1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

14th May 2018

 

Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen

 

I can't find the one of the two smaller workers, which are most likely are nanitics, so I assume it has expired and they ate her, as there is no sign of her body. I did notice her wandering the outworld the last few days in a strange manner - the usual sign they are about to die for my ants so far. The two current larger workers should live for at least a year or more so I'm not too worried, if the last nanitic dies. And there is a major and one more regular worker to come in 1-2months time, but the queen needs to start laying more eggs soon...

 

 

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen

 

Fifth worker (nanitic?) eclosed last night - and i noticed just in time to see 1-2 workers cleaning her, and she being rather clumsy and falling all over the place for a while

I actually took some video, but being in a rush, I had all the wrong settings for it, so it didn't turn out as good as I hoped it would.

Might still post it later

 

The rest of the 4 or so cocoons may also eclose this week or the next so things are about to get more crowded.

 

I finally saw a worker sipping the raw honey dish on her own in the outworld last week, for the first time.

[CoolColJ]

I got this in the mail today, a smaller 25mm x150mm Bamboo tube nest, along with it's small outworld. This one came pretty quick, less than two weeks with the E-packet option

Probably use this one for on of my Pheidole colonies or the Camponotus humilior.

I have two more smaller tube nests with no chambers, just the sand hydration chamber at the back to use in place of test tubes for founding queens. It was actually comes with one outworld which the two tube nests join into, but I only bought the kit for the two tubes, ended up costing the same

 

I have a larger 30mm x 200mm coming that will most likely put the consobrinus queen inside.

That way I won't have to worry about moldy test tubes and moving her all the time, and it stays hydrated for long periods like a test tube setup, and she and her soon to be colony can grow over time in it.

 

Edited by CoolColJ, May 13 2018 - 6:41 PM.

[MegaMyrmex]

Arrggh, real bummer about the giant melophorus queen, I really wanted to see a massive colony eith huge supermajors...

[CoolColJ]

Arrggh, real bummer about the giant melophorus queen, I really wanted to see a massive colony eith huge supermajors...

 

Me too, but they are even harder to raise these larger Melophorus, apparently. Some ant keeper dealer said he had one for a year and had one worker before dying.

Anyway I have a guy looking out for more queens for me, fingers crossed he does find more.

Edited by CoolColJ, May 17 2018 - 5:17 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Dual queen Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm - 14th May 2018

 

7th nanitic eclosed by the look of it.

 

On the other hand I have separated the banished queen from this colony

So it's no longer dual queen.....

With more workers arriving, especially the newer ones who will not be as friendly to her, it was time to move her out

 

She didn't want to willing come out, so I had to scoop her outside.

Then she pretty much went into the test tube herself.

I thought about using my cotton wool chamber thing in her test tube, but since she is not a newly mated queen, decided not to.

Put inside a small piece of raw macadamia and raw honey on a foil.

 

Probably take her a few days to feel comfortable, right now she is just sitting in the middle of the test tube, like she was doing in her original tube

 

 

 

[CoolColJ]

Video of my strobe ant eclosing - see above

 

[CoolColJ]

The fourth Camponotus humilior worker, that had disappeared a few days ago has suddenly reappeared - WTF?!

I wonder where she was hiding, because it can't be under the honey foil, which I took out several times.

This is one of those Twilight Zone moments....

 

---

 

My black and orange Melophorus familiy have moved from the middle chamber of the acrylic founding nest to right against the mesh of water sponge hydration chamber.

So they do like it wet after all.

This nest is consuming water quite rapidly as well, from full to 1/5 less water in the wicking test tube it has

But the water tube is pretty nice to eyeball water levels, unlike sponge only systems in typical acrylic nests

Edited by CoolColJ, May 14 2018 - 2:17 PM.

[CoolColJ]

15th may 2018

 

Iridomyrmex bicknelli

 

I decided to release these girls... they are very common and just a bland and boring ant species.

And I will have too many ant colonies, if i don't start culling the number down, plus these grow really fast and into high numbers.

 

I ended up just digging a small hole for them in the corner of my backyard, and then blowing into the test tube which freaked them out, dumping the queen and a few workers out, plus a few brood.

Then set the test tube down near the hole.

The queen went straight into the hole and started digging, a few workers followed her with the dropped brood.

 

It took a bit of time and some guidance from me, but the workers with the queen eventually found the test tube.

They layed some trails down and got the rest of the workers in the test tube to start moving the brood into the hole.

I didn't stay for long, but I will check back on them tomorrow and grab my test tube.

 

Sigh, I already miss them...but I will put my most advanced Pheidole setup in their place, and the small workers feel pretty much the same.

 

 

Speaking of these Pheidole, I've noticed a few workers frequently hanging around the entrance cotton and trying to find a way out.

Maybe time to put them in an outworld?

Edited by CoolColJ, May 15 2018 - 2:06 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Been tempted to add some Polyrhachis and Bull ants to my setup with so many queens for sale lately at very cheap prices....

