42 replies to this topic

[TennesseeAnts]

Have you tried giving them other food? Honey is mostly glucose and fructose not to mention very dry and acidic, it seems most ants prefer sucrose to the other two. Maybe try leaving them with a feeder filled with sugar water out. Especially Camponotus which seems to benefit from a constant sugar source and according to MILTA could also benefit from nectar/plant secretions.  Mixing honey and mealworms doesn't sound like a great idea either.

I mix honey and mealworms and all my Camponotus and Formica love this.

[noebl1]

 

 

I mix honey and mealworms and all my Camponotus and Formica love this.

 

Thanks for the this! I'm going to try that this summer.  I had a C. nearcticus colony, and noticed they took Sunburst readily, but had a hard time with protein.  Lost the queen and all the workers early in hibernation, so guessing something I didn't wasn't quite right.  

 

I found a single one this summer of the reddish/orange variety, but she didn't make it unfortunately.  I lost a lot of queens I think to either fungus or parasites, as many of them died within a week or two with abnormally swollen gasters.

[Connectimyrmex]

Have you tried roach hatchlings/termites, fed live?

[Mettcollsuss]

Have you tried roach hatchlings/termites, fed live?

I would, but there's one problem... my mom won't let me keep termites or cockroaches. She's worried about them getting out and infesting the house. No amount of begging can persuade her.

 

She also won't let me keep Carpenter Ants. She only lets me keep these ones because these ones are from the Myrmentoma subgenus and aren't pests.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, January 24 2018 - 2:33 PM.

[Mettcollsuss]

1-25-18

They now have only one larvae, and it hasn't developed at all. The queen's gaster is looking a little more plump than usual, so I suspect that she ate them.

[Mettcollsuss]

2-1-18

False alarm. The queen didn't eat the larvae. They're still there. I guess they just blended in against the cotton. I just ordered some flightless fruit flies; hopefully they will eat those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mettcollsuss]

I just looked in and the queen is partially collapsed. She was fine an hour ago, I'm not sure what happened. I'm not sure if she's going to die. The worker still seems okay.

 

 

 

 

EDIT: I don't know if you can tell from the photos, but she's curled up in a half-fetal position.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, February 1 2018 - 6:05 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

My Camponotus noveaboricensis colony is not doing to well either. The queen is skinny, their brood was covered with fungus and they only have four workers again. I might move them into a natural setup with some wood for their nest. That may help. They were a wild caught colony and they might like a familiar nest. Mabey you should try that if they are not doing well.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, February 1 2018 - 4:45 PM.

[Mettcollsuss]

2-2-18

The queen is no longer curled up and is acting normal. The fruit flies are supposed to arrive on Wednesday. I hope that the colony lasts that long and that they accept them.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, February 2 2018 - 3:26 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Now my queen is in the half fetal position and killed all but one of her workers. She only has the youngest major left. HELP!   

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, February 4 2018 - 2:40 PM.

[Mettcollsuss]

Now my queen is in the half fetal position and killed all but one of her workers. She only has the youngest major left. HELP!   

I'm not sure what to do. I'm having trouble with mine, so I'm probably not the best person to help you with this; but if I were you, I would just care for them like you would any other small one-worker colony. Keep the disturbances at minimum and hope for the best.

 

Good luck!

[TennesseeAnts]

Now my queen is in the half fetal position and killed all but one of her workers. She only has the youngest major left. HELP!

I'm not sure what to do. I'm having trouble with mine, so I'm probably not the best person to help you with this; but if I were you, I would just care for them like you would any other small one-worker colony. Keep the disturbances at minimum and hope for the best.
 
Good luck!

Now the queen is crippled and has one functional leg. But, now I know what is killing them, formic acid poisoning. I put them under too much stress. In four months I moved them into five different setups. First, their test tube was dirty so I moved them into a new one, then that one got mouldy, so to the acrylic nest they went! Then I realized they were to small of a colony for it so, to the tubing setup they went! Then that got dirty, so new tubing setup! POOF! dying colony! Thanks for reading: how to kill a colony in four months!

[TennesseeAnts]

Now I need to find more C. noveaboricensis queens in june. I hope my other C. noveaboricensis queen makes it!

[Mettcollsuss]

2-7-18

I gave them a pre-killed fruit fly today. They haven't discovered it yet.

[TennesseeAnts]

My queen is dead.

[Mettcollsuss]

2-8-18

They haven't eaten the fruit fly. The queen is dead/dying. She is lying on her side, in a fetal position, with only a single leg waving in the air. The worker is still grooming her. 

[Mettcollsuss]

2-9-18

Queen is dead.

[Connectimyrmex]

2-9-18

Queen is dead.

That sucks, sorry

My queen just probably died, too. I'm not sure if mine is in deep hibernation, though.

[Serafine]

Now the queen is crippled and has one functional leg. But, now I know what is killing them, formic acid poisoning. I put them under too much stress. In four months I moved them into five different setups. First, their test tube was dirty so I moved them into a new one, then that one got mouldy, so to the acrylic nest they went! Then I realized they were to small of a colony for it so, to the tubing setup they went! Then that got dirty, so new tubing setup! POOF! dying colony! Thanks for reading: how to kill a colony in four months!

I know it's not gonna help now but maybe it will for the future - a bit of mold is not a problem. In fact even if the entire cotton is black most of the time that isn't a problem for the ants.You can offer them a pile of sand, many ants will stick sand to the wet cotton and successfully suppress mold that way - and of course you can always offer them a new test tube and just wait. If you realize you have put you into a nest that is way too big for them don't try to pull them out of it, just offer them a new test tube - they will most likely either nest tin the tubing between the nest and the outworld or will relocate to the new test tube (may take a few days for them to discover it though).

Generally stay patient, ants usually know what they are doing and most ants can survive even under conditions that are less than perfect - many of the more dry-resistant ants (like most Camponotus species) can even survive in a corner of the outworld. If their current location is so inadequate that their survival is threatened they will search for a new one and quickly relocate when they find one.

[TennesseeAnts]

2-9-18
Queen is dead.

R.I.P.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, February 10 2018 - 1:25 PM.