1787 replies to this topic

[Kaelwizard]

You say pheidole are fast growing the only one I caught this year got to one pupa and ate it and its been months

Well they are...

[TennesseeAnts]

My Pheidole bicarinata colony from June 12 has 110 workers and majors....

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I love this Journal! it's great fr when its rainy and you want to read and its also great at sparking conversations to get better at antkeeping

[ANTdrew]

My Pheidole bicarinata colony from June 12 has 110 workers and majors....

That’s awesome! I will find Pheidole next year or die trying.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

 

My Pheidole bicarinata colony from June 12 has 110 workers and majors....

That’s awesome! I will find Pheidole next year or die trying.

 

I didn't know you had Pheidole by you! I looked for Pheidole by me and i couldn't believe they didn't nest here ( obviously before i found AntMaps)

[ANTdrew]

I didn’t think so either, but I found workers in my yard and at a nearby park. Definitely not common, though.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I didn’t think so either, but I found workers in my yard and at a nearby park. Definitely not common, though.

Defiantly more common than being nonexistent where I am. Just as CCJ though, and he'll say they are as common as air where he is (Australia is lucky)

[CoolColJ]

yeah I have several colonies in my yard of 3 different species

Well Pheidole here are considered beginner species as they grow so fast, and adapt well to all conditions.
they aren't even bothered by light exposure. My current batch of queens are exposed to light and spamming eggs.
They don't even budge from vibration

heating them up will make them way more responsive

Edited by CoolColJ, September 29 2019 - 11:25 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Spring 30th September 2019

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld
130+ workers, huge brood pile

So their huge larvae pile over winter has some cocoons now.
Enough brood to triple the population by the end of summer for sure!
They dragged in a small roach I fed em yesterday, first time in a while.
Lately they leave it outside, with a few workers munching on it


Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
6 workers - brood

I can confirm they do have some eggs now, first batch since last spring...
Maybe they will crack 10 workers this season 3!


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 worker - 1 large, 6 small larvae, 1-2 eggs

Still not much action, but the queen has laid a few new eggs.
The large larvae is approaching over 6 months now...


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
9 workers, 1 large, 4 small larvae/eggs

queen has laid a batch of 3 new eggs.
The large larvae has been around for a while now, and is starting to lose it's colour so may be cocooning soon.
I think it might be a major based on size and length of gestation time
Hopefully they won't eat it like the previous few....


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

Unfortunately after month goes by and her larvae still haven't grown since months ago, in my 27-28c degree incubator!
Even if she is infertile, since she birthed one drone, her current large larvae should still grow..?
Maybe she's just not feeding or something... who knows...


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

still no eggs....
And they still haven't moved from the dried out old test tube into the new one


Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - incubator
3 workers, clump of eggs?

After a week in the incubator they don't really seem to be doing any better.
can't tell if there are eggs or not and queen still acts strange...


Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 3

Heat cable
Queen 10, former member of dual queen - 20mm test tube with styro foam double chamber
100+? workers and a few mini majors - some large larvae, large stack of brood

Queen 4 - 20mm test tube with styro foam double chamber
5 workers (2 mini majors) from donated brood, small clump of unhatched 7 month old 20+ eggs

Queen 5 - 20mm test tube sitting inside THA Inception nest
300+? workers and mini majors - some large larvae, massive teaspoon sized brood pile

Queen 5 still treat their whole THA Inception chamber as a big nest, anytime I crack the lid open, they start coming out and crawling up with sand to try to block the source of the airflow...
They are still in the test tube, haven't moved into the nest itself.
Waiting on bigger majors, no sight of any huge larvae yet.

Sigh, queen 4 still has unhatched eggs. She's lost half of her donated workers, down to 5 now.
Not looking good for her, I suspect she will die a few months after all the workers are dead.

Queen 10 doing well.
Interesting brood formation they have
eggs and small larvae/pupa up top, and front. While large larvae down bottom and back

click

Edited by CoolColJ, September 30 2019 - 2:48 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Queen update - Spring 30th September 2019

Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
10+ eggs?

She has a nice sized pile of brood now. I think they are mostly eggs, but maybe a few tiny larvae.
She hasn't been feeding them so who knows - since they usually drop food on the larave for them to feed themselves
I have given her two small roaches and she has devoured the first, and already eaten half of the other one herself!
I usually expect them to only take honey for a while until the larvae arrive.

Unfortunately she has left the rubbish on the cotton, but I have her in a sealed test tube, instead of the usual tub and tubes setup for a semi-claustral


Pheidole red headed, black body queens 9mm queen x 4
16mm test tubes

1) Queen 1 - styrofoam chamber - heat cable - 40+ eggs
2) Queen 2 - incubator - 30+ eggs?
3) Dual queen setup - heat cable - 40+ eggs

All queens have nice big piles of eggs.
I think queen 1 has been eating a few of hers as I can see small remain and a few scattered bits.

