1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Spring 17th September 2018

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
heat cable - Atom C nest inside circular outworld
7 nanitics, 6 cocoons, 13 larvae ?

Still at 6 cocoons, but some larvae haven't gotten quite big and probably close to cocooning.
A few cocoons look close toe closing as well
Been leaving food outside now, and a worker is going outside now and finding it, without dragging it inside.

click to enlarge


Note the sentry - they do have good eyesight and can see me, much like myrmecia



Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 minor worker, 9 brood

Hard to see but there is about 7 small larvae now
Been leaving food outside, but the worker is unlikely to go outside to get it...





Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest
2 eggs. 2 workers
 
Wooo my second Melophorus species colony, black and orange 7mm queen, has finally laid a couple of eggs!
I have had them for months, with zero brood. They had 6 workers at one stage, but now only 2 remain. The bodyparts of the other dead workers can be seen
I was about to move them out of this acrylic founding nest and back into a test tube, but I guess it's too late now...




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

30-40 workers

Lots of pupa and their first big plump major larvae


Pheidole Colony B - Pheidole sp, all black 8mm queen
 heatcable
35-40 workers. 1 Major. 1 major pupa

Lots of brown pupa eclosing this week.
Stack of eggs. By the time the second major pupa ecloses they should be around 50 workers


Pheidole Colony C - 2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 7mm queens
heatcable
20'ish workers - lots of brood, major larvae

First major larave is starting to pupate.
Lots of brood and steady stream of pupa turning brown.


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
 
1 egg, 1 nanitics, 1 small Camponotus larvae

LOL, I saw the nanitic feeding the Camponotus larvae yesterday!
And today, the queen was curled over inspecting her gaster... and now I see a shiny new egg, the first since many months ago, thanks to spring




Camponotus suffusus 18+mm - queenless
 Atom C nest inside circular outworld - heat cable
14 workers, 1 large 3 medium larvae
 
With only 4 larvae left, it's safe to say these are all pure suffusus larvae, and the brood must have eaten the foreign Camponotus larvae I gave them, over 15!

 
Iridomyrmex - black 8.5mm queen
aquarium filter dam and cotton wool chamber wall/entrance - heat cable
13 workers, lots of brood

Bouncing back from recent losses. Brood develops so fast, but I'm going to have to sacrifice a few workers and give some the Papyrius queen...



Pheidole sp. red, dark gaster 7mm queen
cotton double chamber setup - heat cable
4 nanitics - lots of brood




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

Queen 1 - heat cable - 2 nanitics, clump of brood
double chamber setup, exposed to light

Queen 1 has 2 nanitics now and lots of brood.





Banished Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm queen - originally a partner of Pheidole Colony A
heatcable
3 Nanitics, clumpo of brood

Up to 3 nanitics now, and they are already bloated



 
Rhytidoponera species - black, red legged 9mm queen
Tub and tubes setup - exposed to shadowed light
heatcable
6 larvae

Edited by CoolColJ, September 17 2018 - 5:19 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 17th September 2018 - Queen update


3x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm
heat cable
A few pupa, some larvae and bunch of eggs

Looks like they have kicked back into gear with at least one pupa, some larvae and a bunch of eggs
I will keep this Pheidole setup if all 3 queens stay together
Their test tube is getting low on water though!

click to enlarge - there is a pupa on the far right of the brood pile

 
 
Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm - black thorax colour scheme
in Minihearth
No eggs
 
She is the only ant here from before winter without eggs...
And today she climbed out of the nest area into the outworld of the Minihearth and has stayed there.
She must be feeling to urge to lay, but does not like the Minihearth interior? Too humid for her?
Consobrinus do like things very dry, so who knows.


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

Queen 2 - some pupa? a few large larave
I have her in my double test tube modded setup, with a polystyrene foam chamber entrance
in red test tube rack

Queen 2 only has a few larvae, might have some pupa.
 
 
Pheidole cf antipodum 15mm queen
in magnetic glass top gypsum founding nest

32+ brood
 
Not sure how she managed it but she managed to put an egg between the top of her head and thorax
She still has a big stack of brood under her, over 30

Brood hasn't changed too much though

 
 
Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm test tube, cotton double chamber setup - heatcable
3-4 eggs

 

keeps eating her eggs and relaying them... Will try a nest change...

