae, they act like very smart little creatures with their slow movements. I also love how they swarm food items that they really like, but then all run back to the nest in literally thirty seconds if I were to not hold my breath when observing them.