108 replies to this topic

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Update?

I believe it's too cold for an update, but I may be mistaken 

[RushmoreAnts]

Yes- I believe Wisconsin got snow on Easter as well.

[AnthonyP163]

I have seen active Tetramorium, and planted some seeds throughout the winter. I will update this journal within the next few weeks or sometime in May, since that's when things will stay warmed up. 

[Mdrogun]

Gotta love that midwest weather. It hit 60s on Christmas this year but is currently 40s mid-April. Nice 

[RushmoreAnts]

We have winter, then spring, then a second winter, then another spring, and FINALLY we get to summer- sometime in the fall.

[ANTdrew]

If Prenolepis flew, then some of his seeds could germinate. Mine germinate in surprisingly cold weather.
We just had a weird half fall/non-winter and now it’s spring.

[RushmoreAnts]

Here, the perennials have to be meticulous about when they sprout, as it could be 60 one week and 20 the next. Many plants die due to second frost. Fortunately this year, the perennials decided to stay down a little while longer, avoiding the snowstorm that hit us a couple days ago.

[AnthonyP163]

4/26/20

 

It was more than 60 degrees today, so I went outside. I found that the Tetramorium had woken up at the pond and the garden, but the tree which had Formica montana last year has no Tetramorium so far. Instead, when I went there today, I noticed some Formica subsericea colony foraging. I put a small drop of sunburst in hopes of finding their nest, and when a worker finished drinking she went in to a hole directly behind her. I am guessing it is a rather small colony, but the workers aren't totally miniature so maybe they have a few dozen or hundred workers? I cannot tell until it is warmer out. However, it is a good sign that I am seeing natives instead of the Tetramorium. I have not noticed any of the plants sprouting, but will continue to maintain and monitor the areas which I planted them. As soon as the Tetramorium are bringing many workers to the surface, I will continue to kill them with hot water. The Formica montana have moved to my front yard, which is honestly covered in Tetramorium. I will have to clear out some of the colonies near them this year.

[ANTdrew]

So none of your pots germinated yet? They should soon if you’re in the 60s.

Edited by ANTdrew, April 26 2020 - 4:21 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Any germination?

[AnthonyP163]

5/13/20

 

I have seen some small plants sprouting around the pond, and I think some of it is goldenrod. As the plants grow I will be pulling the plants I know aren't native, and leaving those I'm not yet sure about or that I know the identity of. The Tetramorium around the pond seem to be faltering, I have seen only a few workers this entire year. The Tetramorium at the garden are still doing well, and have been under all the rocks I lift. I will primarily be targeting them this year. Tetramorium aren't as prevalent right now, but that will probably change as the season goes on. I will probably continue to use the boiling water technique to get rid of them, as it proved decently effective at the pond. I am also making an effort to plant more seeds of native plants. I have seen multiple milkweed sprouts near the garden already.

Edited by AnthonyP163, May 13 2020 - 1:08 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

the workers aren't totally miniature so maybe they have a few dozen or hundred workers? I cannot tell until it is warmer out. However, it is a good sign that I am seeing natives instead of 

Most likely a few dozen. Colonies with a few hundred are very active compared to other ants. 

[ANTdrew]

Excellent. Post some photos of the seedlings, and I can help ID them.

[AnthonyP163]

5/14/20

 

I wasn't confident that any of the sprouts were the plants I sowed last year, so I made sure to sow a bunch more seeds just in case. In one of the pots, the goldenrod might be growing but I am unsure if the sprouts are goldenrod or not. By the pond, I planted a good amount of evening primrose (Oenothera lamarckia), Early Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), and Wild Blue Iris (Iris missouriensis). Beside the garden, in front of the milkweed sprouts, I planted partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata). I also planted some Oenothera lamarckia by the tree which has the Formica subsericea colony. 

 

Hopefully these plants will germinate with the next rain and begin growing. 

[ANTdrew]

Goldenrod seedling should look somewhat like this:

 

Partridge pea seedlings are very distinctive:

 

Good luck!

[AnthonyP163]

5/24/20

 

The seeds which I said I sowed last year have been sprouting! I've put a temporary stop on pulling all the weeds - I want to make sure I don't pull any native plants by accident. I believe some evening primrose has sprouted the most. I also found Ponera pennsylvanica by some of the sprouts. This is all at the pond, where there is now very few Tetramorium, although their presence is still known. 

 

I killed a lot of workers in the colony by the garden, and some alate larvae too. I don't like killing them, because I think they are such an interesting species, but I do think that when I kill the Tetramorium, other ants have opportunities to survive.

 

I haven't seen the Formica subsericea at the tree lately, but I have seen some Brachymyrmex depilis back there. It is supposed to reach 80 degrees today, and I think I'm going to put some wood at the pond from now on, for multiple reasons, one of them being the possibility of Camponotus. 

 

I will likely take some pictures next update. 

[ANTdrew]

That’s excellent! Congrats!
The evening primrose is a good choice. Some specialist solitary bees feed their larvae nothing else.

[AnthonyP163]

6/22/20

 

None of the native plants I said were sprouting in the last update survived/sprouted. The Evening Primrose I thought sprouted was a small tree and the goldenrod was just more sow-thistles. 

 

I found some native plants in a shop near me and planted 3 of them around the pond. I've decided to let some of the sow-thistles grow on the edge of the pond, for the time being. I think I will pull them before they drop seeds this time, though, which will have to be soon. There's raspberries behind the pond, and they usually get some green aphids. There's a growing number of Ponera or Hypoponera workers at the pond lately. 

 

One of the maple trees has a thriving Lasius neoniger colony farming the aphids on it. I fed them a cricket today. i also fed the Tapinoma sessile some sunburst. I've been noticing some Camponotus queens around the pond, randomly nesting under things. 

 

The milkweed has been growing very well, and one of them has even begun to get flowers. I see very few monarch caterpillars, but there are some. I was excited to find a small group of aphids that isn't oleander aphids! I think this means my milkweed is going to start getting more and more native aphids. There is still a Tetramorium colony below all the milkweed, and today I flooded them with hot water for a while. 

 

The Tetramorium flights have started here, and every morning I've been going into my yard to make sure no queens are making more colonies. 

 

[TechAnt]

You can maybe encourage/introduce some kind of Pheidole to help take out the Tetras?

[Mdrogun]

You can maybe encourage/introduce some kind of Pheidole to help take out the Tetras?

It doesn't seem like any of our native species can go head-to-head with Tetramorium immigrans. At best, they can survive amongst them, and at worst they get out-competed. Our native Pheidole spp., save for maybe Pheidole dentata and/or Pheidole morrisii are no different. Even then, neither of those species are known in Wisconsin.

 

He will have to continue to suppress any growth he notices from the species, and prevent any queens from popping up, while simultaneously encouraging the native stuff.

 

I honestly think that the mono-culture of suburban lawns, that still encompass the majority of his yard, are death-sentences for 95% of native ants. It's unfortunate that humans like the "aesthetic" of them, but this is the world we live in lol.

Edited by Mdrogun, June 23 2020 - 12:29 AM.