Dual queens looking good so far, They remain close together side by side, and the eggs are piled together

See if the one in the incubator can beat the heat cable ones to workers - should be 3 weeks time


Myrmecia Nigrocincta 2cm queens x 2
20mm test tubes inside small acrylic invite boxes - incubator

So I put their test tubes inside small wedding invite boXes, and opened up their test tubes.
Placed into my larger styrofoam incubator
Once they lay they'll be off to their new owners. Well one is.
I may still keep the other.....

Edited by CoolColJ, September 30 2019 - 2:42 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Was visiting the local bush trail and came across a huge Froggattella kirbii trail I think. What surprised me was seeing the queen on the trail itself!
Or maybe one of their queens....

Well I now know what their queens look like

They do look like small Iridomyrmex

https://www.instagra.../p/B3Gm1IrA6AN/

[CoolColJ]

Spring 4th October 2019

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
9 workers, 8 small larvae/eggs

Awww c'mon, they ate half of the large larvae again!
That make the last 5+ eaten so far
At least the queen laid some more eggs and there are now 8 in total


Pheidole red headed, black body queens 9mm queen x 4
16mm test tubes

1) Queen 1 - styrofoam chamber - heat cable - 40+ eggs - DEAD
2) Queen 2 - incubator - 30+ brood, a few larvae
3) Dual queen setup - heat cable - 40+ eggs

RIP I found queen1 dead... I had high hopes for her...
Yesterday I noticed a lot of scattered half eaten eggs in her setup.
And then later at night she was curled up in a ball on the cotton twitching her two rear legs
This morning I found her in the comatose stance

I probably won't bother giving her eggs away to the others as they all have a nice batch themselves.
But will move her foam chamber setup to the dual queens I think

Queen 2 has a few larvae already - so incubator is definitely faster than heat cable

Edited by CoolColJ, October 3 2019 - 11:52 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Queen update - Spring 30th September 2019

Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
6 larvae , 12+ eggs

Time to start feeding her on the regular as she has a clump of small larvae


Myrmecia Nigrocincta 2cm queens x 2
20mm test tubes inside small acrylic invite boxes - incubator

One queen has 2 eggs now.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I want to move to Australia now so bad! Iridomyrmex is my dream species, a they are a small but not too small ant and are very productive ants!

[DDD101DDD]

I want to move to Australia now so bad! Iridomyrmex is my dream species, a they are a small but not too small ant and are very productive ants!

My dream species is Atta Texana, I've always found fungus growers interesting.

Edited by DDD101DDD, October 5 2019 - 2:49 PM.

[CoolColJ]

I want to move to Australia now so bad! Iridomyrmex is my dream species, a they are a small but not too small ant and are very productive ants!

They vary in size, the largest are the meat ant type species. The queens range from 14-17mm
So about Camponotus sized queens with workers around 7-8mm, just about Camponotus minor size

But way faster growing, they grow as fast as Pheidole.
And they move fast and are aggressive

The girl from central Australia area, that I got my Pheidole antipodum from, found a few Iridomyrmex viridiaeneus queens, of 17mm size
These are rare as hell.
With a nice green iridescence


 

[CoolColJ]

Also these are my fav Iridomyrmex species - unknown - 5-6mm workers with long legs, that remind me of mini spider ants.

I regret trading them away for the melophorus that still hasn't got past 6 workers

 

[CoolColJ]

Spring 7th October 2019

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

Looks like her first and only worker for a while is about to die, after about a year now.
She has 1 large larvae that should cocoon soon, and hopefully she lets it live this time...

[CoolColJ]

Queen update - Spring 14th October 2019

Rhytidoponera metallica 9mm queen
16mm Test tube - heat cable
6 larvae , 12+ eggs

Has a few large larvae now

Myrmecia Nigrocincta 2cm queens x 2
20mm test tubes inside small acrylic invite boxes - incubator

One queen laid 6 eggs, moved her on.
The other one has laid 5 eggs, and has a buyer.

wedding invite box setup inside foam incubator works everytime


Pheidole red headed, black body queens 9mm queen x 4
16mm test tubes

1) Queen 2 - incubator - 30+ brood, a few larvae
2) Dual queen setup - incubator - 40+ eggs

Sold queen 2, so down to dual queen setup
Moved dual queen into incubator to speedup brood growth, a week ago
That did the trick I see one large larvae and a few smaller ones

[CoolColJ]

Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
6 workers - 1 cocoon, brood

Woah, finally I see one cocoon!