2 replies to this topic

[Adrielm]

This is my first year raising Pogonomyrmex barbatus queens and I have raised them to moderate success. I caught all my queen on the same day sometime in late June. It took a good while for the initial eggs to hatch and now each colony has 4+ workers. One thing that worries me is that the size of brood for all of the queens has slowly decreased. Only 2 of the 8 queens have a small cluster of 2 - 3 eggs but the rest only have 2 -3 larvae with no pupae or eggs. The last time I saw pupae for any of the colonies was maybe 1.5 - 2 weeks ago. I have placed them in the warmest part of my house which is around 85 degrees. I recently introduced them to some crushed up mealworms to supply them with protein. Previously, they had only been on honey water since the first workers emerged. Is it their diet that has slowed their production? What should I be feeding Pogonomyrmex and how many times should I feed them a week? I assumed that the colony is too small to feed them their iconic seeds. What am I doing wrong? Is this species just slow producing?

Edited by Adrielm, August 22 2018 - 3:07 PM.

[WestLA_DO]

I have P. californicus and not barbatus so take my advice with a bit of a grain of salt, but it sounds like it could be diet to me. I've never given my colony sugar water or any sweets. Only seeds (crushed up sunflower seeds, black nyjer, poppy seeds, Kentucky bluegrass) and protein (mealworms, fruit flies, crickets, dubia roaches, cooked chicken) and my 1 year old colony has over 1000 workers and continues to grow. I also have them in a natural dirt setup as Pogonomyrmex in general tend to do better in dirt, but I think others have had success with non-dirt setups. But dirt tends to more closely mimic their natural housing as it can better provide a temperature and moisture gradient.

Here's a great thread about Pogonomyrmex. Go down to Retroman's post. I basically copied his approach for caring for Pogonomyrmex: http://www.formicult...-and-technique/

[WestLA_DO]

Oh yeah, I basically leave separate piles of crushed up sunflower seed, poppy seed, black nyjer seed, and Kentucky bluegrass seed that they can forage at their own pace. And I give them a source of protein 2-3 times per week. They need seeds and protein for brood development and for the queen to lay eggs.

If you're only giving them honey water, that's probably your problem right there.

Edited by WestLA_DO, August 22 2018 - 8:13 PM.