1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

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

 

Looks like she is finally settling in after I moved her back to a test tube setup

She has been inside the test tube most of the time now, and I saw her moving some dirt out yesterday, so tidying things up

[CoolColJ]

Spring 28th November 2018

 

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

 

Finally the cocoon has eclosed! 2.5 weeks to eclose after the cocoon has been spun.

That took 10 weeks from egg to worker, while heated

Slow for a smaller species, but still faster than the other Melophorus species I have, which haven't cocooned yet....

 

There was also a naked pupa, which I can't see, hope it's still around

Queens gaster is also pretty bloated so I won't need to feed them as much, but they haven't been eating all that much either.

 

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, November 27 2018 - 10:45 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 nanitic, 1 cocoonless pupa?, 2 medium larvae, 4 small larvae, 2 eggs
 
Oh no, they opened their only cocoon too early! Not sure what this is all about, but I hope it will still eclose normally...
At least the queen has laid 2 new eggs
 

RIP baby ant - she has been discarded out the front of the test tube

[Wa.Va]

Why did they opened it so early. I really wonder now what the reason would be. Hope my Polyrhachis won't do the same

[CoolColJ]

Why did they opened it so early. I really wonder now what the reason would be. Hope my Polyrhachis won't do the same

 

Maybe the ant died.

 

Anyway this colony has been rather unique and unusual in behaviors so far

[CoolColJ]

Spring 29th October 2018

checked up on my ants in my styrofoam and heatcable incubator.
They have red film over their test tubes
 
 
Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
24+ brood
 
She has 3 large sized larvae after 1.5 weeks!

I reckon they pupate this weekend

 

 
Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
4 eggs  - raw honey dish
 
Some eggs looked to have hatched
 

 

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
16 brood - 2 cocoons,1 large larvae, 2 medium larvae - raw honey dish

Second cocoon has been spun!

Just over 4 weeks now. If a nanitic ecloses in 6 weeks total,  that would be crazy fast for a large Camponotus species
 

 

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

RIP

I found her dead today.... I hadn't checked up on her in a few days. Found her on her back in dead legs crossed position near the exit cotton

Was a matter of time I guess, her being infertile and all, and running low on resources after laying all those eggs, but she didn't eat the termite alate and raw honey I gave her...
Test tube floor surface was full of mold as well from all the half eaten eggs and leaked fluids etc. I wonder if that also may have caused her death

 

I was planning to move her to a new test tube with substrate yesterday, but I put it off...

Perhaps a test tube with substrate could have kept her alive, but she was infertile anyway

 

---

 

I do have 12 new queens arriving today so, out with the old and in with the new! 

Edited by CoolColJ, November 28 2018 - 5:00 PM.

[CoolColJ]

My twelve 14-15mm Pheidole cf antipodum queens from Alice Springs arrived - 3 in each container with damp kitchen tissue paper.

All alive and well

They appear to like each others company, snuggling up to each other, and may well be polygynous like a lot of Pheidole species and Carebara affinis

 

Now to figure how what splits to use and setup type...

 

click to enlarge

 

Edited by CoolColJ, November 28 2018 - 6:47 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen
16mm Test tube - in small outworld
12+ eggs, 2 brood boost cocoons
 
Removed her from the styrofoam and heat cable incubator.
Some of her eggs have hatched.

She also dumped one of the 5 brood boost cocoons she once had, outside.
And I see two cocoon remains that she opened...and probably ate the pupa inside...
I suppose she can tell these are not hers, or they may have been damaged

[YsTheAnt]

I find red film doesn't work as well as complete darkness. My aphaenogaster ate all their eggs after transferred from darkness to film, and didn't lay till they got dark again. Maybe try this with your new queens?

[CoolColJ]

I find red film doesn't work as well as complete darkness. My aphaenogaster ate all their eggs after transferred from darkness to film, and didn't lay till they got dark again. Maybe try this with your new queens?

Yeah, I'll be putting them in my incubator, which is dark when the lid is shut, plus also another layer of red film on top for when I open it up to inspect

Will need some substrate, since the queens poop a lot, and give more surface area for the multi queen setups

Edited by CoolColJ, November 29 2018 - 12:24 AM.

[CoolColJ]

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

 

Looks like 2 of the brood boost larvae are starting to pupa, after a month and heated...

[YsTheAnt]

Oh okay. Best of luck with your new queens!

[CoolColJ]

Spring 30th November

 

 

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 12

 

So on the last day of spring I begin moving these 12 queens into their setups, and then into my  styrofoam and heat cable incubator.

But I'm still deciding on how to split them up!

I will definitely have two triple queen setups, or maybe quads. Then 3-4 single queens, and maybe 1 dual queen. still unsure...

 

I noticed one queen has a much darker gaster than the rest, and this one also has a big dent int it...

I separated her from the other two queens in her container, and put her in a solo setup...the other two queens will also go solo.

 

Trying coco coir substrate and a styrofoam double chamber setup

I think I added too much coir, and she tried to tunnel under it and then cleared it from the cotton.

Some of it is damp from touching the cotton.

 

Still unsure about the coco coir, could make it tricky for the eggs and brood if they get buried under it.

And the small workers could get lost in it.

I still want to have some substrate, so other options are red dirt, a bit fine and dusty and white sand, hard to see brood...

 

click to enlarge - the dented gaster one is much darker to the naked eye, but the flash makes it bright

Edited by CoolColJ, November 29 2018 - 11:38 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole Colony G - 2x Phediole sp. 8-9mm queens of different species, all black and red head/black body
16mm test tube - heat cable
22+ workers - first major larvae, lots of brood
 
First major larvae has finished pupating, that was quick!

[CoolColJ]

Look at this scrunchy chipmunk of a Myrmecia - adorable little critter of 13-14mm
this type does jump
Kinda tempted....

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, November 30 2018 - 2:46 AM.

[Leo]

that is tiny!

[CoolColJ]

that is tiny!

There are smaller species in Myrmecia urens group, aka baby bull ants
Workers are under 1cm

Edited by CoolColJ, November 30 2018 - 2:18 PM.

[Leo]

My bull ant is nowhere similar to yours, whenever I check on her, she panics and eats a few eggs, and throws her larvae outside. Then the next day I'm back to square 1.

[CoolColJ]

My bull ant is nowhere similar to yours, whenever I check on her, she panics and eats a few eggs, and throws her larvae outside. Then the next day I'm back to square 1.

Probably varies by species. You should use a red light to check on her in a dark room

[CoolColJ]

My friend in the Alice Springs (arid region) will be sending me a queen ant like this once it has larvae. About 10mm
Not sure what it is, but it's definitely something I have never seen before and extremely rare.
Don't even know what the workers look like!
It appears to be some kind of Iridomyrmex species, which are not known to have gold gasters!