1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Spring 16th November 2018

Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm - black thorax colour scheme
55mm petri dish with wet cotton soaked with mineral fortified sugar water

While her antenna move a tiny bit, her body is pretty stiff now, I reckon she is as good as dead

I put her in my petri dish with the dead bodies of my C.suffusus and P.antipodum queen

Edited by CoolColJ, November 15 2018 - 2:39 PM.

[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

You can see they kept the damaged major, the one up front....

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

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

Back down to 3 eggs after eating 2....
I suspect this queen had laid quite a few eggs prior to be sent to my Davejay in sphagnum moss, so if there was any brood they were lost in the moss...
and since then she has 9 eggs that were either eaten or written off. So she must be low on food reserves.

Well she finished the tray of raw honey I gave her, so I topped up her dish and added a gummy piece of cricket, which she happily chewed after spraying it with fomic acid.
Hope she lays more and avoids eating her eggs.

[CoolColJ]

larvae brood boosting has been a bit hit and miss for these Rhytidoponera aspera, even if they feed themselves.

Seems like the colony and queen never really feed them, unless I dump the food directly onto the larvae

 

 

Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen
16mm Test tube - in small outworld
5 eggs, 1 brood boost larvae, 2 brood boost cocoon

 

She laid 4 more eggs. And today I gave her a second cocoon from the gamergate colony.

So she is getting there and will soon have 2 helpers
 

 

Rhytidoponera aspera Gamergate colony
20mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
7 workers - 2 maybe more as Gamergate queens, 5+ brood boost larvae.

 

Only has 5 brood boost larvae from the 30 or so they had.

2 cocooned which I gave to the R.aspera queen. So only seven of 30 made it... 2 are cocooning now

 

 

[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.

 

P.rufifemur larvae cocooned before the Camponotus larvae, under the queen. So faster growing

 

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

Spring 18th November 2018

 

Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen
16mm Test tube - in small outworld
7 eggs, 1 brood boost larvae, 4 brood boost cocoon
 
She laid 2 more eggs and I gave her 2 more cocoons from the gamergate colony.

She will be ok

 

click to enlarge

 
Rhytidoponera aspera Gamergate colony

20mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.

4 eggs, 2 brood boost larvae
7 workers - 2 maybe more as Gamergate queens, .
 

Wooo after 6 weeks one of the Gamergates finally laid 4 eggs over the last couple of days!

And they only have 2 brood boost larvae from the 30 or so they once had....

Even accounting for the 4 cocoons I donated to my R.aspera queen, they lost and maybe ate a ton

Grabbing that last cocoon off them was a pain, the worker wouldn't let go

 

The also have a few garbage eating mites in the nest. They don't bother the ants, so that's cool

 

I was going to release this colony after all the broodboost larvae had cocooned and given them to my R.aspera queen, but now that the gamergates have laid eggs, that does change things.

I could still release them into my yard and let them create their own colony

 

4 eggs

 

mites in centre frame, and on on either side of larvae

Edited by CoolColJ, November 18 2018 - 1:36 AM.

[CoolColJ]

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

 

9 small larvae/eggs join the single cocoon, and one pupa that failed to cocoon...

 

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

Spring 19th November 2018
 
 
Rhytidoponera aspera Gamergate colony
20mm Test tube with aquarium filter wool dam, cardboard floor substrate.
3 eggs, 2 brood boost larvae
7 workers - 2 maybe more as Gamergate queens, .
 
Moved them to a new test tube setup.
I think the closeness of the cardboard substrate to the water caused it be damp and thus the mites were able to live there
So I pulled the cardboard out a little so it has no chance to get damp.
Saw the mites on the cardboard when I pulled it out.
Checked all brood and ants for mite sin the new nest, so far so good.

They actually had 5 eggs, laid another but I lost 2 in the move, but no big deal they will lay more, and they have plenty of food.



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

Queen 1 - 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

Queen 1 has been sold and packed up already.
Queen 2 has also been sold to Davejay.
Queen 3 is pending

All queens have medium sized larvae already, just amazed at how fast the brood of these grow!
Much faster than all Camponotus I have and had, and not even heated.


Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
no eggs

Moved her to the now vacated takeaway container outworld
She is really quite timid and shy compared to the queens above, even pre brood
Just too cute!

They fly in February, so in theory she may not lay till then.
But then again someone I know has a queen of these and laid 2 weeks after capture....

[CoolColJ]

Pics of my ghetto incubator, very effective

It's just a styrofoam box with lid i found at work, like a small esky or fruit box, no holes.
Then I made two slit holes on each end of the box down from the top, I thread the heat cable and my sensor leads into the holes on one side,
then run the heat cable down the wall across the floor and up to the other side, out the hole and onto my table, so the cable also heats my other test tubes sitting outside.
I then taped down the cable with black thick gaff tape. I put blu tack on one side of the box for the test tubes to rest on, and the open end of the test tubes sits on the heat cable

I put the thermostat sensor inside an empty test tube setup exactly the same as the ant ones.
Set to 28.5C degrees. The temps hit over 30 where the heat cable is.
Air inside the box hits around 28 degrees

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, November 18 2018 - 3:57 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Spring 19th November 2018

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld - tip ofheat cable pressed against side of nest
21 workers, 11 cocoons, over 10 larvae and a stack of eggs/small larvae

up 4 cocoons from last week, some should be getting close to eclosing.
Numbers are about go up quickly!


Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 minor worker, 1 large, 2 medium larvae, 1 small larvae and 9 eggs

No cocoons yet, wow talk about a slow...

Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
1 worker. 1 cocoon, 1 naked pupa, 7 small larvae, 2 eggs


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 nanitic, 1 pupa, 2 medium larvae, 4 small larvae, 1 larvae Camponotus larvae
 
All eggs have hatched and 2 medium larvae now


Pheidole Colony E - Pheidole sp, light red head, dark red body, 6-7mm
16mm test tube, double chamber setup - heatcable
40 workers, 4 brood boost major pupa, small clump of brood

Some of the brood boost major pupa are turning yellow


Pheidole Colony G - 2x Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm queens
16mm test tube - heat cable
16 workers - first major larvae, lots of brood

First major larvae has shown up!
Water getting real low, will move them to a new test tube soon.
Just a few more workers first.


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

Pheidole Colony H - 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
5 nanitics, small clump of brood

Another nanitic eclosed. slow going for this colony
I caught this queen at the same time as colony Gs.... and that queen has 40 workers now!

Edited by CoolColJ, November 18 2018 - 5:31 PM.

[Leo]

How do you have so much time for ants! 

[CoolColJ]

How do you have so much time for ants! 

Today is my day off

[CoolColJ]

Spring 19th November 2018 - Queen update


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

Look below, do you see any eggs? I don't and she had a few before..
Sigh I should probably put her back in the gypsum nest as this is not working. I can even put the gypsum nest inside the incubator.
Or put her in my spare Atom C or Minihearth - but I thought the M.fulvipes queen or one of my C.suffusus would be better in the Atom C or Minihearth

She had 80 eggs at one stage, in the gypsum nest!

click to enlarge

 
Pheidole antipodum 14mm queen 2
16mm Test tube - heatcable
Over 40 brood - raw honey dish
 
Some eggs have hatched into larvae now.


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

Waiting for the new queen to arrive tomorrow, captured from this season, recently
Hopefully this one will have nanitics in 3 weeks when heated like they should!


Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen
16mm Test tube - in small outworld
7 eggs, 1 brood boost larvae, 4 brood boost cocoon


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

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
16 brood - 1 medium larvae - raw honey dish
 
Queen 2 has 16 brood now, and she has 1 medium sized larvae already!

She really likes the heat inside my ghetto incubator as she pushed the honey dish all the way to the cotton plug
where the heat cable sits under and placed all her brood next to the honey dish.
It has to be around 30+ there... peak of 28.5 degrees on the water end of the test tube




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

Suprised the larvae have not pupated yet...
Took them out of the incubator this week.


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

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 queens have a few medium sized larvae now.


Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
[i]20mm test tube - in small outworld/i]
no eggs

Edited by CoolColJ, November 19 2018 - 1:07 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

The less you check on your P. antipodum, the higher chance they will have at founding.

[CoolColJ]

The less you check on your P. antipodum, the higher chance they will have at founding.

That queen is not normal, pretty sure she is infertile, her eggs do not hatch

The other smaller one is in a red film covered test tube, so I can see what she is doing without disturbing her

Edited by CoolColJ, November 18 2018 - 7:59 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Spring 20th October 2018
 
Pheidole antipodum 14mm queen 2
16mm Test tube - heatcable
Over 40 brood - raw honey dish
 
RIP
 

I just found her dead! 

It was so sudden, one hour she was alive and well, and then after watching a movie, she was on her back with legs crossed stiff as a rock...

I'll try and give her eggs to my other queen.

 

Also when I put her dead body next to first P.antipodum queen I had that died, this one is quite a bit shorter than that one, but at least 2mm

Might not even be the same species. The first one I had could match a Camponotus suffusus queen in body and gaster size

[DaveJay]

Bummer! You're just not having much luck with this species.

[CoolColJ]

Bummer! You're just not having much luck with this species.

This species is certainly tougher to get going than the smaller Pheidole
This one that died is a lot smaller though than my other one, so it might be a different species variant
I'll post a pic later of them side by side, but it looks about 3mm smaller.

When I first saw her I thought it was just optical distortion, and wondered why she was smaller than my meat ant queen
and about the same size, if not slightly smaller than my 13mm Aphaenogaster longicep queens.
Now I know why, she was actually smaller.

Not just in length but thickness everywhere, and her gaster is shorter but rounder.

Edited by CoolColJ, November 19 2018 - 1:12 PM.

[CoolColJ]

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

Yikes she ate all her eggs
Well at least she had a good serving of that cricket bit I gave her, so she has enough to lay more.
And the raw honey dish should keep her fueled

I will definitely brood boost her with cocoons from my other queen....

Edited by CoolColJ, November 19 2018 - 1:15 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Here is my revised setup

Styrofoam is really noisey and any bump, rubbing and vibration inside is transmitted around inside freaking out the ants.
So instead of blu tacking the test tube down, which is a pain to put in and pull test tubes out, I now use an acoustic insulation foam tile, cut in half and then cut in half again to increase flexibility, but one half of the tile fits perfectly inside my box

This is the tile I use $7.90 AUD delivered for a single one, makes 22 slots!
And it's pretty stiff than when cut down to size makes a nice vibration free tray for ant test tubes.
https://www.selby.co...l-art300ch.html

The only bad thing now, is that the heat cable does not touch the test tubes directly so, no more thermal gradient

Added Ferrero Rocher container of water for humidity, 71% RH against a room RH of 50%

I also have a bit of red film over the test tubes, so when I open the box up the ants don't freak out instantly
So I can add and remove ants at will

Plenty of room for a small nest or another 5 rows of test tubes with the other half of the foam tile
Or even a second container of water


Current ants inside - Camponotus suffusus bendigesis - she laid a day after being put inside, large larvae already after 3.5 weeks!
Meat ant, Iridomyrmex purpureus. Just put in today with 24+ eggs, I expect nanitic in 3 weeks!

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, November 19 2018 - 7:48 PM.