 

Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen

16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, and cotton double chamber setup

No eggs

I haven't seen her eat anything yet... will likley open up her test tube inside an outworld tommorrow.

This species can't climb smooth surfaces, so no need for anti escape barrier

 

 

triple black Iridomyrmex queens 8mm

20mm test tube

tons of eggs

 

I released 6 queens from the 9 i had yesterday. Even when open, they wouldn't leave the test tube so I had to tap them out..

One found her way back in and stayed

They have already laid a ton of eggs

 

 

 

 

Papyrius sp. 8mm queen

16mm test tube

 

Since she is parasitic, I will need to give her some foreign workers.

Will get things sorted tomorrow, before she dies!

Edited by CoolColJ, September 17 2018 - 5:13 AM.

[DaveJay]

Where are you reading that they are parasitic? All I find is the symbiosis relationship with the butterfly mentioned.

I have people discussing it with me on Facebook.
Plus no one has ever raised one successfully with either claustral style (small gaster means no anyway) or semi-claustral.
She needs workers for some reason.

I wasn't doubting it, I just can't find any reference to it at all online, not that there's much information about the genus anyway except for the fact that the butterfly is endangered.
Perhaps your Facebook people can provide links to show that what they're saying can be backed up?

[Major]

How does the Papyirus queen accept foreign genus workers? Don't get me wrong- I know just about as much as the next guy about Australian ants, so I could definitely be wrong. But generally from my experience socially- parasitic queens require workers from the same genus.

Just for the safety of the queen I might go with some Papyirus sp. workers, not Iridomyrmex sp. workers.

[CoolColJ]

 

 

Where are you reading that they are parasitic? All I find is the symbiosis relationship with the butterfly mentioned.

I have people discussing it with me on Facebook.
Plus no one has ever raised one successfully with either claustral style (small gaster means no anyway) or semi-claustral.
She needs workers for some reason.

I wasn't doubting it, I just can't find any reference to it at all online, not that there's much information about the genus anyway except for the fact that the butterfly is endangered.
Perhaps your Facebook people can provide links to show that what they're saying can be backed up?

 

 

No sources, just based on their experience and word of mouth. One of them advised a friend who has a queen the same, and it appears to be working.

These queens need workers to feed them by the looks of it, as my queen is not eating herself.

 

 

How does the Papyirus queen accept foreign genus workers? Don't get me wrong- I know just about as much as the next guy about Australian ants, so I could definitely be wrong. But generally from my experience socially- parasitic queens require workers from the same genus.

Just for the safety of the queen I might go with some Papyirus sp. workers, not Iridomyrmex sp. workers.

 

There would be no difference in interaction between same and foreign species as the colony scent would be different, and they would react the same way to her.

I have already tested this with another queen I found in my backyard, and a wild colony of Iridomyrmex - the workers did not attack her.

They seem to spray something into the air, as I can smell it, to mask the scent I think.

 

Where I found this queen there is way more Iridomyrmex nests than her own species, so it makes sense she would use the most common species available

 

In any case I can get workers of both species, it doesn't matter too much, but it will make it easier to tell which are her own workers and which are foreign ones later on if I use Iridomyrmex

And Papyrius workers look like Iridomyrmex workers anyway

 

 

 

 

 

[CoolColJ]

Project Parasite Papayrius

 

Went back to the area where I captured this Papyrius queen and there are a few Papyrius nests here - one on the edge of the road, the first I found last week, but the rest are at the base of small trees on the edge of the field here.

All very active at 12-1:30 pm, hot and sunny as well.

They have thatched tunnels that run up the side/bark of the trees.

 

Easy to capture workers - I just put my Fluon coated vial against the tree and they all try to attack it and fall in

Pretty aggressive, they were tyring to bite etc.

Captured a drone as well I saw a few, so maybe still trying to have flights again.

 

There is one injured worker which I will crush and give to the give for here colony scent disguise
They all clustered together in a big ball right now, some 20+ workers

 

 

--

 

Put the queen into a fresh test tube with 2 crushed up workers.

She freaked out at first, but soon settled.

Doesn't appear to be much happening yet

Edited by CoolColJ, September 17 2018 - 8:20 PM.

