1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Actually the red brown ants I saw yesterday having flights that were carrying something in their mandibles are Acropyga species, they were carrying a pregnant mealybug in their mandibles to attend to in the new colony to come!

I probably should have captured one, would be cool to see them herd the mealybugs

Edited by CoolColJ, October 16 2018 - 3:05 PM.

[Leo]

Keeping Acropyga are pretty hard. I think you need a plant, mine died.

[Leo]

Question, what was the temperature and humidity when you found the myrmecia queens?

[CoolColJ]

Question, what was the temperature and humidity when you found the myrmecia queens?

 

It was around mid 20 degrees and fairly humid, 65-75% as it was a day after a few days of constant rain.

 

Those are the best days to hunt for ants as you know all the ants in the bush will be out foraging after a few days of not being able to do so.

 

I also found a Ponerine type ant over 1cm, with large mandibles and big sting tail, but I let it go

Edited by CoolColJ, October 16 2018 - 5:26 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 17th October 2018

checked up on queens in my ghetto incubator
Temperature has hit 28C degrees inside the box, and probably 30 inside the test tube and 34 directly under the heat cable at the end of the test tube.


Pheidole cf antipodum 15mm queen
20mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
30+ eggs

She relaid a ton of eggs since I last checked on her. Over 30 at least.
But they are scattered all over the test tube... not a good sign, but so are the eggs of the Iridomyrmex queens below.
Maybe to get a better spread of the heat


dual black Iridomyrmex queens 8mm
20mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
60? brood

I see some medium sized larvae now, so they should eclose in a 1-2 weeks time
I also see about 40 dark brown eggs that probably died from the heat, near the heat cable.

 
Nylanderia sp. 6mm - 4 queens
16mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
100? eggs
 

RIP, a queen died and was dumped at the end of the test tube, along with some wings
I know of another queen I discovered yesterday in my yard under a brick that I could capture to replace her

They have 2 big clumps of eggs now, looking like close to 100 brood!

Edited by CoolColJ, October 16 2018 - 6:10 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pics of one of the Myrmecia nigrocincta queens I have here, for now

They have quite a lot of personality, a lot more pet like, like a cat/dog compared to other ants.
Their good eyesight helps, much like my strobe ants

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, October 16 2018 - 8:59 PM.

[DaveJay]

I think they're probably the best looking Myrmecia, they were on my wish list as soon as I looked into Myrmecia, the smaller size is good too I think.
I'm still impatiently waiting for mine! The window for the postie bringing today is closing fast!

[YsTheAnt]

Keep one! They are so cool!!!

[CoolColJ]

I think they're probably the best looking Myrmecia, they were on my wish list as soon as I looked into Myrmecia, the smaller size is good too I think.
I'm still impatiently waiting for mine! The window for the postie bringing today is closing fast!

It'll arrive tomorrow most likely as you don't live in a major city

For me Myrmecia fulvipes looks better, and even smaller. Queens 15-16mm and workers 10-12mm
Quite similar colours to my Camponotus suffusus actually
If I sell enough of these, I can afford to buy a M.fulvipes with a worker or two from Ant Keeping Depot

Edited by CoolColJ, October 16 2018 - 9:57 PM.

[DaveJay]

Keep one! They are so cool!!!

No! Give them to Dave!!!


(Shhh, who said that?)

[YsTheAnt]

As long as you journal them it's good by me . Just a request... Not trying to be pushy.

[DaveJay]

 

I think they're probably the best looking Myrmecia, they were on my wish list as soon as I looked into Myrmecia, the smaller size is good too I think.
I'm still impatiently waiting for mine! The window for the postie bringing today is closing fast!

It'll arrive tomorrow most likely as you don't live in a major city

For me Myrmecia fulvipes looks better, and even smaller. Queens 15-16mm and workers 10-12mm
Quite similar colours to my Camponotus suffusus actually
If I sell enough of these, I can afford to buy a M.fulvipes with a worker or two from Ant Keeping Depot

 

Well you got me there, they're pretty flash looking Bull Ants!

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole sp, light red head, dark red body, 6-7mm
I have her in my double test tube modded setup, with a polystyrene foam chamber entrance - heatcable
clump of brood, 3-4 pupa.

I see a second nanitic body on the heat cable, light brown in colour, so has eclosed recently, but it looks dead.
Legs crossed in comatose position
But there is another brown pupa that should eclose by the end of the week.

