151 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Down to 2-3 guards, 3 workers and 4 alate nyphms....

They have taken residence under the wet cotton, so semi undergound now.

 

Plenty of moldy dead termites for the springtails to eat as well.... took like a day for the hairy mold to appear on the corpse :0

 

maybe I should just go the test tube route, it offers ease of maintenance and good visibility

Edited by CoolColJ, August 7 2018 - 4:23 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Down to two nymphs, 1 worker and a guard

 

Too wet I guess.

I'll keep the petri dish lid off

 

well my Largest Pheidole colony loved the dead alate nymph at least...first time I have seen them all gather around after dragging it

Edited by CoolColJ, August 9 2018 - 3:40 PM.

[Nare]

Down to two nymphs, 1 worker and a guard

 

Too wet I guess.

I'll keep the petri dish lid off

 

well my Largest Pheidole colony loved the dead alate nymph at least...first time I have seen them all gather around after dragging it

Sucks that they'ren't doing so well. I've had trouble with keeping them in jars and containers. If you find more, may I suggest a test-tube setup? I've kept two colonies in test tubes for 6 weeks, they seem to be doing great. To avoid having them drown, you can just shove a bunch of cotton at the back and ensure that it's super wet. This way, you don't need a reservoir. If you have a plastic cap for your tube, use it. Mine seem to be doing fine sealed up, and are loosing very little moisture. As well, because parts of the tube are drier, and some are more wet, they can choose where they want to be, and avoid dying. Good luck.

[CoolColJ]

Do you pre wet the cardboard in the test tube?

[CoolColJ]

Winter 10th August 2018

 

Actually had more - rescued 2 alate nymphs, 2 workers and 2 guards.

Maybe 1 more worker, I actually found 3, but I can only see 2 right now...

 

Put them all into a test tube setup with a pieces of cardboard butted against the waterside cotton.

I think I made the cardboard too wide as it touched the sides of the test tube so the termites can't easily swap sides...

Edited by CoolColJ, August 9 2018 - 9:47 PM.

[Nare]

Winter 10th August 2018

 

Actually had more - rescured 2 alate nymphs, 2 workers and 2 guards.

Maybe 1 more worker, I actually found 3, but I can only see 2 right now...

 

Put them all intoa test tube setup with a pecies of cardboard butted against the waterside cotton.

I think I made the cardboard too wide as it touched the sides of the test tube so the termites can't easily swap sides...

I did pre-wet the cardboard, but I had noticed that it does wick water up from the cotton, and so should become moist itself. It's fine if it touches the sides, I found that my termites dug through to the other side within a couple days. Additionally, you may want to add a little bit of soil, but I don't know if that's necessary with a setup like this. I'd leave them be for a little while, and see what happens.

[CoolColJ]

Just one layer of cardboard? That's all I'm using right now

[Nare]

Just one layer of cardboard? That's all I'm using right now

I've shoved in an additional layer. Termites don't actually need tons of space - they like to live in cracks and crevasses. I can take some more pictures of my tubes if you need, but there might be some somewhere in my journal.

 

EDIT:

Here's a picture of my tubes, there's the original piece of cardboard in the middle, and I put another below it. I later added a piece of balsa wood in the space above, but that was just an experiment I don't know if they've touched it. When it's constantly wet, the cardboard starts to separate, and my termites have taken residence inside, as well as in the cotton bud...

Edited by Nare, August 25 2018 - 6:13 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Yeah I put a piece of corrugated cardboard, which has spilt open on the wet side. But I wonder about the clue sued in this type of cardboard...

 

Do they like cork? I some cork sheets

 

They are currently nesting on the top of the cardboard, right next to the cotton dam.

I keep them in the dark, in my drawer, so in a way they are in a tunnel of sorts, from their perspective

[Nare]

Yeah I put a piece of corrugated cardboard, which has spilt open on the wet side. But I wonder about the clue sued in this type of cardboard...

 

Do they like cork? I some cork sheets

 

They are currently nesting on the top of the cardboard, right next to the cotton dam.

I keep them in the dark, in my drawer, so in a way they are in a tunnel of sorts, from their perspective

I'd hold off on the cork for now. I know there are a couple of woods and materials that are dangerous to them, I don't know if cork is one of them, but I'd be careful.

