1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

counted 15 soldiers, 5 reproductives or alates, 37 worker for the termites

I think I will cull most of the soliders and feed them to my ants, as they serve no major purpose in a feeder colony and still required to be fed by the workers

[CoolColJ]

Unknown queen I found today, about 5mm




Another queen I found under a rock, she is Rhytidoponera sp.
Absolutely savage - she tore most of the legs off a small spider that was in the capture vial with her!
You can see the leg there

[CoolColJ]

About 6mm. Semi-claustral, aggressive with a nasty sting

 

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, July 7 2018 - 12:05 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Unknown queen I found today, about 5mm




 

 

 

So the queen above is a Lioponera sp.

Might be either Lioponera ruficornis or larvata based on looks

 

AKA cannibal ants, they raid and prey on other ants.

They have army ant traits

 

ID thread

http://www.formicult...018/#entry96632

 

 

Lioponera cf ruficornis

https://www.gamergat...a-cf-ruficornis

Looks quite similar to the images here
http://www.antwiki.o...nera_ruficornis

https://www.alexande...nera/Lioponera/

A tight column of black raider ants departs on an afternoon raid.


Lioponera larvata

[CoolColJ]

Winter 7th July 2018

 

Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm queen - Pheidole Colony A

 

Lost two workers yesterday when I opened the test tube up to take the foil/wax paper tray out, so I could put in the spider the Rhytidoponera queen mauled.

Well they are somewhere in my room I guess, they escaped and since they are small and fell to the carpet and I can't find them.

Not a big loss as they have plenty of brood and grow fast.

But it's getting hard to open the test tube up as they have multiple sentries and get alarmed and swarm really fast.

After yesterday's episode they were on high alert for a good while after.

And now they have dumped rubbish on the cotton wool plug as if to stop it happening again...plus have moved all the brood back to the queen, away from the heat cable....

 

 

So from now on I will move their test tube to a larger container lined with fluon, Blu tack them down, apply white vinegar to the test tube rim and surface outside of the entrance, so I can open it up, do stuff and have them remain inside.

 

Since I will sell 2 of the 3 colonies of this species, I need to keep them in the test tube until I decide which one to keep

 

Pretty sure they have over 20 workers despite losing 2.

 

I think these two larvae will be the colony's first majors. Already as large as the regular minor workers, but have not pupated yet

 

Edited by CoolColJ, July 6 2018 - 5:42 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Queen overload!

 

A friend found these for me - queens had early flights due to a warm 2 days during winter, tricked the ants

 

23+ 1cm long Iridomyrmex queens! I think they might be anceps. They are not normally polygnous, but don't mind sharing egg laying duties until workers come at least...

I don't need this many... so may sell a few, or just release some

Could even be some meat ant variant!

 

 

And what appears to be 12mm Camponotus queens, but there are 4-5 queens in this chamber and two workers.... he says they sting... and are polygnous...?

I'm curious about these. This is the claustral chamber they were found in.

Wood dwelling, has to be a Camponotus, but you never know with Aussie ants

 

Edited by CoolColJ, July 6 2018 - 4:42 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Put the Rhytidoponera and Liopnera queens in a Petri dish + wet cotton ball setups for now, until I figure out my nest move.

They are both sitting calmly.

 

Rhytidoponera queen on the wet cotton in the middle.

She loves raw honey, been on the raw honey on wax paper I gave her for at least 30 mins straight now

 

Liponera queen on the side wall of the petri dish - I suspect she likes it dry, as she was hanging out on the entrance side cotton when I had her in a test tube.

She has sipped a bit of raw honey on wax paper

Edited by CoolColJ, July 6 2018 - 9:14 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Winter 7th July 2018

 

Camponotus suffusus 18+mm queen - colony

 

I see some small round blob like larvae on the brood pile, almost like eggs that have hatched into bloated balls.

But I don't think my queen has laid any eggs recently.

Will confirm tomorrow with a photo.

 

Hmm they seem to sense my voice, I swore near their nest when I was examining them with a magnifying glass, and saw some rubbish on the next glass - and they got alarmed - LOL

Might be a Camponotus thing as my consobrinus queen reacts when I whistle near her test tube

[CoolColJ]

made a journal for my Nasutitermes fumigatus/dixoni subterranean pet/feeder termite colony

http://www.formicult...ournal/?p=96808

[Major]

Your Rhytidoponera queen is absolutely beautiful. I like your Lioponera queen too! Your journal is amazing. Can’t wait till workers for the Rhytidoponera workers!!!

[CoolColJ]

Your Rhytidoponera queen is absolutely beautiful. I like your Lioponera queen too! Your journal is amazing. Can’t wait till workers for the Rhytidoponera workers!!!

 

She probably won't lay till spring, middle of winter right now. From what I read they are fairly fast growers, and this one is smaller than the larger ones of this genus, so I expect above average growth rates

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Winter 8th July 2018

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen

7 nanitics, at least 10 larave
No major changes, but the whole colony, except for one rebel worker has moved to the side of the nest closest to the heat cable, just touching the outworld container.
Can't believe the ants can sense that!


Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen

1 minor worker, no brood. 
No changes

click to enlarge



Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen

No eggs. 5 workers
Queen has moved from water mesh in the acrylic nest and into the middle by herself, the workers stay on the mesh.
I've also seen some workers go sip the raw honey on the foil, first time in a while.

 
Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm
 
20+ workers
over 20 workers at least, plus I lost 2 this week, hard to count now
It looks like 5 workers will eclose tonight!

brood near heat cable


Queen laying an egg, clump of eggs, smaller larvae and the first major larvae next to the remains of the spider's body


 
Pheidole sp, all black  7mm
 
12 nanitics.
No major changes, but one dark pupa to eclose tonight



remains of the Camponotus larvae I gave them can be seen



2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8mm
 
3 nanitics

The dominant queen is at the heatcable side with the brood, the other one stays on the water side cotton doing nothing.
She might get banished
No major changes in the short term, but I can see two white pupa, and lots of brood



 
Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm
 
No eggs, 2 nanitics
Second nanitic is still pale after 3 weeks since she eclosed, her middle left leg is busted, but she looks strong enough to stay upright.
if she can hobble around, she can be useful
The Camponotus larvae I gave them to feed the queen, is still there, it's like they think it's theirs... maybe




Camponotus suffusus 18+mm
 
7 workers, over 10 larvae (some foreign) and 3 pupa

5 days on, another Camponotus suffusus cocoon has been spun, while a third is halfway through getting spun - bottom right where that bunch of "threads" are.
The foreign larvae of a different Camponotus species I gave them are still here, but some do look strangely deflated...
 

 

Edited by CoolColJ, July 8 2018 - 6:35 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Winter 8th July 2018 - Queen update


Banished Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm

11 eggs

Wow, last week I thought she ate all her eggs, and this week boom, over double what she last had!
Heatcable magic I guess, and to think I was gonna release her during the week....

click to enlarge




Pheidole sp. red 7mm

12+ larvae
Wow, she not only moved her eggs off the cotton, but she laid more!




Iridomyrmex sp. 7-8mm

Into week 14

So 13 weeks, and the last 2 on the heatcable, and she finally has a single pupae!@!




Double body dents on display




3x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm

On heating cable, and the queens keep hiding the brood with their bodies so I can't see


Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm

No eggs

Pheidole sp, light red head, dark red body, 6-7mm

Queen 1 - no eggs

This queen likes to sit on the cotton of the double chamber setup in the test tube half of the time, and the other near the cotton dam.

 

Queen 2 - no eggs

I have her in my double test tube modded setup, but I also added a polystyrene foam chamber entrance

Sometimes she sits on the vinyl tubing/cotton wick, or just under it. Right now she is sitting in the doorway of foam chamber entrance.

The small tight space, makes her feel secure.

Which made me think about making a test tube setup where you put in a slab of foam to really shrink the test tube space vertically....

this one

 

 

Pheidole antipodum? 14+mm

Queen 1- no eggs
Queen 2- no eggs

 

 

Lioponera ruficornis/larvata 5mm

 

Still have her in a petri dish with wet cotton on one side, and a wax paper with raw honey.

She was mostly standing in the dish wall during the day, sipped the honey a little.

But now is hiding under the cotton ball on the side butted against the dish side.

I guess she feels more secure in the tight small, space.

Rhytidoponera species 6-7mm

 

Put the queen into a test tube, with the aquarium filter sponge dam, and a cotton wool double chamber setup.

She likes it. With a wax paper of raw honey.

I saw her come out and sip the honey and then go back to the cotton. Might keep it like this until she has brood.

Not sure if she feels like eating protein just yet.

 

 

[sirjordanncurtis]

Darn, you're going to have to change the title of the journal now that you have termites

[CoolColJ]

Darn, you're going to have to change the title of the journal now that you have termites

I made a separate journal for them - see my sig

[Major]

In one of your recent posts in this journal you said that your Polyrachis nanitic #2 was still pale. I’m not sure why. My Camponotus nanitics shells turn black in a matter of hours. Probably something to do with species. Maybe ask the guy who sold them to you how long it took for the first workers shell to harden. Probably not something to worry about.

[CoolColJ]

In one of your recent posts in this journal you said that your Polyrachis nanitic #2 was still pale. I’m not sure why. My Camponotus nanitics shells turn black in a matter of hours. Probably something to do with species. Maybe ask the guy who sold them to you how long it took for the first workers shell to harden. Probably not something to worry about.

Based on the first one it's about a month.
Winter may slow it down even more, which is kinda crazy

[DaveJay]

That was a good read! Took a while to get to the end!

I'm starting to get a good idea of what I might want to keep now, thanks!

