8 replies to this topic

[Aaron567]

On May 26, 2018, I found this Aphaenogaster queen in my pool. She is about 7 millimeters long and is dark brown with some red on her underside.

 

 

I still do not know what species she is quite yet. It will help when she gets workers. I have considered things like A. carolinensis, A. ashmeadi, A. treatae, and A. rudis. If anyone is certain on what species she is, I would love to know!

 

 

Her development the past 4 weeks. 

 

May 29, 2018

 

 

 

June 15, 2018

 

 

 

June 22, 2018

 

Edited by Aaron567, June 26 2019 - 3:56 PM.

[Aaron567]

July 1, 2018

 

First two workers today. I wonder what I should feed them as their first meal. I heard Aphaenogaster are messy little creatures.

 

 

She also just laid a few new eggs. 

[MegaMyrmex]

Yeah, Aphaenogaster can be pretty messy since they cover and sugary liquids with pieces of debris in my experience. Try a fruit fly and a small droplet of honey, works for me with all my ant colonies.

[AntsAreUs]

My Aphaenogaster are very messy in general. You can feed them seeds instead of sugary liquids by the way.

[Aaron567]

December 28, 2018

 

I haven't updated this journal in about 6 months because this colony has not progressed much beyond nanitics. They've been stuck at around 10 workers for a while and have lost and gained a few over time. They currently have 3 or 4 growing larvae with no pupae or eggs and I just gave them their first outworld. They are eating. The queen just needs to lay some more eggs so they can really start growing.

 

I also just moved them into their third test tube.

 

[Mettcollsuss]

I've noticed that (at least in my experience) captive Aphaenogaster colonies don't really accept seeds. They are also highly carnivorous. Even the workers live largely off insects. Although Aphaenogaster is usually pretty slow to get going, if you want to give them a boost, try a heating cable and a really high protein diet.

 

They look a little too dark to be A. rudis. They look like they could be either A. carolinensis or A. fulva. If you get a side view of them, A. fulva is a little shorter, and has a very noticeable dent in its thorax, while A. carolinensis is longer and a slightly lighter color. They do look a little more like A. fulva to me, though.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, December 29 2018 - 4:01 AM.

[Rstheant]

Form my experience, aphaenogaster love Dubia roaches and superworms. They like honey as sweets, and would take fat wax worms too. Just make sure, you cut them into segments.

[Rstheant]

I've noticed that (at least in my experience) captive Aphaenogaster colonies don't really accept seeds. They are also highly carnivorous. Even the workers live largely off insects. Although Aphaenogaster is usually pretty slow to get going, if you want to give them a boost, try a heating cable and a really high protein diet.

No, not always.. for some species yes, they are harder to yield, but for some, like my own, they have 25+ workers already. They also have 10+ pupa, 17+ larvae, and 50+ eggs..

[TennesseeAnts]

Any updates?