10 replies to this topic

[Diesel]

hey guys. we all know its that time of year again for us here in the northeast. i recently came in possession of a Temnothorax a.k.a Acorn Ant colony. i fell in love with them immediately. Their size is small so making their formicarium and out world has presented some challenges. that being said I'm looking for tips on finding these little guys. Is it just smacking open acorns until i find some or is there a science to it? if so what am i looking for? thus far every Acorn i open has these white grubs inside of them sometime 5 or 6 at a time. i hope to become educated in the species.i know for little ants they are voracious eaters i like it.

 

Thanks Guys

Diesel

Edited by Diesel, October 17 2017 - 10:40 AM.

[Skwiggledork]

I've got no experience, but a google search got me this-

 

[noebl1]

In the summer, they fly by the literal thousands for several weeks and attracted to lights at night.  I find white (like a sheet) or in my case the deck attract them like crazy.   If you are wearing a white shirt, that will also do   They flew from the beginning of July here thru into the first two weeks of August.  

 

 

I've had little luck finding them in acorns, however will very occasionally catch them foraging if they are on the right colored object.

[BMM]

During the summer they were flying nearly every night for about two weeks. I could've caught dozens of them at my porch light. That's probably a whole lot easier than checking acorns and twigs. Currently I have 5 colonies in test tubes, one of which is really booming and has about 15 workers and tons of pupae.

[noebl1]

During the summer they were flying nearly every night for about two weeks. I could've caught dozens of them at my porch light. That's probably a whole lot easier than checking acorns and twigs. Currently I have 5 colonies in test tubes, one of which is really booming and has about 15 workers and tons of pupae.

 

They do start out very quickly, and are flexible in regards to polygany.  Queens, even workers, can move between colonies.  I find in test tubes, the queens will often forage on their own many times vs relying on workers.  The queen capture, to first egg laying, to worker eclosing is pretty quick.  From what I have read, guessing some of this flexibility is due to their small colony sizes.  The other factor is where they nest in the "open", i.e. branches, in acorns, and shallow depth nests, they easily can have huge attrition rates during the winter.

 

Other than their size (easy to squish, drown or dehydrate as resistant to moving), they are really easy to keep, hardy and pretty to flexible for feeding.

Edited by noebl1, October 18 2017 - 10:17 AM.

[Diesel]

Thanks Noelbl1. i appreciate the feedback. i can understand how that would happen. the elements can be brutal especially if we don't get enough snowpack to help protect them. i will probably hibernate around xmas and take em back out Late March/early April. i was hoping to find another colony in an acorn or something. all the acorns around my place just have grubs. literally all of them.

[rdurham02]

Thanks Noelbl1. i appreciate the feedback. i can understand how that would happen. the elements can be brutal especially if we don't get enough snowpack to help protect them. i will probably hibernate around xmas and take em back out Late March/early April. i was hoping to find another colony in an acorn or something. all the acorns around my place just have grubs. literally all of them.

I tend to find most of temnothorax in acorns from the previous season that are hollowed out on the inside. I can usually tell this is case by the difference in weight and how much give the outer skin has when I press on it. The outer shell of the acorn should start to collapse pretty easily with just a bit of pressure if hollow. 

[Diesel]

thanks Randy. the colonies are doing great. moved them into a more permanent setup.

[Diesel]

 

Edited by Diesel, October 19 2017 - 10:44 AM.

[Diesel]

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/dbrochu0426/Mobile%20Uploads/20171017_192556_zpsezdw4oar.jpg

[rdurham02]

 

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/dbrochu0426/Mobile%20Uploads/20171017_192556_zpsezdw4oar.jpg

 

thanks Randy. the colonies are doing great. moved them into a more permanent setup.

Looks great! I'm glad to see they are settling in well