157 replies to this topic

[KBant]

i hope you have better luck this time around! 

[anttics]

i hope you have better luck this time around!

Thx. Me too. So far they are doing great.

[anttics]

I checked on them today. They are doing great. 7 workers now.



The first large worker enclose a few days ago. She is the lightest of the group.



They have a good number of larva. These new batch are larger than all workers in the colony. I believe that is as big as they grow. I almost caught that top worker munching on that seed, but he moved after I removed the covers
I also connected a small container as an out world. Not to disturbe them. They rarely go out.

Edited by anttics, September 23 2018 - 11:25 PM.

[anttics]

I love this queen. She helps. I droped a criket on their outworld. Workers could not push it in. That is until the queen came out to help.


she was able to push in the cricket with legs and everything. I caught her booty only. She was quick.


There are 6 almost ready brood. 8 fully grown larva. 11 baby larva. And maybe 15 to 20 eggs. I sae a few only.



I also made a video. With my gopro. Lolol. My point of view was way off. Lolol still is decent fotage of novo breaking apple to bring for the queen

Edited by anttics, October 5 2018 - 9:19 AM.

[anttics]

After 2 weeks of curing. Weting the tile, and let it dry again until. I couldn't smell a thing. I'm puting this colony into a larger formicarium I did. Similar to drews staryer formicarium. But more ghetto. There are 15 workers plus 12 pupa days away from enclosing. Original Drews formicarium had decaying food. Colony is too big to clean. If I get mass deads I'm gonna be really pissed off. So far workers went right in, and starter drinking. So fate is seal. Ill post with pics in a few days if all goes ok.

[anttics]

So far so good. They seem chill. Here are some pics.


Thdey stack their seeds on the corner.


I caught 1 eating a seed





Brood larva. The eggs are hard to see. Around 30 eggs

[anttics]

I checked on them today. It seems the nest worked. I will be leaving them a whole cricket. Ill be gone for 3 days. Another worker enclosed 16 workers. By the time Ill be back 4 more will join. Here are some pics.


They are taking a shower lol.


I took this pic around monday 8pm. They are munching only a few larva. But there are mini larva in the egg ball.

[nurbs]

Give them bloodworm soup. This species LOVES it. The workers stick it to the larva, and it's usually devoured in a day or two.

 

http://www.formicult...bloodworm-soup/

[anttics]

It sounds like a good idea Nurbs. Ill give it a try.
Well this colony is doing great. My fastest growing colony. 20 workers now. With 20 pupa. soon to be 40 workers in 2 weeks.





There is a huge egg ball. Maybe 40 eggs.
So onle a few larva are present. But in 1 weekm there will be 20 to 40 larva. If all eggs are fertilized of course.

[anttics]

This colony has reach 30 workers now. Something i notice. I put a little out world for them. The larger workers can see my shadow. When i look at the out world and make a shadow. The big ones freak out. The nanitics do not notice. People with cockerellis have you notice this?.
Here are some pics







I counted around 50 eggs.

[Rstheant]

Good luck with that colony.
Did Nurbs catch them at Joshua Tree or Barstow?

[anttics]

Good luck with that colony.
Did Nurbs catch them at Joshua Tree or Barstow?

Thx. I think they will be successful. The queen is strong, and too active. She goes out to help carry food back inside. I have never seen any other queen do this with 30 to 40 workers helping her. I got the colony from Drew. This colony is much lighter red than any novomessor colony i have ever seen. I have a mutated novo colony. Lol

[nurbs]

Think this is the third time anttics bought these. The first time was from me. They did well, but his brother liked them so much he took it. Then he bought a second colony but it did not do so well, and by then I was sold out. This colony is his third one? He got it from Drew.

 

The coloring is perfectly normal BTW, I have three personal colonies of these, and two of them are just as red or even redder than yours. 

 

@Rstheant - I found mine near the border of Nevada in Nipton.

 

 

Good luck with that colony.
Did Nurbs catch them at Joshua Tree or Barstow?

Thx. I think they will be successful. The queen is strong, and too active. She goes out to help carry food back inside. I have never seen any other queen do this with 30 to 40 workers helping her. I got the colony from Drew. This colony is much lighter red than any novomessor colony i have ever seen. I have a mutated novo colony. Lol

 

Edited by nurbs, October 28 2018 - 9:04 PM.

[anttics]

I put a video. The day before I moved then from drews fromicarium. Into my getto one. The colony is doing great. A bit of a slowdown due to cold.



Colony is around 38 workers. 33 larva. 5 pupa. And 2 egg balls as of now. Like the video

[Rstheant]

Thanks Nurbs.
Antics, glad to see this colony doing well. Follow Nurbs advice. Bloodworm soup. Lot of my ant LOVE it. Just put bloodworms on a piece of tinfoil, and with a syringe, sprinkle a few drops of water on the bloodworms. Try to get dried bloodworms, because they absorb the water much better, and stay usable longer, and don’t mold.
Good luck!

[anttics]

I gonna have to try that bloodworm soup. They seen to be getting tired of crickets, and mealworms. Or it could be the cold. Which has slow down their protein intake. Still I think its a great idea. Ill try to see if petco or pet smat have it. If not where do you buy yours Nurbs??

[nurbs]

They love bloodworm soup. Check my signature. Or this link below

 

http://www.formicult...bloodworm-soup/

 

 

I gonna have to try that bloodworm soup. They seen to be getting tired of crickets, and mealworms. Or it could be the cold. Which has slow down their protein intake. Still I think its a great idea. Ill try to see if petco or pet smat have it. If not where do you buy yours Nurbs??

[anttics]

Ok got it Nurbs thx. I got 2 containers like yours for 15$ and delivery. Ebay has a good deal right now better than amazon

So I checked on the colonies today. I.notice something strange. The colony is breeding nanitics. Look at this pic



Those are tiny tiny little larva. With plenty of food available. I read this species is not polymorphic. There are 12mm to 9mm workers in this colony..pic of large worker waking up

Edited by anttics, November 13 2018 - 8:24 PM.

[anttics]

Well almost killed the colony. I just moved to.a bigger place. I put cotton balls. On the tubes connecting the out world. Then took it apart. Once i got to my new home. I put it all back together. My horrible mistake was not to take the cotton ball. So i feed them bloodworm. There were 4 ants in the ouy world. They much on it. I notice they were not takong the food inside. And they had larva. I also notice them earing 2 workers that died. Thas were i panic. Ants eat their dead as alast resort. I notice the cotton ball trapping the whole colony inside. Once i took it off. 20 ants came out. Grabbed all the bloodworms, and they also started throwing their trash. That was a close one.

[Rstheant]

Thank god they survived!