1787 replies to this topic

[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
4 nanitics, clump of brood

 

Finally 2 more nanitics eclosed.

 

Water in double test tube mod is about 50% now, but I won't have to worry about refilling it

Although I will have to tilt the test tube vertically to do so... so a better version of this mod is to have the water tube be able to be filled without opening the end cap.

Maybe drilling a hole in the end cap to place a self sealing tube for a syringe

or these

 

https://www.medidose...tleAdapter.aspx

Edited by CoolColJ, November 8 2018 - 9:22 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen1
20mm Test tube - heat cable - red film
4 eggs - raw honey dish

She relaid a fourth egg, back to where she was before she got ill

I gave her a cricket bit yesterday, but she didn't want it after placing it on the raw honey dish and spraying fomic acid on it...

Edited by CoolColJ, November 8 2018 - 11:58 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 10th November 2018


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen1
20mm Test tube - heat cable - red film
5 eggs - raw honey dish

She laid a 5th egg!
 
Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
13 brood - raw honey dish
 
Wow she laid aanother 5 eggs since I last checke don her, and some appear to be small larvae now!
 
 
Myrmecia nigrocincta, bull ants, 19-20mm queens x3

Queen 1 - tub and tubes - 10 brood, small larvae and eggs
Queen 2 - sealed test tube - 9 eggs
Queen 3 - sealed test tube - 9 eggs
 
I was about move queen 1 into my incubator for a bit, but checked on her, and she has some small larvae already!
So just gave her a piece of cricket instead.
 
 
Pheidole antipodum 15mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
20+ eggs - raw honey dish
 
Gave her a dish of raw honey.
She has some scattered eggs, and much like my meat ant queen, they just never hatch.
So she is looking to be unfertile.
A shame as this one is a little larger than the one below.
 

Pheidole antipodum 14mm queen 2
16mm Test tube - heatcable
1 small major pupa, 1 minor worker pupa?, 20+ eggs - raw honey dish
 
She has at least been laying eggs, back over 20 now, but now down to 1-2 Pupa...
The small major pupa looks dark yellow so should eclose soon if she doesn't eat it.
There maybe one minor worker pupa and some small larvae.
 
 
Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm - black thorax colour scheme
petri dish with wet Sunburst soaked cotton
 
She hasn't died, still upright and moves a little when I prod her.
And maybe a little better than before, but not healthy

[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
6 nanitics, clump of brood
 
And another 2 workers eclosed.

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
1 worker, 1 cocoon, 1 large larvae 4 eggs

 

Finally the larvae has cocooned

I see one small cocoon, with small bits of red dirt particles on it.

The other larvae no longer has a food spot inside it, looking solid white, so may be starting to cocoon soon.

 

And boom, she laid 4 new eggs!

It's like the queen waited till the larvae cocooned before laying the eggs.

Quite a different egg laying pattern to my other Melophorus queen

 

So 2 months from eggs to cocoon, on a heat cable. Just about as slow as a Camponotus and smaller...

Edited by CoolColJ, November 10 2018 - 3:07 AM.

[YsTheAnt]

Gotta cover the P. antipodum queen up for at least 2 weeks and not check on her. She will stop eating the pupae the moment she gets workers, seen it before with many stressed queens. Just leave her test tube completely undisturbed for two weeks, no light or vibrations whatsoever.

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Spring 11th November 2018

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld - tip ofheat cable pressed against side of nest
21 workers, 7 cocoons, 15+ larvae and a stack of eggs/small larvae

Another worker eclosed, 21 now, and lots of brood

click to enlarge



Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 minor worker, 1 large, 2 medium larvae and 10+ eggs/small larvae

No cocoons yet

Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
1 worker. 1 cocoon, large larvae, 4 small larvae, 3 eggs

Apart from the cocoon they are doing better than I thought.
4 small larvae now and 3 eggs!




Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 nanitic, 1 large larve, 6 small larvae/hatched eggs, 1 larvae Camponotus larvae
 
Damn, the larvae had a massive growth spurt this week, from small size to almost matching the Camponotus larvae!