[rbarreto]

My favorite strategy for introducing workers to a parasite is to add some brood first, wait a day, then add the workers.
But the introduction of workers may be an unnecessary risk if she can simply open her own cocoons

[YsTheAnt]

I think your P. antipodum might need more heat to develop her eggs. I know that some queen's eggs don't mature unless they have heat. I would provide a gradient between room temp and 30 degrees Celsius, maybe even a high of 35. This might help her get larvae. Be sure to provide her with a room temp area too just in case she gets too warm.

[CoolColJ]

My favorite strategy for introducing workers to a parasite is to add some brood first, wait a day, then add the workers.
But the introduction of workers may be an unnecessary risk if she can simply open her own cocoons

 

I don't have any brood of her genus though, and using Iridomyrmex brood/workers might be iffy

[CoolColJ]

I think your P. antipodum might need more heat to develop her eggs. I know that some queen's eggs don't mature unless they have heat. I would provide a gradient between room temp and 30 degrees Celsius, maybe even a high of 35. This might help her get larvae. Be sure to provide her with a room temp area too just in case she gets too warm.

 

Yeah i did try a heat cable for a few days, but the nest was getting condensation, so I stopped it.

Unlike a nest with a hydration chamber or test tube, this nest has water throughout the whole thing, being a gypsum type nest.

 

It's only early spring, and still quite cold, it'll get warmer soon enough

Edited by CoolColJ, September 17 2018 - 9:27 PM.

[CoolColJ]

18th September 2018

Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm Test tube, and cotton double chamber setup - heat cable
0 eggs

Well she ate all her eggs one again...and keeps pulling on the aquarium filter wool dam of the other test tube, so I moved her to a new test tube with a cotton dam instead.
See if this is any better...
Maybe she doesn't like the 20mm test tube space vs the 16mm test tube she had before which was a bit more difficult for her to turn


 
Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen
16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, and cotton double chamber setup - inside small outworld
 
Opened up her test tube and placed it inside a small outworld with red dirt.
Since she kept wanting to go outside, and hasn't eaten anything yet.
She seems unsettled

Other people I know, their Rhytidoponeras have already laid eggs


Pheidole cf antipodum 15mm queen
in magnetic glass top gypsum founding nest

32+ brood

 

That egg that was on her head, is still there, but has shifted down to the top of her thorax!

I might have to brush it off her...

 

 

Project Parasite Papayrius

Went back to the area where I captured this Papyrius queen and there are a few Papyrius nests here - one on the edge of the road, the first I found last week, but the rest are at the base of small trees on the edge of the field here.
All very active at 12-1:30 pm, hot and sunny as well.
They have thatched tunnels that run up the side/bark of the trees.

Easy to capture workers - I just put my Fluon coated vial against the tree and they all try to attack it and fall in
Pretty aggressive, they were tyring to bite etc.
Captured a drone as well I saw a few, so maybe still trying to have flights again.

There is one injured worker which I will crush and give to the give for here colony scent disguise
They all clustered together in a big ball right now, some 20+ workers


--

Put the queen into a fresh test tube with 2 crushed up workers.
She freaked out at first, but soon settled.
Doesn't appear to be much happening yet

 

Well this didn't work - the Papyrius workers are still really hostile to her.

 

[CoolColJ]

Spring - 19th September 2018


Pheidole cf antipodum 15mm queen
in magnetic glass top gypsum founding nest

32+ brood
 
Now she has an egg on her thorax and one ontop of her gaster

I figure I'll let it be, a few eggs is not worth the stress of me brushing it off her, when she has over 30 eggs.

Plus she will eventually do it again

 

I ran the heating cable over the glass of the nest, that sits above her.

The Temp/humidity probe reads 23.9C degrees and 99% humidity against a room temperature of 20 degrees and RH of 41%
Ambient is around 20.4C degrees now and will hit 27 today.

 

The bare heating cable normally adds 6-7 degrees to ambient temperature, so the glass and red film, plus nest body drops it to 3.5 degrees
So it will eventually get close to 30 inside after midday.

