1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole antipodum queen 3's, 30+ worker (and some mini majors) colony has a habit of covering any food I give them, before later attacking and eating it
Even if it's a semi alive roach or cricket...
 

[Rstheant]

Do you feed your ants anything else beside raw honey? SUNBURST ant nectar is out. Not sure how much shipping costs, but you could try that.

 
I do have Sunburst and some other coloured sugar water + mineral solution from a local ant E-shop here
But a jar of mountain bee raw honey has a really strong taste and smell that the ants love, that doesn't cost too much and the jar is barely down to 90% after a year.
Plus I can leave the honey in the dish for a few weeks and months and it won't go off.
And there is honey comb in the jar which is solid so better suited to small ants, to prevent drowning.
 
With sugar water based solution, you have to change it out every few days. I ain't got the patience for that

Raw honey still has the potential to ferment.

[CoolColJ]

Raw honey still has the potential to ferment.

yes after a while, but still quite a while

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole antipodum queen 3's, 30+ worker (and some mini majors) colony has a habit of covering any food I give them, before later attacking and eating it
Even if it's a semi alive roach or cricket...
 

So after eating the roach, they dragged it back to the dish, and then transported all the substrate they used to cover it, back to where they had them blocking the styrofoam chamber entrance...
Silly, but neat ants
Actually, that's very un Pheidole like

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis queen2 and her 12 nanitics vs Meat ant queen and her 2 nanitics, size difference.
2cm with bloated gaster and 9mm nanitics - vs - 14mm and 6-7mm


click to enlarge

[CoolColJ]

Summer 4th February 2019

 

Meat ant - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm test tube - styrofoam and heat cable incubator
3 nanitics, 7 pupa, 15+ larvae and eggs

The dark pupa in the above pic is eclosing now, so 3 nanitics in a few minutes

She is almost black with a yellow head.

Pretty late eclosure in this colony

 

2 more pupa have shown up, and another is yellow

Edited by CoolColJ, February 3 2019 - 9:02 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1 drone - 15 larvae
 
So her only cocoon looked dark and close to eclosing yesterday.
I check on her today, and I see a black ant in the main chamber... but upon a closer look it had wings... its a drone!
 
Dang, she has 15 more larvae so they can't all be drones... hopefully!!!
Interestingly, her drone has bent antenna
 
click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, February 3 2019 - 11:53 PM.

[CoolColJ]

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

1 month after the cocoon was spun and we have our first worker!
Queen hasn't laid anymore eggs since this one, but it does calm her down even more.
I didn't see the worker eclose, but she wasn't there a few days ago.
Her gaster is even more gold than the queen!
 
 
click to enlarge
Check those bands on the queen's gaster , she is bloated in her Myrmecia way

 
What a little munchkin

Edited by CoolColJ, February 4 2019 - 6:31 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Myrmecia fulvipes queen interacting with her first worker

[Rstheant]

Yes!! Good job! Very please on how you take care of your ants!

[Rstheant]

deleted

Edited by Rstheant, March 7 2019 - 3:45 PM.

[Leo]

Myrmecia fulvipes queen interacting with her first worker

OH MY GOD. MINE STILL HAVE NO WORKERS. she's had pupae for longer than yours but STILL NO WORKERS.

 

good job though

Edited by Leo, February 4 2019 - 5:13 PM.

[Rstheant]

It’s Aussie magic... duh!!

[Leo]

To be fair, I'm not too suprised, considering everything he has kept he has kept better than me.

[CoolColJ]

She laid the egg back on the 6th December, so just a few days under 2 months.
Pretty quick!
Same speed as my larger Camponotus, when heated.

But it has been fairly warm in my room.
Smaller species, about Camponotus sized, so similar times are expected

Larger species take 4-6 months, so I expect the cocoon period will be like 2-3 months

[Leo]

Mine pupated on jan 3rd.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 5th February 2019

Meat ant - Iridomyrmex purpureus 14mm queen
20mm test tube - styrofoam and heat cable incubator
3 nanitics, 7 pupa, 15+ larvae and eggs

4th nanitic is about to eclose today
The third one looks a lot larger than the first two, even though she is technically a nanitic as well...
Longer and thicker, bigger head.


Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 8
All setups have a styro foam double chamber entrance

in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
2) Dual queen - cardboard insert and aquarium filter wool water dam
big stack of eggs, some donated brood from queen 5, a few pupa
4) Queen with red dirt - moved the red dirt to block up the double chamber entrance
10+ nanitics, small clump of 15+ eggs, 5+ donated brood from queen 5 - mostly pupa
6) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of queen 5
5 nanitics, big stack of brood
7) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of setup 2
small clump of eggs, some donated brood from queen 5 and 6

Heat cable
1) Dual queen - red dirt - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up at the middle of the test tube
15+ nanitics - huge stack of brood
5) Queen - bare test tube
25+ nanitics - huge stack of brood


Gave Queen 3 colony to a friend.
This colony is the most advanced one with near largest brood size.
I think my dual queen Setup1 one has the most brood now, but this one has the most workers and mini majors
And the workers were the most active and did the most things, but the others are only a few weeks behind

Setup1 - still not foraging much yet...

Queen 7 has the least amount of brood, but two of the donated pupa is yellow and should eclose soon.
Gave her more brood from queen 6, mostly pupa, some larvae and a few eggs.

setup 2 - dumped a yellow pupa, and I see bits and pieces of brood there as well.
Maybe they ate some of the donated brood...
But I see some large larvae and some white pupa there, so not all bad news

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm queen 2
20mm Test tube - heat cable
12 workers - 4 cocoons, 4 large, 10+ small larvae/egg

 

Another cocoon spun today.

3 more large larvae looking ready to spin soon

Going fast, should crack 20 workers before winter

 

I am going to sell one of my suffusus colonies.

Going to be tough to decide between the pretty queen or the more advanced setup...

Edited by CoolColJ, February 5 2019 - 2:57 AM.

[Rstheant]

If you want to sell the advanced setup colony, unless you stated that they come in a advanced setup, just move them into a test tube.

Edited by Rstheant, February 6 2019 - 6:10 PM.

[CoolColJ]

If you want to sell the advanced setup colony, unless you stated that they come in a advanced setup, just move them into a test tube.

 

 

They are in a test tube right now.

12 workers, and will be getting close to getting some medials soon, and these massive majors before winter.

 

The pretty queen only has 4 workers, but my heart is set on her.

Edited by CoolColJ, February 5 2019 - 4:16 PM.