[CoolColJ]

Winter 13th August 2018

Well the test tube setup is working ok so far, I fear it might be too late, as this alate nymph does not move...
I added an extra layer of carboard on top of the current one. It was dry when I put it in, but is now damp,

That nymph did die in that position, leaving just one now. Which I fed to one of my Pheidole colonies.

So right now just 1 alate nymph, 3 workers, and 2 soldiers.
There is enough of each to get a colony started, as long as they can stay alive for a few months...

click to enlarge

Edited by CoolColJ, August 12 2018 - 7:23 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Winter 17th August 2018

 

Another soldier died, this one was separate from the rest, and couldn't link up with the others. It died on the test tube glass bottom.

Starvation I guess

 

so - 1 alate nymph, 3 workers, and 1 soldier

 

The rest appear to be alive and well so far.

[Nare]

So I'd leave them be for now, but I'm just giving you a heads up on a possbile setup you could use if they start to dig through the cotton plug. I've only had termites in it for a day or two, so I'm not sure how well it works, but they can't drown themselves anymore. Here they are:

 

 

I put a dowel in the tube, wet cotton balls, squeezed them out, and then shoved them down the tube. Because your colony is so much smaller, you could probably just poke out a little burrow after putting all of the cotton in.

Best of luck with your termites, I hope they start to prosper again.

Edited by Nare, August 25 2018 - 6:15 PM.

[CoolColJ]

ins't that setup a tad wet for them?

My test tube still uses a cotton plug at the entrance, but it doesn't touch the cardboard

edit - you know your setup above could work well with ants as well, just squirt water onto the cotton with a syringe when things dry out
But mold growth could be an issue.... maybe dump a bunch of springtails in as well

Edited by CoolColJ, August 18 2018 - 1:22 AM.

[Nare]

ins't that setup a tad wet for them?

My test tube still uses a cotton plug at the entrance, but it doesn't touch the cardboard

edit - you know your setup above could work well with ants as well, just squirt water onto the cotton with a syringe when things dry out
But mold growth could be an issue.... maybe dump a bunch of springtails in as well

The reason I chose that setup is because most of my termites where actually in the cotton plug - which was much wetter. There's condensation, sure, but I've squeezed out the cotton - it's not actually super wet.

And springtails would probably be a good idea - if mold does start to grow. I'm thinking that perhaps termites might have a fungicide in their saliva or somesuch, as I saw little to no mold of any kind in their tubes, which had sodden cotton and cardboard.

Edited by Nare, August 18 2018 - 7:53 AM.

[CoolColJ]

The area I found these termites, near my house, is filled with dead branches and tree trunks with remains of past termite activity.

I went back today, just flipping rocks to see ants etc.
And uncovered another small nest!

I took a larger amount of termites, of the same species as my first.

Over 6 alate nymphs, over 30 workers, and a few soldiers.
Will do a proper count later

Hopefully I learn from my past mistakes

Edited by CoolColJ, August 20 2018 - 2:14 PM.

[CoolColJ]

The new batch, some are hiding under the damp cotton

 

click to enlarge

[Nare]

The area I found these termites, near my house, is filled with dead breaches and tree trunks with remains of past termite activity.

I went back today, just flipping rocks to see ants etc.
And uncovered another small nest!

I took a larger amount of termites, of the same species as my first.

Over 6 alate nymphs, over 30 workers, and a few soldiers.
Will do a proper count later

Hopefully I learn from my past mistakes

Are you going to move them into a tube, or try another petri dish? I think maybe a petri dish with just cardboard and soil could do well - perhaps the cotton ball was too much moisture?

[CoolColJ]

Are you going to move them into a tube, or try another petri dish? I think maybe a petri dish with just cardboard and soil could do well - perhaps the cotton ball was too much moisture?

I haven't decided yet

I took a look at the bottom of the petri dish, and boy, they're all packed in tight under under the cotton wool!

[CoolColJ]

I ended up putting them all into the current test tube with the small colony

I turned the test tube upside down and angled up, so that the termite crawling from the petri dish cotton would fall down to the bottom.
Then used a featherweight forceps to move the stragglers across.

I flipped the test back up the right side, so now the newcomers are ontop of the carboard.
While the old small colony is at the bottom

Do termites fight?