1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Thinking of trading my Meat ant colony and C.consobrinus queen for an Orectognathus colony - 40 or so workers, with majors, and drones?!

It's a type of trap jaw found here with majors.

They look pretty small though, and might not have large colonies

 

click to enlarge

 

Alex Wild pics - click

Edited by CoolColJ, January 5 2019 - 12:48 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

Those things look so weird. A cross between Atta, Pheidole, and Strumigenys. Cool ants!

[Rstheant]

I love the color of these species. Seems like a good trade, I would do it.

[ponerinecat]

Amazing species, like a cross between atta and strumigenys. Also the only polymorphic trap jaw species. Worth it.

Edited by ponerinecat, January 5 2019 - 2:13 PM.

[Leo]

Not the only polymorphic trapjaws.

[CoolColJ]

Success! One substrate encrusted Myrmecia fulvipes cocoon coming up

 

click

 

Bunnings propagation sand worked beautifully - the large grains and pebbles

 

[ponerinecat]

What other trapjaw is polymorphic?

[CoolColJ]

What other trapjaw is polymorphic?

 

I think Odontomachus simillimus have larger head majors, but not as dramatic a difference as these smaller ones

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Summer 6th January 2019

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

Up 5 workers from last week!
Still lots of cocoons.


Melophorus sp.- red black 6-7mm queen
refillable gypsum plugged test tube connected to outworld - heatcable
1 Major, 2 minor workers, 1 naked pupa, 1 medium-large, 1 medium, 1 small cocoon, 2 large larvae, 1 small, 12 eggs.

Major is now fully darkened.
Naked pupa is still around.
There are now 3 cocoons of different sizes.


Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
3 workers, 2 small, 1 medium cocoon, 4 eggs

Another worker eclosed last night, second this week.
Some slight difference in size between workers, 1 is larger than the other two.
One cocoon is also larger, but the differences are not as much as the other species above.

I may sell this colony later on


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 nanitic, 2 large, 2 small larvae, 5 eggs

So slow

Pheidole Colony G - Phediole sp. red head/black body 8-9mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber entrance - heat cable
80+ workers, 2 majors, third major pupa, 3+ major larvae, lots of brood

Now under 1 queen...


Pheidole Colony H - Pheidole sp, light red head, dark red body, 6-7mm
16mm test tube, styro foam chamber entrance - heatcable
8 workers, small clump of brood

Damn this colony is slow. The other queen I found at the same time, that I sold with 50 workers and 2 majors, probably has 70+ workers now and 3 majors.
Either I sell or release them in a few weeks time...


Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
7 nanitics, 5 pupa, 10+ larvae, 20+ eggs

3 pupa starting to yellow, so generation 1.5 is about to roll out this week, and crack 10 workers.
Some larvae of the second batch is already starting to pupate.
Brood pile is starting to build up.
Queen has been laying eggs non stop!
At least once I day i see the queen do a jitter and head butt thing to the nearest worker, and then 5 secs later she curls over and plucks an egg out


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
2 nanitics, 1 cocoon, 2 large, 1 medium, 1 small larvae, 10 eggs - raw honey dish

Queen has laid 5 new eggs this week!
The 2 brood boost nanitics sure helped, and the 1 brood boost larvae has cocooned.

fresh piece of cricket and honey for the week


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
3 nanitics, 5 cocoons, 1 large, 2 medium, 1 small larvae, 3 eggs - raw honey dish

Another nanitic eclosed!
2 new eggs.

fresh piece of cricket and honey for the week
although of one the workers still is still munching on a piece of wood roach from last week

Edited by CoolColJ, January 5 2019 - 11:08 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Queen update - Summer 6th January 2019


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

cocoon just spun last night!


Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 10
in styrofoam and heat cable incubator

All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance

1) Triple queen - red dirt - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up it into a low wall at the middle of the test tube
huge stack of eggs and some large larvae
2) Triple queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool water dam
big stack of eggs
3) queen with coco coir - moved all the coco coir against the cotton dam, wicking the water into it
big stack of brood - 8+ pupa, 30+ larvae, 50+ eggs
4) Queen with red dirt - moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance
small clump of 15+ eggs
5) Queen - bare test tube
huge stack of brood, 50% larvae
6) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of queen 6
big stack of eggs and some small larvae

Into week 4 -

Queen 3 leads the way with 8+ pupa, still no dark eyes yet, but may eclose this week
I can see one small major pupa already

queen 4 is last, still with her tiny bundle of eggs that don't seem to hatch, probably the least fertile one
She has 3 eggs stuck on top of her gaster much like that queen I had from before whose brood never developed and later died....