 

Btw, I have been keeping woodies for years, as pets mostly except for the odd escapee. I tried two ways of keeping them side by side for a year or so once. One colony I set up like mealworms, oats as a substrate and 'apartment buildings' made of layers of egg carton and cardboard. The other I set up with coco peat as a substrate and layers of curled gum bark and leaves. Both were fed identically on apple, carrot and mixed salad leaves (the gourmet blends in the bags at the supermarket). The colony on oats had a water dish with sphagnum moss, in the other water was added directly to the substrate in one corner. The coco peat colony far out-bred the colony on oats, maybe because while the colony on oats had additional food in the form of oats the other colony devoured all the leaves and some of the bark. Dried gum leaves are by far their favourite food, sometimes you can see them munching giant holes in the side like The Hungry Caterpillar!

Apart from gum leaves I feed them carrot and baby spinach as staples with apple, pumpkin and various lettuce leaves as side dishes.

I like how responsive they can be, very often I see one sample every single piece of food then go back to the preferred piece and fight for the right to eat from it. If you really want to see some action drop a few big roaches from another colony into yours, no lasting damage seems to be done but there's one h*ll of a ruckus! 

[CoolColJ]

That was a good read! Took a while to get to the end!
I'm starting to get a good idea of what I might want to keep now, thanks!
 
Btw, I have been keeping woodies for years, as pets mostly except for the odd escapee. I tried two ways of keeping them side by side for a year or so once. One colony I set up like mealworms, oats as a substrate and 'apartment buildings' made of layers of egg carton and cardboard. The other I set up with coco peat as a substrate and layers of curled gum bark and leaves. Both were fed identically on apple, carrot and mixed salad leaves (the gourmet blends in the bags at the supermarket). The colony on oats had a water dish with sphagnum moss, in the other water was added directly to the substrate in one corner. The coco peat colony far out-bred the colony on oats, maybe because while the colony on oats had additional food in the form of oats the other colony devoured all the leaves and some of the bark. Dried gum leaves are by far their favourite food, sometimes you can see them munching giant holes in the side like The Hungry Caterpillar!
Apart from gum leaves I feed them carrot and baby spinach as staples with apple, pumpkin and various lettuce leaves as side dishes.
I like how responsive they can be, very often I see one sample every single piece of food then go back to the preferred piece and fight for the right to eat from it. If you really want to see some action drop a few big roaches from another colony into yours, no lasting damage seems to be done but there's one h*ll of a ruckus!

Nice. How did you keep the numbers down? They seem like they would have exponential growth rates.

Well my setup doesn't have any mature adults yet, but there are a few large ones, ranging all the way down to near baby ones.
It takes about 2 months for a large one to mature into a full adult that can breed, so I should have some a few weeks into spring.
Right now I barely cull 2 a week to feed my ants, so the 50+ I have now will last till then, and I only take the smallest ones.
I use a spring loaded crosslock tweezer to grab one, stick it into hot water from the tap for 20 secs, they die in a few secs, and then cut in half and serve.

My setup is just the red reptile dirt at the bottom, to keep it as dry as possible, 2 egg crates, the one of top smaller so it slots into the valleys.
Test tube of water setup ala ant style.
Dry pet food for protein - they didn't seem to like the dry cat snacks, but love the Coles goldfish granules
I guess the small size of each helps, as a small roach can finish one granule.
I originally bought these to try on my ants, before I had a reliable supply of feeder insects.

And then fresh vegetables/fruits, like a slice of tomato, cucumber, apple etc every 2 days.

They don't seem to eat much, a slice of tomato only has a third eaten after a couple of days, but the dry food is also eaten.
I never see mine eat, they don't show themselves unless it's dark I guess.

Edited by CoolColJ, July 9 2018 - 2:15 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Winter 10th July 2018
 
Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm queen - Pheidole Colony A
 
There is about 25 workers now, would be 27 had I not lost 2 workers last week...
Not to worry, they have lots of brood and pupa constantly churning out now
The newest batch of workers are a lot larger than original nanitics, by about 40%

Noticing the extra 6 workers since last week, seems more idle workers around now.
Just wandering around, as there is not enough work to do. If I had an outworld attached they would be foraging I suppose.

The large larvae near queen has now larger than the largest workers.
There is another large larvae near the heat cable, but smaller than the one above.
So there may be at least two majors to come soon already, at less than 30 workers. I hear people say you need 50 workers before a major....



Pheidole sp, all black 7mm queen - Pheidole Colony B
 
Counted 13 workers
Will be a lull before the next batch of workers

Like the colony above, more idle workers, till more larvae show up.


2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8mm queen - Pheidole Colony C

Both queens chilling out on the water cotton, side by side, while the 3 nanitic workers attend the brood near the heating cable
First time I've seen that, so it still looks like both queens are on friendly terms.


--


Will most likely release the 15 Polyrhachis ammon workers I collected a week ago, back into the wild, this afternoon
Shame I couldn't find a queen to come along with them