26 replies to this topic

[Ender Ants]

Hello fellow antkeepers, 

 

This will be my first post on making a journal, and first time successfully caring for a Dorymyrmex bicolor colony. I usually overlooked this part of the forum, since I was more focused on asking questions at the time. But a quick note: I may not be able to check back, or make updates when something happens, because I may forget Here we go. 

 

Capture Date: July 9, 2018 

 

 

I actually caught a bunch last year in September, but young Ender Ants was not prepared, and only had one test tube left, after catching other queens. So, I put them all in one test tube. Body heat + aggressive queen ants led to almost all of them dying, except for one. That one still had wings, but by the time November had come around, I decided to hibernate all my ant colonies. They all survived, but that Dorymyrmex bicolor queen died. Lesson learned, will not be hibernating this species this upcoming winter. 

Edited by Ender Ants, August 28 2018 - 6:34 PM.

[Ender Ants]

July 16, 2018:

 

First batch of eggs have been laid

 

Edited by Ender Ants, August 28 2018 - 6:34 PM.

[Ender Ants]

August 28, 2018:

 

Larvae have developed into pupae. I counted about 13 pupae, and one is close to hatching by the time you see this. Next update will be when the first nanitics arrive. 

 

I didn't want to take any pictures when the eggs were developing into the larva stage, since I did not want to stress out the queens. I would say August 20-25, is when the first larvae appeared. \

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ender_ants/

 

YouTube: https://www.youtube....QsYezy_sddgLlAA

 

I am more frequent with my updates, and posts on my Instagram page, and will be making a colony update, introducing them to my YouTube channel very soon.

Edited by Ender Ants, August 28 2018 - 6:38 PM.

[Nare]

Nice location - you live in hell?

[Ender Ants]

Nice location - you live in hell?

I guess we can say that ;D

[Ender Ants]

August 29:

 

Two nanitics eclosed! 

 

Posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ender_ants/

 

Update uploaded on YouTube: 

 

 

 

Edited by Ender Ants, September 8 2018 - 7:09 PM.

[Ender Ants]

October 8:

 

The colony is now at 14+ workers, and still an increasing amount of brood!

 

 

 

[Ender Ants]

November 12, 2018:

 

The Dorymyrmex bicolor colony are now the current residents of the Mini Hearth formicarium. They now have 17 workers, with many more brood.

 

 

 

[Scrixx]

Oh man those Dorymyrmex have a lot of space in that mini hearth.

[Rstheant]

Good luck. Nice colony, by the way. Hope they do well. I hope you update, but it is okay if you don’t, because you made that very clear, you may forget

[Ender Ants]

Update August 16, 2019: New Catches

 

So about time I've made an update on this post. Reason for the lack of update was because nothing really happened with this colony. They were slowly losing workers, until they were at 11 workers. But good news! They are now at almost 20 workers again, and have more larvae and pupae. Will make an update on them soon. This update however, is on these new Dorymyrmex bicolor and Dorymyrmex insanus queens. Caught 2 of each species, all being able to reach the egg stage! Hoping to have a colony of D. Insanus since this will be my first time catching a fertile queen.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Ender Ants, August 21 2019 - 3:25 PM.

[ponerinecat]

These guys are insane. I know someone with doromyrmex nests on a 1 acre property every half foot. They don't fight, so I believe they're all on colony.

[Ender Ants]

June 10, 2020: Not a lot of growth

Follow me on Instagram for more active updates on all my colonies: 

https://www.instagram.com/ender_ants/

 

So its been a long time since I have updated this journal because the queens I caught last year didn't survive. The Dorymyrmex insanus alate was infertile and laid a drone. But that all changes now, as I caught a new D. bicolor queen on June 9! I plan on moving this queen into container with sand instead, as I feel like they do better in those kind of setups. For now she'll be in this test tube. 

 

 

 

--

Original Colony in Mini Hearth

Worker Count: 19 workers & Brood

 

One of the other reasons why I haven't updated this journal is because this colony hasn't really changed. I've fed them a whole variety of foods recently, so I hope that will change soon. They seem to like green lacewings, which I have been attracting with my black-light. I never showed their setup except on Instagram and in my YouTube videos, so here it is. They moved the substrate around and made a little hill

 

 

 

Edited by Ender Ants, June 10 2020 - 3:36 PM.

[Ender Ants]

July 14, 2020: The First Drones

 

Original Colony in Mini Hearth

Worker Count: 12 workers & Brood

 

Was surprised to see this colony with 3 drones. They're one of my oldest colonies, so I guess it was just their time. I counted less workers this time for some reason, even though I don't see any dead workers in the outworld. I'm just going to feed them even more than before then!

 

 

[RushmoreAnts]

Perhaps the colony was investing more resources in the males, and therefore less workers were hatching. Some could have died without you seeing it. Ants can be very clever.........

[Ender Ants]

August 9, 2020: Lots of Changes

 

If you want to watch me introduce the queen to the setup from the very beginning, watch this video:

https://youtu.be/1QCWxtjZMJ8

 

(Natural Setup)

This colony has progressed a lot in the past two months. There is about 20 workers, lots of brood, and hills all around the top. They have moved the sand up at least 1 inch from the original surface, and opened up a lot of space at the bottom. I have fed them honey, Hawaiian Punch (Soda), leaf-hoppers, and fish food. Unlike my other colony, they are taking in everything, and are always overturning more sand each day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Ender Ants, August 9 2020 - 5:11 PM.

[Antkid12]

Looks like a nice ant to keep!

Edited by Antkid12, August 9 2020 - 5:25 PM.

[Ender Ants]

December 18, 2020: Sand Mounds

(Natural Setup)

This colony has grown much larger since the last update, and as always are moving around sand. I'm not sure how many there are, but I would estimate around 50-60. I wish I had more bugs to feed them since they accept pretty much everything I have given them. So, I got a superworm culture and have been raising them for the past month. Once that culture lays their first mealworms, they're all going straight to the colonies. 

 

In the four corners of their container they made these little ant hills. 

 

 

The colony has had a steady pile of brood all throughout the year. So satisfying to look at. 

 

I don't have many photos of the colony and queen because the sand is in the way. I do have a video covering their progress, and also covers my 1st colony inside the Mini Hearth. This video was uploaded in October, so they have done a lot of excavating since then. 

 

Video Update: (Skip to 5:22)

Edited by Ender Ants, December 18 2020 - 7:48 PM.

[TechAnt]

that's a lot of brood!

[RushmoreAnts]

I love this species. I enjoy watching their extensive foraging trails when visiting suburban Phoenix.