Edited by CoolColJ, May 15 2018 - 2:05 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole sp, all black, 7mm - 15th May 2018

 

Second nanitic eclosed today

 

Gave them a baby cricket, queen really enjoyed it.

Also gave the rest of the colonies baby crickets, x2 to the C.humilior and red/black Melophorus.

Plus a small meal worm cut in half to C.humilior and black/orange Melophorus.

Edited by CoolColJ, May 17 2018 - 5:20 PM.

[CoolColJ]

16th May 2018
 
Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
 
One worker died last night, partly my fault, one of the two larger ones
So they are now down to two workers, 1 larger and one smaller nanitic?
One smaller cocoon and one large larvae so it's not too bad but it could be another month+ before a worker ecloses.
No eggs though...
 
 
Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
 
Their nest entrance was mostly sealed up, till a worker decided to go out and sip some raw honey.
before  https://i.imgur.com/dlDKtF3.jpg

It now looks like this

 

And she fed the queen by the looks of it, as the queen has a bloated gaster

[CoolColJ]

Checked up on my Iridomyrmex bicknelli that I released yesterday

 

They have fully moved all the brood into the hole I made for them.

And covered the hole up as well

 

It rained a little overnight as well so that helped them a bit.

 

I do miss them, and at that moment felt a sudden urge to dig them out again....but I'm sure it will pass.

Main thing was the way they acted, personality wise of the ants and queen and how and where they placed their brood etc.

Quite different from my other ants, which can be hard to replace. They didn't care about light, and just nice house guests all round.

Gives me the "homesick" feeling

Edited by CoolColJ, May 17 2018 - 1:32 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Got these gals coming next week.

A Polyrhachis rufifemur queen, with one nanitic, one cocoon about to eclose and a few eggs.

These take ages to get to the nanitic stage, so this was nice to get one like this and cheap

 

Semi claustral queen looks to about 8-9mm. Queens are usually only slightly larger than the workers

 

In the wild

 

 

These are a little smaller than the Polyrhachis ammon I spotted earlier in the year at the bush track near my house, but quite similar in overall look apart from not having a metallic gold body, and having red legs

 

Edited by CoolColJ, May 15 2018 - 9:37 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Someone was selling 3 Myrmecia Forficata bull ant queens for extremely cheap price, or all 3 for even cheaper.

I was tempted but I don't know if I can supply them the space they need.

Apparently their sting are is the most venomous of the bull ants...and some of the most powerful in the insect world

 

LOL at  the meat ant, Iridomyrmex purpureus, at 0:24

Edited by CoolColJ, May 15 2018 - 10:14 PM.

[CoolColJ]

17th May 2018


 Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm -

 

So the ex dual queen Pheidole ant colony is getting on with single queen leadership.

 

I moved the test tube from the red transparent rack and out to the open, where I last had the bicknelli ants, ontop a small piece of Blu tack.

The light didn't bother them, and after a few hours they look to be quite comfortable with it.

 

Now I can observe them all the time when I'm at my computer

 

Starting to get hard to keep up with nanitic numbers, but I think another has eclosed, bringing totals to 8 - need to confirm.

 

----

 

 

So I found another queen under my trusty stack of bricks in my backyard today - LOL, I've found 4 queens under these two bricks that lay side by side in the last few months .

2 different Pheidole species, and today this small girl.

 

I checked a few days ago and she was not there, so whatever she is, they had flights recently.
Pretty small and thin, around 4-5mm

 

She has been sipping a little on the honey foil I out into this temporary plastic test tube.
She can not run on it - looks like she is treadmilling when she tries to run in this plastic test tube!

Any idea on what she is? I know she is a queen for sure

click for larger image

After drinking the honey, she stayed in this pose for quite a while, before tread milling to the cotton

Edited by CoolColJ, May 16 2018 - 9:15 PM.

[Leo]

ponera? Brachyponera?

[YsTheAnt]

I would go for the Myrmecia dude! They seem like so much fun

[CoolColJ]

ponera? Brachyponera?

 

Colours and shape do look like a Brachyponera chinensis, but I'm not sure how big those are, and if we get them in Australia

 

I would go for the Myrmecia dude! They seem like so much fun

 

 

I was too late, all 3 were sold....

 

They are also large, have excellent eye sight and pack a sting and bite. One for the advanced keeper

Edited by CoolColJ, May 16 2018 - 9:14 PM.

[CoolColJ]

I may get an Amblyopone Australis queen with some brood, aka Dracula ants, they only eat insect meat, so no sugar or honey for them

Haven't decided yet

 

They look to be highly polymorphic as well

Nasty sting though..

 

 

http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/images/9/9b/Amblyopone_australis_adults%26brood_Peeters.jpg

Edited by CoolColJ, May 16 2018 - 8:42 PM.

[CoolColJ]

ponera? Brachyponera?

 

 

Someone suggested Ponera clavicornis in the ID thread. Looks pretty similar.

These have a sting by the looks of it

 

So if she is a  Ponera, then these form very small 100 ant colonies, and more like 30-60.

It seems these are semi-claustral

Edited by CoolColJ, May 16 2018 - 9:31 PM.