 

 

edit - 24.8C degrees, when the heating cable is run under the nest

 

 

Project Parasite Papayrius - 8mm queen

Put her in together with the young Iridomyrmex colony, inside a tub and tubes setup last night, it's pretty cramped with two test tubes inside a take away style container
The Iridomyrmex colony is pretty timid and freaked when I open their test tube up.
While the Papy queen keeps wandering around aimlessly, but she did drink a lot of water when I put in the water feeder.
She hasn't touched any food though

She seems happy enough sitting in the outworld, so I guess humidity is fine for her there.
Whatever floats her boat
A few Iridomyrmex workers have explored outside a bit, but I don't think they have encountered the Papyrius queen yet

 

quote - from another person

 

Where did you read that? I have done that with some of my Papyrius queens and it works amazing! I tried with a large brood and worker from iridomyrmex and it works well, i tried Papyrius workers and they killed the other queens

 

Edited by CoolColJ, September 18 2018 - 3:55 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp. colony - red black 6-7mm queen

refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 minor worker, 11 brood

 

aye crumba - I think I see 11 brood now!

Some as small larvae, if they can get another batch in before next winter sets in, this colony is gonna be fun!

Definitely some medial and majors in this batch for sure

 

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, September 18 2018 - 3:48 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Banished Phediole sp. red head/black body 9mm queen - originally a partner of Pheidole Colony A
16mm test tube - heatcable
4 Nanitics, small clump of brood

4th nanitic is up. 4 large, 1 medium larvae, and a clump of eggs


Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm Test tube, and cotton double chamber setup - red film - heat cable
2 eggs

She laid 2 eggs this morning, but she is still very restless.
So much for the docile queen I first thought...
 

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest
2 eggs. 1 worker

 

So this colony is now in the same situation as my other Melophorus colony, 1 worker and some brood.

The other worker died maybe a day or two ago.

I saw her at the front in the vinyl tubing piece that holds the cotton block, and thought she was just on sentry duty.

But when I poked and then took her out, yeap she is dead, from old age.

 

As I've noted before, workers seem to know when they are about to die and separate themselves from the colony

[CoolColJ]

Spring - 20th September 2018


Project Parasite Papayrius - 8mm queen

OK I just did it - I tapped 75% of my young Iridomyrmex colony into a petri dish plus 5 workers.
The queen fell out as well, so I had to put her back in. Put both the Papy queen's test tube and the petri dish into the fridge for 10 mins to slow and clam them down,
but in hindsight, 1-2 mins in the freezer would have put them all to sleep for better results..

Then I used a featherweight forceps to move the brood and workers across to the Papy test tube.
Since they were only slowed and not asleep this was a bit tricky as the workers started trying to carry the brood out of the test tube and one of the workers attacked the Papy queen.
But 1 min in the freezer put everyone to asleep.

The Papy queen woke up first, it took the smaller Irido workers longer to wake up.

They seem pretty calm so far, but the Papy queen wants none of it and is hanging out near the entrance cotton.... to be updated...

Edited by CoolColJ, September 19 2018 - 4:05 PM.

[CoolColJ]

She is still hanging out at the front entrance... some of the Irido workers approach her in a friendly manner but she threatens them with an aggressive jab...
so if this is a Parasitic species her instincts sure don't show it...
if she stays here she will die for sure...

I've tried everything - I will take out the Irido workers and just leave the brood, at the very least she will have some food to eat,
at best she will make use of the brood, eggs larvae and pupa. One pupa is close to eclosing so if she helps it out, it could be her first worker.
Then just give her food like a semi claustral queen

--

She still freaks out when she gets near the irido brood... and she's sprayed my hand with that chemical, gees it stinks
Well she's not parasitic that is for sure, at least this species

--

She has inspected and moved some of the brood, so we are getting somewhere!

Edited by CoolColJ, September 19 2018 - 4:14 PM.

[rbarreto]

How do you know she uses irodomyrmex as the host species?

[CoolColJ]

How do you know she uses irodomyrmex as the host species?

Word of mouth and experience/advice from others

She is sitting calmly above the brood pile now, remains to be seen if she will help the one dark pupa to eclose.

Edited by CoolColJ, September 19 2018 - 9:12 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 20th September 2018

Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm Test tube, and cotton double chamber setup - red film - heat cable
12eggs

She had 4 eggs this morning, so she laid 2 more, and now has 8 eggs

Now we are back to where we started, so 2 weeks wasted!

Let's see if she can get back to the peak of 15 eggs she had a week ago....

 

Rescuing her from the wool/cotton threads tangled on her mandibles probably freaked her out to much, but it had to be done...

She appears to be a lot calmer now.

 

edit - 9 eggs now

edit - 12 eggs!

Edited by CoolColJ, September 19 2018 - 11:42 PM.