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Care Sheet - Pseudomyrmex pallidus

pseudomyrmex pallidus care sheet ant keeping ant care

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27 replies to this topic

#1 Offline dspdrew - Posted January 1 2018 - 11:23 AM

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Scientific Name:  Pseudomyrmex pallidus

Common Name:  Elongate twig ants, dry twig ants.

Distribution:  Southwest, and Southern United States, as well as spread across Central America

Queen size:  3.5-4.5mm

Worker size:  2.8-3.5mm

Natural Habitat:  Hollowed out twigs/sticks

Circadian Activity:  Diurnal, comes out at night when the colony is larger

Mating Flight:  Mate all throughout the summer, similar to argentine ants they mate either in or just outside their nest and return to it after mating. After a while queens will wander off to start new nest with a couple of workers.

Queen Founding Method:  Semi-claustral, queens spread from main colony with a group of workers and sometimes brood.

Monogyne or Polygyne:  Polygyne, this species accepts hundreds of queens and produces more throughout the summer.

Average time from egg to worker:  Egg to Larvae = 3 days; Larvae to pupae = 20-25 days, Pupae to worker = 4 days.  Colonies grow slow for the first year and a half.

Recommended Temperature:  Keep at 23C during summer and 20C during winter, develops faster without hibernation, which tends to drastically slow production rates.

Recommended Humidity:  Appreciates a source of water but keep most of nest relatively dry

Preferred Foods:  Dubia Roaches, Fruit, watered down honey

Hibernation Details:  No hibernation necessary. The queens still lay's during the winter.

Escape Barrier Methods:  Talcum powder, baby powder and isopropanol alcohol, or  Fluon/PTFE.

Difficulty rating:  Very picky and likes to nest in tight spaces. 6/10, rather difficult to keep

Bite and/or Sting rating:  Very painful sting ¾ om the insect sting pain index. Very rare for them to actually sting though.

Special Care or Interesting Notes:  Only eats roaches and fruit, does not like most formicariums. Sometimes nests in test tubes. Supply with sticks and/or cotton swabs cut in half for them to nest in. Very little information available online because it has been documented very little. Museum data does not accurately represent distribution.

 

Additional Links:
https://www.antweb.o...us&rank=species
 
 

Information submitted by AntHUB


Edited by dspdrew, March 5 2022 - 8:24 PM.

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#2 Offline Connectimyrmex - Posted January 1 2018 - 11:28 AM

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I thought that P. pallidus is more of a generalist feeder. Great post though, Anthub & TC!


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Hawaiiant (Ben)

Keeper of
Miniature Labradoodle
Baby Wolf Spider
Mud Dauber wasp larvae
Ochetellus Glaber
Solenopsis Geminata
Brachymyrmex Obscurior
Cardiocondyla Emeryi
Tetramorium Bicarinatum
Plagiolepis Alluaudi
Anoplolepis Gracilipes
Technomyrmex Difficilis
Pheidole Megacephala
Aholehole fish
Cowrie snail
Sea Fan Worm
100+ sea squirts
Tree seedlings
Ghost Crab
Day Gecko
Small Fat Centipede
Endemic Lacewing larva
Vernal Pool shrimps

#3 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted January 1 2018 - 12:05 PM

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I don't think that Pseudomyrmex pallidus is that small. 3.5 millimeters?


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#4 Offline LC3 - Posted January 1 2018 - 1:02 PM

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They are that small, it is also why they are very hard to find.


Edited by LC3, January 1 2018 - 1:02 PM.

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#5 Offline Connectimyrmex - Posted January 2 2018 - 9:40 AM

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Wait, P. pallidus IS that small?! That's some impressive genus variation (P. gracilis is huge).


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Hawaiiant (Ben)

Keeper of
Miniature Labradoodle
Baby Wolf Spider
Mud Dauber wasp larvae
Ochetellus Glaber
Solenopsis Geminata
Brachymyrmex Obscurior
Cardiocondyla Emeryi
Tetramorium Bicarinatum
Plagiolepis Alluaudi
Anoplolepis Gracilipes
Technomyrmex Difficilis
Pheidole Megacephala
Aholehole fish
Cowrie snail
Sea Fan Worm
100+ sea squirts
Tree seedlings
Ghost Crab
Day Gecko
Small Fat Centipede
Endemic Lacewing larva
Vernal Pool shrimps

#6 Offline AntHUB - Posted January 4 2018 - 7:08 PM

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No, they are just super shy, colonies can contain thousands of workers spread across multiple sticks here’s my colony



They also are difficult to feed
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#7 Offline AntHUB - Posted January 4 2018 - 7:09 PM

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Connectimyrmex, now you know why I used q tips instead of straws
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President & founder of LHS Entomology Club, (available on discord) Check out my photography website! https://www.armyofinsects.com/ Email me with questions

at jk@uglyorangetruck.com (funny email, I know)

