5 replies to this topic

[Silvak]

Hi all!

It's been a couple of years since I was on here last and even then not for very long. I lived in the Phoenix area and had a hard time finding a founding queen so my interest waned. (Ok, I actually found one queen but she had flown late and didn't last long.) Anyway, I just moved last month to the Tri-Cities area (Kennewick, Richland, Pasco) and found a queen in my backyard a couple of weeks ago! Since I had no clue what species it is or even if she was mated I stuck her in a tube and checked on her every few days. This last time I noticed some larvae so she's clearly quite determined.

 

Any help with an ID would be appreciated but she's kind of nervous so getting pics has been tricky, plus I'm trying not to stress her too much.

Edited by Silvak, July 3 2018 - 8:10 PM.

[Nare]

She looks like Tetramorium immigrans.

[Silvak]

I think you're right and I don't think I could have asked for a more ideal species. My 5 year old son has been a little too skittish around bugs so a quicker growing colony might keep his attention better and give me the chance to show him they aren't to be feared.

[Nare]

I think you're right and I don't think I could have asked for a more ideal species. My 5 year old son has been a little too skittish around bugs so a quicker growing colony might keep his attention better and give me the chance to show him they aren't to be feared.

Yeah, I have a colony of them that's just about a year old. They're tons of fun, and their population has really started to take off this year.

[Silvak]

Just checked on the queen since last week and was greeted by a bunch of new faces.

 

3 little workers, a fourth is still darkening, and at least two pupa who look like they'll be ready in the next couple of days. They've clearly got a solid start so now I'll need to think about what comes next. First foods, and housing and stuff. Now that there are some workers I was thinking about maybe giving a tiny drop of honey, mostly as a birthday present, and if that goes well maybe a fruit fly or house fly part in a couple of days. I know they probably don't need anything quite yet but I think I may have crushed some eggs getting the queen from the capture container into the test tube so her reserves might be a lower than they should be at this point which is making me slightly cautious.

Note: They've been in the basement which is a few degrees colder than the rest of the house which is kept around 78.

[Silvak]

Gave them their first food today, just a drop of honey water. We had so much fun watching them venture away from the brood area and find it. My 5 year old loved it. In hindsight the drop might have been a little too big given the size of the nanitics. They're also up to 8 workers now with only one or two still darkening. Now I'm on the hunt for a fly in the next day or two, if not then it will be a seed or breadcrumb. I'm also going to try and acclimate them to a bit more light and some vibration. They're on my monitor stand with some paper around most of the tube with just the foil tray showing.