Pheidole Colony E - Pheidole sp, light red head, dark red body, 6-7mm
16mm test tube, double chamber setup - heatcable
35+ workers, decent amount of brood

Wow, they have 20+ more workers than I thought, over 35 now.
And possibly one major larvae, next to the queen in the pic below




Pheidole Colony G - 2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm queens
16mm test tube - cotton double chamber setup - heat cable
9 nanitics - lots of brood

Lots of pupa to eclose soon




Rhytidoponera aspera Gamergate colony
20mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
7 workers - 2 maybe more as Gamergate queens, 30+ brood boost larvae.
 

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
4 nanitics, clump of brood

[CoolColJ]

Spring 11th November 2018 - Queen update

Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm - black thorax colour scheme
55mm petri dish with wet cotton soaked with mineral fortified sugar water
No eggs

Still alive, but very sick and barely moving


Pheidole antipodum 15mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
20+ eggs - raw honey dish

not much progress, her eggs just never seem to hatch

 
Pheidole antipodum 14mm queen 2
16mm Test tube - heatcable
1 small major pupa, 20+ eggs - raw honey dish
 
She only has one pupa left



Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm test tube - heatcable - red film
27 eggs

Into week 5 for 8 of the brood.
Eggs also never hatch


Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen
16mm Test tube - in small outworld
1 egg?, 1 brood boost larvae, 1 brood boost cocoon

Damn, I'm not sure she still has any eggs, and only 1 brood boost larvae left from the 28 I gave her


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
5 eggs  - raw honey dish
 

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
13 brood - raw honey dish
 
At least 1 egg has hatched.


2x Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
18 eggs, about 5 brood boost larvae

didn't check


3x Myrmecia nigrocincta, Bull ant, 19-20mm queens

Queen 1 - tub and tubes - 10 brood
Queen 2 - semi tub and tubes (test tube inside wedding invite container, lid shut, inside cardboard box) - 9 brood
Queen 3 - semi tub and tubes - 9 brood

All 3 queens have at least one small larvae now


Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - sealed in cardboard box

no eggs

 

have her sealed in a test tube in a small cardboard box.

Will feed her raw honey in a few days time and then open her up in a tube and tubes setup

Still no eggs as of this morning

 

 

[Leo]

3x Myrmecia nigrocincta, Bull ant, 19-20mm queens

Queen 1 - tub and tubes - 10 brood
Queen 2 - semi tub and tubes (test tube inside wedding invite container, lid shut, inside cardboard box) - 9 brood
Queen 3 - semi tub and tubes - 9 brood

All 3 queens have at least one small larvae now


 

[CoolColJ]

^ yeah this species lays a lot of eggs for a Myrmecia and they grow fast even though none of mine are heated.

faster than my Meat ant queen for example, and others I know have noted this as well

[CoolColJ]

Spring 12th November 2018
 
 
Pheidole Colony G - Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm queens x 2
16mm test tube - cotton double chamber setup - heat cable
11 workers - small pile of brood
 
Another 2 workers eclosed.

The Pheidole colony under some bricks in my backyard, possible the same species, had 7 large looking larvae sitting there in the passage when I looked.
5 look like major larvae, so I took them and gave it to this colony.
Remains to be seen if they are going to keep or eat

So far the two small ones are getting eaten, but there 4 large ones that the workers are having trouble moving.
One of the queens came over to check out one of the smaller ones

edit - they used them as food...

Edited by CoolColJ, November 12 2018 - 2:17 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 13th November 2018

 
Pheidole antipodum 14mm queen 2
16mm Test tube - heatcable
over 30 eggs - raw honey dish
 
She ate all the pupa
But she has laid over 30 eggs, so now we wait again.
At least I know she is fertile

Shouldn't take long considering how fast small Pheidole brood grow and she is heated.
But this species is different, so who knows.


Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm test tube - heatcable - red film
27 eggs

Almost 4 months since I had this queen, and 6 weeks for current batch of 27 eggs, on the heat cable, and they are still eggs!
Would really like workers before end of the year, but it looks unlikely... so much for their renown explosive growth.
I'm certain this queen is unfertile, as even my recently captured Myrmecia nigrocincta queens all have larvae already...

I will see if I can exchange her for another queen

[CoolColJ]

Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - sealed in cardboard box
no eggs

Gave her some raw honey which she almost finished over an hour!
Then a piece of hot water cooked wood roach.


