1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

I turned over 2 Polyrachis ammon nest under rocks today that had heaps of drones, and one with alates, so they may be flying soon

I also turned over 2 rocks that had small orange ants with heart shaped gastors with almost ready to eclose alate pupa. I thought they could be Meranoplus.
Very slow moving and non reactive.


Summer 1st December 2019


Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld
200-300+ workers, big pile of brood

All the cocoons have eclosed and it's a handful now!
They all come charging out when I open to rewater and feed etc... A whole bunch hang out on the lid on the mesh...
and over the course of the week they relocated the rubbish from the right side to the other side of the new test tube I put in for water,
as I got sick of filling up the Byformica liquid feeder

click



Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 worker, 7 eggs

So after a year since her first and only egg/worker, she finally lays a new batch of 7 eggs this week right around the start of summer.... perhaps they only lay once a year in summer!
They still hang out in their old dried up test tube even though I put in a new one a few months back




Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
3 workers, 4 cocoons, some larvae and clump of brood

the family with their custom cotton brood roof
Still in a sealed test tube

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Have you ever found a Rhytidoponera chalybaea queen?

[CoolColJ]

Have you ever found a Rhytidoponera chalybaea queen?

Nope, have found R.aspera, and some smaller species

R.aspera come in various colours, the ones I had were black blue'ish in appearance

Edited by CoolColJ, December 1 2019 - 3:17 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Did the aspera and other non-metallica species do well? R. chalybaea seems to be the most desirable in that it reproduces mainly by queens, who are better at founding colonies than those of other species.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, December 1 2019 - 3:26 PM.

[ponerinecat]

that cockroach looks a little moldy

[CoolColJ]

Did the aspera and other non-metallica species do well? R. chalybaea seems to be the most desirable in that it reproduces mainly by queens, who are better at founding colonies than those of other species.

Aspera definitely much harder to get going than R.metallica. Slower to lay, brood slower to grow.
The other smaller species I had, I didn't keep long enough to see how they developed as I sold it soon after.

that cockroach looks a little moldy

It is, it was stuck on the glass. I had to scrape it out, which left a pile of mold there, but no issue for these ants.

[CoolColJ]

So my black and orange Melophorus queen died ages ago, but I kept the 1 major, 2 medial and 3 workers around in the same nest.
Only water and honey, but today I see a clump of eggs and some larvae! I haven't given them any protein so maybe I should... someone is laying the eggs

so 11 larvae, 1 cocoon, and probably a few eggs there.....coocon is quite big....

So I gave them a roach head and they dragged it onto the larvae and pile all the larvae onto it. The larvae seem to feed themselves much like Myrmecia and Rhytidoponera

 

click

 

could the major be the one laying the eggs...? I mean she is almost the same size as the queen, and has ocelli

 

Edited by CoolColJ, December 3 2019 - 1:41 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 7th December 2019


Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
5 workers, 2 cocoons, clump of brood

2 workers eclosed yesterday.
I found a winged termite in my kitchen a few days ago, and left it in their test tube.
One worker stung it immediately and left it to die.
They didn't touch it for a while, but today I see the wings dumped at the front, and the body among the brood.

[ponerinecat]

The melophorous laying eggs is very strange, they are not known to have gamergates or ergatoids. The development speed on the brood suggests they are not reproductives either. Looking forward to the result.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

They're probably producing males. I know Melophorus are rather poorly known, so once the males hatch, it might be smart to point mount them and the workers to donate to a university or museum collection.

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus dragged in more dirt into the nest for the larvae to spin cocoons I presume
3 more cocoons has been spun - 4 total, they all look the same size - larger than the medial

While a few of those larvae have blown up in size and look almost ready to cocoon
yeah they are growing pretty fast, compared to the original brood the queen laid

Edited by CoolColJ, December 7 2019 - 2:47 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 9th December 2019

Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - incubator
2 workers

So I checked up on them today and found the queen dead, and the third worker also dead...
There is no water in the test tube, but I can see still see the cotton is damp, plus the workers would have died as well if it was a water issue.
Thought the queen was acting odd 2 weeks ago

Probably release the 2 workers and bring closure...

Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
5+ large larvae

So her large larvae have not developed in almost a year, apart from that one cocoon that birthed a drone.
And she has eaten some of the larvae, but I have given her a honey dish.
She's as good as infertile, so once the water runs dry I'm letting her go....


Pheidole red headed, black body queens 9mm queen
16mm test tube - incubator
A clump of eggs

So she has a small clump of eggs that don't seem to be hatching and a few scattered eggs - please be fertile!
Out of the 4 queens I once had, I had to be stuck with an infertile one ?!
One I sold that had pupa, and the rest just happened to die... ahhh

It's been a few weeks already, so for Pheidole they should have hatched into larvae by now especially at 27c degrees constant

[CoolColJ]

 

Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 worker, 7 eggs

So after a year since her first and only egg/worker, she finally lays a new batch of 7 eggs this week right around the start of summer.... perhaps they only lay once a year in summer!
They still hang out in their old dried up test tube even though I put in a new one a few months back


 

 

 

make that 12 eggs now

Still haven't hatched yet, and they have been dumping any food I give them

 

---

 

I also found what look like yellow roach eggs in my roach farm scattered ontop of their egg crates - very strange as I usually only see the females with that yellow packet that holds the brood come out of their rear and then they suck it back in etc

 

So i grabbed them and gave some to my ants -

the Melophorus went nuts and dragged it in

 

P.rufifemur queen picked it up and put it back atthe front, but she may later eat it

 

R.metallica haven't touched it yet.

 

 

[CoolColJ]

Summer 21st December 2019

Pheidole red headed, black body queens 9mm queen
16mm test tube - incubator

Queen has passed away this morning

 

She ate all the eggs last week, and started to act strange, moved her to a clean new test tube a few days ago.

And found her at the cotton entrance last night sipping the honey, and then boom dead

 

Sigh 4 Pheidole queens of the species I so badly wanted, I sold the only one that made it to nanitics

 

 

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Summer 21st December 2019

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld
300+ workers, huge pile of cocoons and some larvae/eggs

The girls are exploding - So after all the winter cocoons have eclosed, now the brood pile is back up to the same size!
A whole bunch hang out on the outworld mesh lid and now some hang out in the water test tube as well.
I only feed them a small piece of roach once a week as well....


Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
10 workers - 2 large larvae, eggs?

Finally up to 10 workers into season 3!
Melophorus are just so hard to get going...


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
3 larvae

She ate one larvae to feed the other 3 I guess, even though I feed her....
Sigh, brood takes so long to develope, over 6 months!


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
9 workers, 1 cocoon, 3 largae larvae, 6 or so small

So the brood pile was a bunch of small larvae and eggs for weeks, and then last week a largae larvae showed up ovenight!
And now it's a cocoon, and 3 more large ones have shown up... crazy growth pattern.
Hopefully they make it as they have eaten the last 7 or so....


Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 worker, 9 larvae

12 eggs turns into 9 larvae, so 3 must have been used as food as they have not taken any of roaches I have given them.
I have saw the queen sip on the honey today.
Still docile and calm ants, especially for Myrmecia, and they don't mind me snooping around

click




Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 3

Heat cable
Queen 4 - 20mm test tube with styro foam double chamber
3 workers (1 mini major) from donated brood, small clump of unhatched 8-9 month old 20+ eggs

So a mini major died, and she has been eaten some of her eggs, I guess the end is near for her.
99% infertile queen.