The first nanitic likes to sit on the cotton wick of this double test tube mod. Which will likely cause it to mold, but at least I can pop it out and replace it.
see pic for reference



Myrmecia nigrocincta queens x5

 

The 4 most recent sit in sealed test tubes, i gave them honey in a 3D printed dish, and today they have all pulled on the cotton plug to cover the honey up, and it was only a small dab...

 

One sits in a tub and tubes setup. She wanders around a bit and then returns home to chill.

I gave her a bit of cricket but she doesn't care for it.

Not sure if she is just fussy and wants a whole insect, or an alive one... or just doesn't want anything but honey right now...

 

 

[CoolColJ]

Oh I captured a Rhytidoponera metallica queen this afternoon in my yard to measure her length, but she got loose and I was too slow to recapture her..

.so somewhere in my room is a R.metallica queen running loose

Edited by CoolColJ, October 17 2018 - 2:41 AM.

[DaveJay]

Oh I captured a Rhytidoponera metallica queen this afternoon in my yard to measure her length, but she got loose and I was too slow to recapture her..

.so somewhere in my room is a R.metallica queen running loose

I lost a drone out of my R.metallica colony trying to transfer it to the enclosure of a single worker I found. I looked on the floor for about 5 mins with the torch, the second I gave up it landed on my arm! Lucky! Hopefully you'll find your Queen before too long.

[CoolColJ]

She will most likely die, just worried she will start a colony somewhere in here

Edited by CoolColJ, October 17 2018 - 3:33 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Found a 7mm Pheidole queen under a brick at work this morning, so it looks like they are flying again already!?
Although she has a mite on her gaster
I'm undecided about keeping her, but she does look different to all my past and current Pheidole queens
 
yeah she's hanging onto my paint brush
click to enlarge



Oh apparently termites were flying last night, but I didn't get any tandem pairs

Edited by CoolColJ, October 17 2018 - 3:57 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Big flights forming now

3 stone slabs in my backyard, that was once empty, have been overtaken by a big Nylanderia colony!
Anyway there was also some tiny brown yellow ant 1-2mm colony under one part of the middle stone slab, which had 10+ black alates of around 6mm length,
as soon as I pulled the stone slab open and exposed them to the sun, that must have triggered their flights, because all the alates took off!

Further down, my backyard, red head tinted Iridomyrmex colony is finally having real flights after weeks of practising...
just the difference in the way they are forming, alates and drones all lined up standing still on the brick pavement, all spread out

--

Just came back - another productive 2 hours of anting!
May or may not go back out later, but today was good.

I found 2 C.consobrinus nests right on the trail that had it not been for the big pile of dirt and workers digging I would not have known about!
Also a few more C.nigriceps nests with brood, and one large R.Metallica nest under a rock with larvae... might come a month from now and grab some cocoons for my queens.

Also a few Polyrhachis ammon nests with brood, but I don't keep them

Found a Myrmecia nigrocincta queen near the start, and then turned over a rock and saw an Aphaenogaster longiceps queen scurry down a hole!
Had to dig her out, from her claustral chamber, about 2 inches down... I must have missed their flights because I have been stalking the area, except last night..
and I did check under this rock a few days ago and it was empty.
And even better I found an A.longiceps nest under a rock a few metres away that had brood, took some to give to my queen, which she is now attending to even in the capture tube

Anyway I did end up finding another 3 more Myrmecia nigrocincta queens, so I have 9 here now and 10 total found so far

Edited by CoolColJ, October 17 2018 - 9:28 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

This makes me want to move to Australia. I think you may wat to consider a polygenous Myrmecia colony, if you have so many. I'm not sure if it will work for all species, but I did see one a while back. Keep up the awesome updates!

[CoolColJ]

This makes me want to move to Australia. I think you may wat to consider a polygenous Myrmecia colony, if you have so many. I'm not sure if it will work for all species, but I did see one a while back. Keep up the awesome updates!

 

 

Some species are polygynous, but I'm not sure this one is.

 

Selling one is worth more to me than having a multi queen colony

But I think i will keep one around. Selling 6 for cheap will give me enough to buy a Myrmecia fulvipes with workers once Ant Keeping Depot has stock again

Or a custom THA nucleus nest for my Pheidole antipodum  

Edited by CoolColJ, October 17 2018 - 10:25 PM.