84 replies to this topic

[PurdueEntomology]

Colony update:  The colony is moving along.  I am working on getting them winterized, so the colony is still in basement, unheated and exposed to the cooling temperatures.  I have provided piles of dry leaves and other layered areas for the colony to take shelter in as the weather cools more and I am hopeful it will go into a dormant/reduced activity phase for the winter.  The colony is active still, though much slower in over all movements.  The colony has surpassed all expectations on its durability and actual ease at being kept.  

[nurbs]

Good stuff Purdue. Been following this thread with great interest. I'm the resident antkeeper at the Caltech entomology lab. They are studying myrmecophiles - specifically beetles. One of our plans is to collect a colony of these along with the beetles to culture in the lab so we can have a steady supply. Your journal is giving me some hope, and I have already started designing plans for their nest. 

 

Keep us updated on how things are going!

Edited by nurbs, October 12 2018 - 6:06 PM.

[gcsnelling]

As always thanks for keeping us updated, good stuff.

[neoponera]

i just found those on my back yard, they are amazing.

 

looking foward to adding them to my collection. do they have nuptial flights, or at least spread on foot?

 

are they compatible with test tubes?

 

 

and also keep the updates coming

[PurdueEntomology]

neoponera:  If you actually have found a Neivamyrmex colony and you want to keep them you will absolutely have to have a constant supply of food:  ant brood, lots of it and you will need space for them, a typical small formicarium will not work.  I personally would not recommend trying to keep them, not that it is impossible it is just demanding and there are many unknowns with them, so for me it is a trial and error, so far it is been more trial than error.  I am currently only retaining the colony I have to carry them through the winter so as to see if that is even possible as not much or anything is known as to how they overwinter in a temperate environment and I want to see if the queen will resume egg laying and hence a nomadic/statary cycle  to help complete a more detailed understanding of how to house and maintain this species and other sympatric species. 

[PurdueEntomology]

whilst tromping around today I found a second Neivamyrmex colony, but of course left them alone...

[neoponera]

so if i do have available food brood

 

compatible formicariums

 

how do i catch them?

 

and i also find neivamyrmex is interested in normal prey like butter flies and crickets

[neoponera]

they nest in the ground

 

should i try and digging them out?

[YsTheAnt]

I would not keep these ants, especially if you are new to the hobby. Without thousands of brood items, they are impossible to keep, it is also not easy to dig them up.

[neoponera]

i am not new to the hobby, even though my account says "newbie"

 

i have years of experience

 

here in mexico there are thousands of species and most are considered "for experinced ant keepers"

 

we've got neivamyrmex, labidus, ectatomma, odontomachus, nomamyrmex, and even eciton

[neoponera]

as you might know south US and arid parts of Mexico, like were i live, have been infested with red imported fire ants (solenopsis invicta) with hundreds of mounds with shallow nest chambers, and with the help of the aspirator i can gather lots of brood.

[YsTheAnt]

i am not new to the hobby, even though my account says "newbie"

i have years of experience

here in mexico there are thousands of species and most are considered "for experinced ant keepers"

we've got neivamyrmex, labidus, ectatomma, odontomachus, nomamyrmex, and even eciton

Ah okay, I didn't realize . Best of luck if you decide to keep them!

[PurdueEntomology]

neoponera:  I am writing a paper on my experience in keeping this species.  I would advise that if you are serious about trying to maintain a colony allow me to finish the paper and then you may benefit from my trials and errors.  The key as I mentioned are food/space/keeping disturbances to a minimum.  I would say you need to find a colony in a bivouac state that allows you to collect them as easily as possible without too much disturbance.  You will need to get as much of the colony and brood as possible as there may be a minimum worker/brood threshold from which the colony will not recover.  This is a theory I am holding, but I think it may be true.  I collect brood-food/fire ant larvae/pupae by using a 1/8inch screened sieve and using a small spade I scoop out from the fire ant mound a scoop of mound containing the fire ant brood, dump it onto the sieve and sift out soil/ants/brood on to  2'x2' piece of clear plastic sheet then dump the whole lot into a  large 1 gallon ziploc bag.  I prepare 3 1 quart plastic food containers with baby powder barrier on upper edges, dump equal amounts of collected ants/brood/soil into the three containers place a piece of curved bark and just let the fire ants gather their brood under the bark.  This creates an easily accessible 'sugar bowl' of brood-food to feed the army ants.  I  have to collect fresh fire ant brood weekly minimally and keep the army ants well stocked with food, I give them a scoop/ 2 table spoons every one or  two every two days so they always have a cache of fresh food.  This is vital i found out.  Of course you will introduce some fire ants into the army ants but the army ants will rapidly overwhelm the food-brood and the fire ants scatter, it seems to be a natural response to an army  ant raid. I aspirate any fire ants that disperse to remove them.  I hope this info helps.

[PurdueEntomology]

I only feed them fire ant brood and I mist them with water, but I have never observed any Neivamyrmex drinking from water, so I believe they get all their food and hydration requirements from the brood-food.  They will take crickets though and you could supplement them with crickets but not maintain them that way.

[neoponera]

so, my colony left.

 

what could be the perfect time to search for bivouacs?

 

or at least in what month did you catch them?

 

also, thank you for the advise.

 

real helpful

[PurdueEntomology]

If you come across a trail of them, you will have to just follow them.  Try to notice if they have any "prey" with them if that is the case, follow them in the direction they are taking the prey, if no try are observed then you will just have to be patient to follow them and see where they lead. The colony I found last week was pretty much subterranean in activity so following them was impossible without any digging which would have just disturbed them and interrupted any behavior, the upshot, finding where the colony was bivouaced was a no go.  The upshot, it may be difficult to find the colonies base, but not necessarily impossible. 

[PurdueEntomology]

neoponera:  You mentioned you are in Mexico, so that means you are either in a tropical/subtropical/subtropical desert [with cool nights] or perhaps cooler mountain location, I do not know, but overall unless it was a higher elevation mountain location I would assume that Neivamyrmex spp are active all year round.  Here in Eastern Tennessee Neivamyrmex has 3 species and all would have to hibernate as we have a full winter here with Temperatures getting down to possibly -13C, but that is ambient temperatures, ground temperatures where ants hibernate are going to be cold mostly above 0C but I am not sure exactly where Neivamyrmex would hibernate: under rocks, in burrows of small rodents, in wood piles, in abandoned subterranean ant nests, so I am just keeping my own colony in a large container with a deep pile of leaves and keeping them above 0C definitely, most likely around 5-10C.  So far they are doing fine.  I still have them with food though just in case they are feeding during the winter.  Lots of unknowns. I collected my colony end of July. 

[neoponera]

quite beautiful to me, you wake up, look out the window and there is a huge mountain. (Nuevoleon capital,northern Mexico)

 

i don't know any entomologist with a neivamyrmex laboratory colony. you are real lucky

[neoponera]

according to ant maps(who hasn't done much research on my state)

 

we ve got 5 species of neivamyrmex.

 

the ones i saw in my back yard were identified as Neivamyrmex nigrescens

 

i have seen neivamyrmex mexicanus

 

i also got stung by Neivamyrmex pillosus

[neoponera]

i would try to show pictures if i knew how