3x Myrmecia nigrocincta, Bull ant, 19-20mm queens

Queen 1 - tub and tubes - 10 brood
Queen 2 - semi tub and tubes (test tube inside wedding invite container, lid shut, inside cardboard box) - 9 brood
Queen 3 - semi tub and tubes - 9 brood

Not even one month yet and larvae already.
A few days ago I saw one small larvae, and now many more and larger!
They are not even heated, and temperature has not been that warm lately.
These seem to grow even faster than my large Camponotus that are heated!

 

Pics of queen 1

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, November 12 2018 - 8:51 PM.

[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
5 nanitics,  small clump of brood

Another nanitic eclosed.
I removed their setup off the heatcable, which I don't think benefits them too much now that it is warmer, and they never place their brood near it.
Right now their eggs sit on top vinyl tubing that joined the two test tubes together, that also covers the cotton wick.
The heat cable creates condensation there, so I can see why, as Pheidole love humidity.



2x Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen
16mm test tube - heatcable
18 eggs, about 5 brood boost larvae

 

Took them out of the styrofoam box incubator and placed on heat cable

 

They have some big poop blobs and smears on the open side of the test tube

[CoolColJ]

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld - tip ofheat cable pressed against side of nest
21 workers, 7 cocoons, 15+ larvae and a stack of eggs/small larvae

 

Looks like the first nanitic is on her death bed, but she has lived around 7 months now.

I see this worker outside in the outworld, and she can't seem to climb the walls at all, keeps falling down...

Strange, since all the workers can walk over fluon barriers like nothing.

So I suspect this is the first nanitic getting weaker and soon to be dead.

[Nare]

Pheidole antipodum 14mm queen 2

 
She ate all the pupa

At this point, I suggest just putting her tube in a sheath, so that it's dark, and leaving it in a space that has little to no vibrations, for 2 to 3 weeks on end, without checking her. I think you're checking on her too often. Smaller Pheidole may be fine with regular checkups, but obviously this queen's really finicky. It'd be a shame to have her pass.

[CoolColJ]

 

Pheidole antipodum 14mm queen 2

 
She ate all the pupa

At this point, I suggest just putting her tube in a sheath, so that it's dark, and leaving it in a space that has little to no vibrations, for 2 to 3 weeks on end, without checking her. I think you're checking on her too often. Smaller Pheidole may be fine with regular checkups, but obviously this queen's really finicky. It'd be a shame to have her pass.

 

 

I think what triggered it, was me moving her to a new test tube

But at least she has laid a new batch of eggs

Edited by CoolColJ, November 13 2018 - 7:33 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 14th October 2018

3x Myrmecia nigrocincta, Bull ant, 19-20mm queens

Queen 1 - tub and tubes - 10 brood
Queen 2 - semi tub and tubes (test tube inside wedding invite container, lid shut, inside cardboard box) - 9 brood
Queen 3 - semi tub and tubes - 9 brood

Sold one of the queens, so down to 2

Will decide which to send next Monday

 

 

 

[CoolColJ]

Spring 15th November 2018

Pheidole Colony E - Pheidole sp, light red head, dark red body, 6-7mm
16mm test tube, double chamber setup - heatcable
35+ workers, decent amount of brood



Successfully brood boosted this colony with 2 minor pupa and 3 major pupa, plus 1 major pupa that may be damaged...

I flipped over a rock in my yard that I hadn't looked under before, and there was a large red Pheidole species colony under it with tons of brood all neatly
separated into separate large chambers, small larvae, large larvae, small pupa and major pupa etc.
I placed the rock back, but some of the pupa fell out.
R.metallica workers from a nearby nest started to raid these, so I scooped them into my capture tube with a piece of leaf.

I did find the queen of this colony in my yard, but I'm wasn't sure if they are the same species.
So I expected them to be used as food, but much to my suprise the workers carted them to the water cotton, cleaned them and then dragged them up to the cotton where their brood are all sitting.

Free majors? Who wouldn't say no

[CoolColJ]

Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 nanitic, 1 cocoon, 2 medium larvae, 4hatched eggs, 1 larvae Camponotus larvae

 

A cocoon has been spun - not sure who, but I think it may be the rufifemur larvae due to the size

The other, Camponotus larvae, is about the length of the queen now

 

I can rest easy now, if the nanitic dies, the queen will have at least 1 regular size worker to help her.

Edited by CoolColJ, November 14 2018 - 10:32 PM.