 


#8 Offline Connectimyrmex - Posted January 5 2018 - 9:09 AM

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Connectimyrmex, now you know why I used q tips instead of straws

Try using the caprisun straws  :lol:

 

By the way, your colony looks great! It reminds me of my old P. gracilis colony  :(


  • Antkeeper01 likes this
Hawaiiant (Ben)

Keeper of
Miniature Labradoodle
Baby Wolf Spider
Mud Dauber wasp larvae
Ochetellus Glaber
Solenopsis Geminata
Brachymyrmex Obscurior
Cardiocondyla Emeryi
Tetramorium Bicarinatum
Plagiolepis Alluaudi
Anoplolepis Gracilipes
Technomyrmex Difficilis
Pheidole Megacephala
Aholehole fish
Cowrie snail
Sea Fan Worm
100+ sea squirts
Tree seedlings
Ghost Crab
Day Gecko
Small Fat Centipede
Endemic Lacewing larva
Vernal Pool shrimps

#9 Offline AntHUB - Posted January 5 2018 - 12:39 PM

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As I said they’re very picky so I can’t get them to eat protein 😭
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President & founder of LHS Entomology Club, (available on discord) Check out my photography website! https://www.armyofinsects.com/ Email me with questions

at jk@uglyorangetruck.com (funny email, I know)

 


#10 Offline Connectimyrmex - Posted January 5 2018 - 4:26 PM

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I didn't mention anything about that though :/

Have you tried live termites, fruit flies, formula blue, roach muscle/fat mixed with honey, boiled egg yolk, earwig eggs, pillbug newborns, ant queen gasters, live callow ant workers, and black soldierfly larvae yet?


  • Antkeeper01 likes this
Hawaiiant (Ben)

Keeper of
Miniature Labradoodle
Baby Wolf Spider
Mud Dauber wasp larvae
Ochetellus Glaber
Solenopsis Geminata
Brachymyrmex Obscurior
Cardiocondyla Emeryi
Tetramorium Bicarinatum
Plagiolepis Alluaudi
Anoplolepis Gracilipes
Technomyrmex Difficilis
Pheidole Megacephala
Aholehole fish
Cowrie snail
Sea Fan Worm
100+ sea squirts
Tree seedlings
Ghost Crab
Day Gecko
Small Fat Centipede
Endemic Lacewing larva
Vernal Pool shrimps

#11 Offline Mettcollsuss - Posted January 5 2018 - 5:26 PM

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Wait is Pseudomyrmex polygynous? Or am I just imagining multiple queens in the photo?

 

EDIT: Very elongate larvae though. Very cool. Almost looks like the type of larvae that would hatch from a Colobopsis egg  :lol:


Edited by Mettcollsuss, January 5 2018 - 5:29 PM.

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#12 Offline AntHUB - Posted January 6 2018 - 3:23 PM

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Yes they are polygynous
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President & founder of LHS Entomology Club, (available on discord) Check out my photography website! https://www.armyofinsects.com/ Email me with questions

at jk@uglyorangetruck.com (funny email, I know)

 


#13 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted January 8 2018 - 5:07 PM

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They are that small, it is also why they are very hard to find.

:o



#14 Offline Solinopis - Posted February 6 2018 - 6:34 AM

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my p queen escaped in my house. still havent found her :lol:



#15 Offline YsTheAnt - Posted March 13 2018 - 8:45 PM

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Pretty sure these queens are non-claustral, because the queens have been known to forage.

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#16 Offline Ants Galore - Posted March 21 2018 - 5:48 PM

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Pretty sure these queens are non-claustral, because the queens have been known to forage.

Correct



#17 Offline Phillip Chivers - Posted July 26 2019 - 10:01 AM

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I think I found a Pseudomyrmex pallidus queen...

She is long and skinny, light orange with long oval eyes.

I have her for 3 days now. She still has wings (will she lose them?).  How do you know if she is fertilized?

She has taken honey, sugar water and apple sauce. She is very active during the day.

Right now she's in a tall shot glass with water in bottom and cotton over that, then her living area.

I have a few hollow twigs that she stays in during the night and sometimes during the day.

Any tips would be welcome and I'd be grateful.

 



#18 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted July 27 2019 - 7:20 AM

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She’ll need protein so that she can lay eggs. Just keep giving her sugar but give her some insect parts too.

#19 Offline AntHUB - Posted September 8 2019 - 1:03 PM

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Been a while since anyone has posted here, but I just wanted to provide some extra information, a colony should be kept in a twig, or they will die off, they need the small amount of space, my large setup ended up killing my whole colony. also they need almost no humidity


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#20 Offline cewtsoul - Posted September 9 2019 - 9:52 PM

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hi i justs aquired Pseudomyrmex simplex, you are saying they have to be in a twig or they will die?...







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