1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
16 brood - 3 cocoons, 1 large larvae, 1 medium larvae - raw honey dish

 

Amazing, another cocoon is up!

That large larvae will likely cocoon by the end of the week.

I reckon first nanitic within 2 weeks

 

After two nanitics, eclose I will donate one cocoon to my other suffusus queen to get her going.

[CoolColJ]

Although I have sold that last Myrmecia nigrocincta, one the of 5 larvae appears to be ready to cocoon, turned all white.

The rest should follow soon.

And the queen knows as she laid a new egg

So the next batch has already begun!

Edited by CoolColJ, December 5 2018 - 9:14 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 6th December 2018

 

 

Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 egg

 

She finally laid an egg, either today or the last few days... haven't check on her in a bit.

Lets hope she doesn't eat her egg now that I have peeped her...

 

[CoolColJ]

Summer 6th December 2018

Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen1
16mm test tube - heat cable
3 pupa, 3 brood boost large larvae, 20+ eggs

Third pupa has shown up rather abuptly, I swear it was still a larvae yesterday!
Fourth one should be soon. 
This queen is contantly cleaning the larve and pupa, like non stop.
And pays little regard to the eggs...


Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen2
20mm test tube - aquarium filter wool - heat cable
20+ eggs

Damn she's already over 20 eggs after a couple of days being split from the above queen.

Edited by CoolColJ, December 6 2018 - 3:23 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 12
in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
 
All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance - except noted
1) Quad queen - red dirt, no double chamber entrance
2) Triple queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool
3) Dual queen - bare test tube, red film kept outside in room - cluster of 10+ eggs
4) queen with coco coir
5) queen with red dirt
6) queen with white sand
 
Checked up on the queens in the incubator and I see some strange stuff....

Firstly all the substrate still seems really, wet not sure if this is a good thing

Queen 4 has moved half the coco coir against the cotton dam! The other half remains where she pushed it, up against the styrofoam double chamber entrance
Queen 5 moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance
Queen 6 - is still neat and tidy, zero changes

Can't tell if any others have eggs yet apart from the dual queens


Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen
20mm test tube, in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
4 small and 3 large brood boost cocoons

Well she did spread out the cocoons across the test tube unlike yesterday.
But one of the cocoons has eclosed, with the worker has poking her head out of the cocoon!
But the queen is out up at the front not doing anything...

Not sure what to do -
Will update later if anything happens

Edited by CoolColJ, December 6 2018 - 12:57 AM.

[CoolColJ]

oh it's a drone...!

So that means the larger cocoons are alates, no wonder the queen hasn't accepted them

Will return the cocoons

Edited by CoolColJ, December 6 2018 - 1:27 AM.

[CoolColJ]

OK the one I pulled out of the half open cocoon was a drone, thought they looked smaller than a minor worker...
I opened one of the larger ones and there was a 90% developed alate inside, and she was moving and cleaning herself once I pulled her out!
So I returned all the ants and cocoons to the nest, disturbed the nest by moving the twigs they had used to cover the gaps on the side of the rock,
and the workers/majors came out and took them all in.

So it looks like this species is still 2 weeks away from having all their alates and drones ready to fly.
No wonder the queen didn't want them!

[CoolColJ]

Summer 7th December 2018

Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen1
16mm test tube - heat cable
3 pupa, 2 brood boost large larvae, 20+ eggs

Ugh she let the large larave die, it's gong brown and drying up
I suspect this queen is infertile.
All she does is pick at the cotton and clean the pupa, ignores all the eggs and other larvae.
The queen below must be the one who was looking after them before, until I separated them.

Maybe I'll pinch the pupa and give to the queen below...
Then release this queen, and kill 2 bird with one stone, so I don't have to worry about the mold in this test tube!


Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen2
20mm test tube - aquarium filter wool - heat cable
20+ eggs

Continues to pump out the eggs and grouped together. I think this one is normal.

Edited by CoolColJ, December 6 2018 - 3:21 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen2
20mm test tube - aquarium filter wool - heat cable
20+ eggs, 2 brood boost pupa and 2 larvae

It is done, I gave her the 3 brood boost pupa and 2 larvae of the other queen.
And what a difference, she took them in, moved them all to her pile of eggs and cleaned them all.
What a real mother would do!