Queen 10, former member of dual queen - 20mm test tube with styro foam double chamber
200? workers and some majors of all sizes - large stack of brood

Queen 5 - 20mm test tube sitting inside THA Inception nest
300+? workers and some mini majors - massive brood pile

Queen 5 Still haven't moved out of the test tube and into THA Inception chamber, but they may soon, once their main tets tube has run dry.
At first they covered the tets tube entrance with sand.
I then put in a smaller test tube for water. Some of the ants moved in, even a few brood, and then later some sand...
Then they cleared all the sand from the main test tube for some reason, and abandoned the small water test tube.
I see a few brood in the THA nest now.

click




Queen 10 has had the largest major eclose this week, about 7+mm, way bigger than the others, but still not near the queen's size
She is still on nursing duties

[CoolColJ]

Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
6 workers, 1 cocoons, 9+ larve, clump of brood

Another worker eclosed, and suddenly that pile of eggs are all large larvae!
Damn they grow pretty fast for their size.

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Summer 1st January 2020

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld
350+ workers, huge pile of cocoons and some larvae/eggs

Not much to say but these girls are exploding!
The brood pile is a big pile of coocons.
Looks like the nest is 3/4 full and a bunch are in the water test tube
I may need a new nest before winter arrives... and only half a small roach a week of food


Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
10 workers - 2 cocoons, some larvae, eggs?

2 new cocoons spun, and I see a few small larvae, so production is finally somewhat regular now, into season 3.


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
3 larvae

Not much happening to the larvae after a few months, I only feed her once a month now as they grow so slow!


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
9 workers, 4 cocoons, 3 large, 10+ small larvae/eggs

3 more cocoons spun up this week, and 3 more large larvae look ready to do so as well.
The extremely warm weather recently is helping
feeding them once a fortnight as the queen is extremely bloated, as are all the workers.
Hopefully the population will hit 20+ ants before winter, into season 2.


Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 worker, 6 larvae

Down to 6 writhing larvae now, from 12 to 9, to 6.
Damn hungry brood - fed them a small roach a few days ago and it's all gone, no trace of it left, had to drop in another.
So mostly likely they fed some of the larvae to the others.
The worker has been roaming outside, probably looking for substrate, and a few of the larvae look big enough to start spinning a cocoon.


Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 3

Heat cable
Queen 4 - 20mm test tube with styro foam double chamber
2 workers (1 mini major) from donated brood, small clump of unhatched 8-9 month old 20+ eggs

Queen 10, former member of dual queen - 20mm test tube with styro foam double chamber
200? workers and some majors of all sizes - large stack of brood

Queen 5 - 20mm test tube sitting inside THA Inception nest
300+? workers and some mini majors - massive brood pile

Not much to report here, business as usual.
I did see a head of a major getting passed around by the minors in Queen 10's setup, so one has died...


Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
6 workers, 4 cocoons, 15+ larvae, clump of brood

Damn these girls grow fast for a non small species.
1 worker died this week, probably the first born, hmm she didn't live long, despite being semi-claustral species.
Then a worker eclosed. Then another cocoon spun up the next day!
Now all the eggs are small larvae

A winged Anonychomyrma sp. alate landed on my head, in my bedroom 2 nights ago.
And she became food for these girls

[CoolColJ]

Summer 1st january 2020

Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator

She ate all her larvae last week
So after birthing a drone, all her larvae sat around for over 8 months, not growing, and now all gone...
She has about 1 month worth of water in her trst tube.
I have put her outside on the heat cable along with my other setups.

If she doesn't lay any new eggs by the time the water runs out, I'm releasing her, as I'm 99% sure she is infertile

[CoolColJ]

Summer 4th January 2020


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
9 workers, 5 cocoons, 2 large, 10+ small larvae/eggs

another cocoon spun


Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 large larvae

First and only worker has died from old age. And all but one of the 6 remaininglarvae as well 　
They all look dried up, with a pile of substrate for them to spin.
Only one large one remains.
Their test tube has long dried up ages ago but they didn't move into the fresh one I out in ages ago... I wonder if this is the reason...


Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
5 workers, 7 cocoons, 15+ larvae, clump of brood

Another worker died from old age already... they don't seam to live long
But a few more cocoons have spun, 7 now, and 2 look ready to eclose soon.

[TennesseeAnts]

Dump the Myrmecia queen and her larvae into the new tube.