Queen 5 has tons of brood and half are larvae already and almost matches queen 3 for brood size despite starting second last.
Queen 6 started last and already has some larvae and a big pile of eggs, slightly less than queen 5.
Queen 5+6 used to be a dual queen setup, so fairing better as solo queens.

I think I will pull 1 queen off the two triple queen setups into their own test tube.
Setup 2 especially, is not doing that well for 3 queens...
Setup 1 is doing Ok, second best, but 1 queen never gets a look at the brood.
maybe take out the largest queen in each setup


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

10+ Pupa, many with dark eyes, so should eclose this week



Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen 1
20mm test tube, in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
10+ eggs/small larvae

I think she may have eaten some brood, I see some shrivelled looking things
has some small larvae now


Camponotus cf nigriceps 18mm queen 2
20mm test tube, in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
no eggs

still no eggs
Plus she has been pulling up all the cotton.
She has warmth and darkness, what else does she need..?
If she doesn't lay in a few weeks time I will let her go


Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
12 larvae

she has some large larvae now


Camponotus consobrinus 16-17mm queen 1
20mm test tube, in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
15 eggs

Damn she laid 10 eggs this week

Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - red film - heat cable
2 eggs

Will move her into my incubator once I free up a slot

Edited by CoolColJ, January 5 2019 - 11:15 PM.

[Leo]

Daceton is another polymorphic trapjaw.

[ponerinecat]

When you see a person with healthy daceton colony:

[Leo]

It IS a polymorphic tj though...

[CoolColJ]

Down to 2 female crickets in my feeder setup, still haven't managed to get any eggs to hatch, they just go moldy all the time

 

Got a new batch of 200 live small crickets today.

5 were semi dead or dead, so my ants all got to feast on 1 or 0.5 of a soft body 1cm sized cricket each

My strobe ants demolished a live one!

Both Melophorus and P.rufifemur colonies were timid and didn't go near...

My bull ant queen dumped hers outside, without larvae they never seem interested 

 

Will attempt to breed them again when they reach adulthood

 

 

Summer 7th January 2018

Meat ant queen - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
8 nanitics, 7 pupa, 15+ larvae, 20+ eggs

 

8th worker just eclosed

Next next few should in a day or two.

Once the pupa have black eyes, while still being white, boom a few days later they eclose.

Production is ramping up fast!

Hard to believe an ant about the size of a smaller Camponotus minor worker can grow this fast :0

 

The workers never stop eating... they grind down even adult cricket bits that are several days old into small pieces!

By far the most active of all my colonies, and these are less aggressive nanitics

Edited by CoolColJ, January 7 2019 - 12:17 AM.

[Leo]

How on earth can you get such clear pictures through the testubes!?

[CoolColJ]

How on earth can you get such clear pictures through the testubes!?

 

The right angle, flash diffusion and high shutter speed

 

With a high shutter speed, there will be no ambient light to reflect off the test tube, so the only light will come from the flash so you can control, to some degree the reflections off the test tube surface.

I still have to take a few shots to get it right.

I find if you take the pic a bit further out there is less issues as then you don't see the reflection of yourself, camera and flash in the test tube itself.

 

When you diffuse the light source/flash, instead of a sharp specular reflection, you get a broad milky one, so it's less obvious.

Like a cloudy day

Edited by CoolColJ, January 7 2019 - 1:46 AM.

[ponerinecat]

Sees daceton queen in middle of brood and workers * jealousy increases *

Edited by ponerinecat, January 7 2019 - 4:16 PM.

[Leo]

Nay! Thee useth sorcery!

[ponerinecat]

Could you ask for a pic of the queen? I've never seen an orectognathus reproductive.

[ponerinecat]

 

 

SUCH JEALOUSY

 

(sorry for posting this on your journal, CCJ)

Edited by ponerinecat, January 7 2019 - 4:17 PM.