Although she discarded one pupa, either it's dead or damaged...

I will release the other queen....

Edited by CoolColJ, December 6 2018 - 8:32 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 9th December 2018

 

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 12
in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
 
All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance - except noted
1) Quad queen - red dirt, no double chamber entrance
2) Triple queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool
3) Dual queen - bare test tube, red film kept outside in room - cluster of 10+ eggs
4) queen with coco coir
5) queen with red dirt
6) queen with white sand
 

Queen 4 moved half the coco coir against the cotton dam. The other half remains where she pushed it, up against the styrofoam double chamber entrance
Queen 5 moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance
Queen 6 - is still neat and tidy, zero changes

 

Quad queen setup - well they cleared all the red dirt and heaped up it into a low wall at the middle of the test tube, after I took out the styrofoam double chamber entrance, to let the red dirt dry out... so much for adding substrate.. I will put the styrofoam piece back in...


Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen
20mm test tube, in styrofoam and heat cable incubator

 

checked up on her and found her dead

 

Measured her at exactly 2cm, by far the largest Camponotus queen I have seen here!

Edited by CoolColJ, December 8 2018 - 7:02 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
2 pupa, 3 large larvae, 24+ brood
 
At 3 week mark and 2 pupa, they might eclose this week!
 
 
Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1 hatched egg, 1 eggs  - raw honey dish
 
Dammit down to 2 brood after she ate 2 eggs
Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
16 brood - 4 cocoons - raw honey dish
 
Sweet, 4 cocoons after 5 weeks!
Nanitics could be eclosing any time soon.
After that I will donate 2 cocoons to queen 1 to get her going

Edited by CoolColJ, December 9 2018 - 3:12 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 minor worker, 1 small cocoon, 1 very large, 1 large, 2 small larvae?, 4 eggs

So after 14 weeks a cocoon finally emerges!
But this one is small, and may be from a later laid egg.
There is a very large larvae that is 2-3x the size of the cocoon!
This may be a major that was laid first and hence why it's taken so long, but who knows...

There is also another large larvae
This species is highly polymorphic with many castes, so time will tell how large this one goes before cocooning

click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Summer 9th December 2018

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld - tip ofheat cable pressed against side of nest
31 workers, 9 cocoons, 10+? larvae, 20+ eggs

Up 5 workers from last week!
Just might crack 60 workers before winter!

Overview of the nest - a nice stack of about 20 eggs on the right.
1 pupa that didn't cocoon on the left.
Queen's gaster looks super bloated

click to enlarge



Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 minor worker, 1 small cocoon, 1 very large, 1 large, 2 small larvae?, 4 eggs

See previous post above for update


Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
2 workers. 1 large, 2 medium, 3 small larvae


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 nanitic, 1 large, 3 medium, 2 small larvae, 2 hatched egg, 3 eggs

Looks like the queen laid 3 eggs.
Not much change with the larvae, really need that next worker soon...




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

Damn 10 workers eclosed last week!
Second major larvae is pupating.
First major pupa has a much larger head than the queen





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 styro foam chamber entrance - heatcable
6 nanitics, small clump of brood

They have a bunch of larvae now, but hang them in a weird place.
But the cotton in the test tube mod is holding up well, no mold after so many months!

Edited by CoolColJ, December 11 2018 - 2:16 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 9th December 2018 - Queen update


Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
2 pupa, 3 large larvae, 24+ brood

2 pupa after 3 weeks, crazy growth speed.
Nanitics might eclose by end of this week!


Rhytidoponera cf aspera queen 8-9mm queen
16mm Test tube - in small outworld - heatcable
10+ eggs/small larvae, 2 brood boost cocoons
 
Buyer didn't come through so I'm keeping her for a while longer.
Put her setup on a heat cable to get those cocoons to eclose quicker.
Queen is not too interested in honey or food right now.


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1 hatched egg, 1 egg  - raw honey dish
 
Sigh she ate her eggs...

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
16 brood - 4 cocoons - raw honey dish

First cocoon has been formed for 1 week already from memory, 5 weeks total, so maybe this week it ecloses?


Aphaenogaster longiceps 12-13mm queen2
16mm test tube - heat cable
20+ eggs, 2 brood boost pupa and 2 larvae

Pupa starting to yellow slightly
Things look organised.

click to enlarge



Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 egg
 
Still at one egg... at least she hasn't eaten it yet...


Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 12
in styrofoam and heat cable incubator

All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance - except noted

1) Quad queen - red dirt, no double chamber entrance - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up it into a low wall at the middle of the test tube
2) Triple queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool
3) Dual queen - bare test tube, red film kept outside in room - cluster of 10+ eggs
4) queen with coco coir - moved half the coco coir against the cotton dam. The other half remains where she pushed it, up against the styrofoam double chamber entrance
5) queen with red dirt - moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance
6) queen with white sand - - is still neat and tidy, zero changes

Still want to split up the dual queen, and one off the quad queen into separate test tubes.

Still unsure which have laid, apart from the dual queen setup that sits outside with red film
cluster of eggs can be seen in the middle, plus a few scattered eggs




Iridomyrmex species - dark red head/throax, iridescent bronze gaster, 10-11 queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator

19+ eggs

Edited by CoolColJ, December 12 2018 - 10:12 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 10th December 2018
 
Took a peek at my ants in the styrofoam and heat cable incubator


Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
5 pupa, 24+ brood
 
Another 3 pupa showed up overnight!
 
 
Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
16 brood - 5 cocoons - raw honey dish
 
Another cocoon for 5 total!
 
 
Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 11
in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
 
All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance
 
1) triple queen - red dirt, no double chamber entrance - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up it into a low wall at the middle of the test tube

huge single stack of eggs

2) Triple queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool

stack of eggs

3) queen with coco coir - moved half the coco coir against the cotton dam. The other half remains where she pushed it, up against the styrofoam double chamber entrance

big stack of  eggs

4) queen with red dirt - moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance

small clump of 15+ eggs

5) queen with white sand - 4th queen from setup 1 moved here

6) queen - bare test tube

7) queen, former partner of queen 6 - bare test tube

 

Queen 5 was found dead, with no eggs, so she probably died quite a while ago

her sand was still really wet so I dried it up a bit.

 

Quad queen setup 1 has a huge stack of eggs, but one queen appears to be out of the group, so I moved her out into the dead queen 6's setup.

Red dirt was pretty dry now

 

The dual queen setup didn't appear to have an egg stack, just a few scattered ones..

Anyway I split them up and forced both into the inner chamber of their own test tubes...

 

You can see all the queens cleared the substrate out of the way, so maybe it was  waste of time....

 

---

 

Progress after 10 days

 

Former quad queen, big stack of eggs. That fourth queen hanging out the back

click to enlarge

 

triple queen - they have some more eggs under the queens

 

coco coir queen with the dead white sand queen.

Big stack of eggs for a single queen!

 

red dirt queen, moved all the red dirt to block the chamber entrance, pretty good craftsmanship

 

 

[FSTP]

very cool! that Coco Queen is in egg overload. Its like she's trying to win a race with the 4 queen egg laying team.

[CoolColJ]

I just came back from a quick trip around my nearby bush trail - found 1 big Camponotus consobrinus alate, with wings, might not be mated as I saw her with some workers... she is about 18mm!

Then a wingless 18-19mm Camponotus nigriceps that again looked confused just standing there on the road like the last one I found, that died

Not even running around searching so they must have flown earlier in the day

 

Also a Myrmecia pyriformis worker, with Camponotus head on her !

She seems quite docile. The Camponotus head makes it hard for her to clean her gaster though
Also has one shorter antenna, so quite a battle with a Camponotus

[CoolColJ]

The Camponotus cf nigriceps I found tonight.

She looks different to the recent one I found that died, and is not quite as big, about 18-19mm.

Note the badly torn wing stub

 

click to enlarge

 

Myrmecia forficata worker (I think) seems to have had a run in with a Camponotus consobrinus major. Came across this one tonight

She is quite docile, surprised by that, no aggression, and does not move all that quickly

So there are these here, and seem to be nocturnal! Who knew?!

 

I found another one on the tennis court on the edge of bushland, also fighting a consobrinus major, when I returned her

 

[Leo]

I'm guessing its the new trendy belt for myrmecia?

[CoolColJ]

I'm guessing its the new trendy belt for myrmecia?

 

Chasity belt