80 replies to this topic

[Mettcollsuss]

3-11-18

These girls are determined to be troublemakers. They keep piling sand to climb past the barrier. Due to this, I'm trying to move them into their old AA Acrylic nest, but this time, I've scratched the plexiglass to make it easier for the queen to walk. I can't get an exact count, but I'm estimating they're at about 15ish workers now. The queen just laid another large batch of eggs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos of the queen I mentioned a couple days ago.

 

 

[TennesseeAnts]

Great job! My F. cf pacifica colony has nine new workers now. They now have 160 workers with 500 brood.
Mine got this far because I feed them every two days or so with one half of a superworm and a drop of honey the size of the queen. Also how old is your queen?

[Mettcollsuss]

how old is your queen?

I caught her in July 2017.

[AntBread]

Do Formica Subsericea larvae need sand or some form of substrate to pupate? Thx... please reply back as a quote

[Mettcollsuss]

Do Formica Subsericea larvae need sand or some form of substrate to pupate? Thx... please reply back as a quote

Both options are fine. If provided with sand, they will use it to help the larvae spin cocoons. However, they can do just fine without substrate and will make naked pupae instead. I have even seen them make naked pupae despite having sand. I've also had them spin cocoons in a test tube setup with no sand(I'm guessing that they used the cotton).

 

They are clever little ants. They'll adapt and do whatever they want with what you give them.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, May 17 2018 - 10:18 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

3-19-18

The queen in the test tube now has one pupae (naked) and a couple eggs.

[AntBread]

 

Do Formica Subsericea larvae need sand or some form of substrate to pupate? Thx... please reply back as a quote

Both options are fine If provided with sand, they will use it to help the larvae spin cocoons. However, they can do just fine without substrate and will make naked pupae instead. I have even seen them make naked pupae despite having sand. I've also had them spin cocoons in a test tube setup with no sand(I'm guessing that they used the cotton).

 

They are clever little ants. They'll adapt and do whatever they want with what you give them.

 

Alrighty! Thx. I have a Formica Subsericea queen of my own and she currently has larvae rn.

[AntsMaryland]

Has anyone ever done any research how much "work" it takes for the ants to burn up a certain amount of sugar in there colony?

[Mettcollsuss]

4-2-18

The queen in the test tube now has a worker! Their brood pile is at three or four eggs, one small larvae, and one medium larvae.

 

The large colony in the dirt box has hidden the queen and most of the colony away from the glass. The holes on the side of the dirt box are too small for the queen, so I'm trying to figure out other ways to move them.

[TennesseeAnts]

Yesterday I caught three Formica subsericea queens! One of them had three workers!  

[Mettcollsuss]

4-3-18

I moved the 1 worker colony into a THA Inception Chamber.

[TennesseeAnts]

I gave my new colony a pupa from my huge Formica pacifica colony. They took it in the nest!

[Mettcollsuss]

4-5-18

I haven't seen the large colony's queen in a while, but I got a glimpse of her today. She's still looking healthy as ever. I'm planning a move to a THA formicarium soon.

 

EDIT: They moved one of their brood rooms into sight. This one appears to be mostly pupae, but a couple larvae.

 

Total Tally:

• Queens: 1
• Workers: 20ish
• Pupae: at least 5 (1 cocoon and 4 exarate visible)
• Larvae: at least 4 (1 big, 2 medium, and 1 small visible)
• Eggs: ???

Edited by Mettcollsuss, April 5 2018 - 11:54 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

4-10-18

The Inception Chamber colony now has a pupae. They also have several large larvae.

[Mettcollsuss]

4-15-18

The small colony now has 3 cocoons.

 

I'm working on a plaster formicarium for the large colony. I may or may not decide to sell them.

 

 

 

 

[Mettcollsuss]

4-28-18

Okay, big update time. The large colony is now in a Mini Hearth, and they fit perfectly! They have 16 workers, 19 pupae, and a pile of about 15 eggs as of two days ago. The small colony has 3 cocoons. They had an exarate pupa that came out slightly deformed and they cannibalized it along with their only larvae. I also have a queen sitting in my ant drawer who I thought was infertile but now has an egg, so I'll see how that turns out.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, May 13 2018 - 8:05 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TennesseeAnts]

I think mine might be F. argentea. I looked on antweb and there was no F. subsericea listed.

[Mettcollsuss]

5-13-18

The large colony's pupae have all eclosed since the last update and they are now around 25 workers strong. The batch of eggs mentioned in the last update has hatched and most have already pupated.

From what I've gathered, this species' eggs develop at an average rate, then hatch. The larvae, given a good supply of food, can go from first instar to pupae in just a couple days, but the pupal stage is very slow. I'm expecting this new batch of pupae to eclose in 3 weeks to a month, depending on conditions.

 

I also gave them some hummingbird nectar for the first time. They chose it over the fruit flies I sprinkled in. They had 6-7 workers drinking from it at one point, which is the most I've seen in the outworld at once.

 

The small colony had four workers, but one died after it emerged slightly crippled. They are now resting at three workers and a small batch of eggs.

 

The queen in the drawer still has 2-3 eggs.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, May 17 2018 - 10:21 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

6-13-18

The large colony is around 25-30 workers and starting to outgrow their Mini Hearth. I have a THA Fortress on the way. They also have no brood at the moment, as the queen is taking one of her egg-laying breaks, making it an ideal time for a move.

 

The small colony is now foraging regularly and all 3 workers and the queen have full gasters. They have 3 pupae (2 cocoons, 1 exarate), 1 large larvae, and 3-4 eggs.