23 replies to this topic

[Kaelwizard]

June 7, 2019 Collection

 

I just collected part of a Aphaenogaster colony. I took the queen, some workers, some eggs, and one fat larva and put them in a test tube setup. Based on their darker coloration, I would guess that they are A. picea. I put a immobilized baby cricket in there and one of the workers immediately started attacking it. It then ran back to the queen. They already made a brood pile and are huddled around the queen. There are 2 live workers I think and many more back at the rock that they lived under. I may collect more later.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 9 2019 - 12:39 PM.

[ANTdrew]

I hope they survive

[Canadian anter]

You have to collect the majority of workers in a colony for it to survive

[Acutus]

You have to collect the majority of workers in a colony for it to survive

 

YES what he said! Aphaenogasters are awesome ants too! I caught an A. fulva colony and they are actually becoming my favorites even though they are the smallest I have! Good Luck!!

[CatsnAnts]

Good luck!

[ANTdrew]

You have to collect the majority of workers in a colony for it to survive

I really wish folks wouldn’t collect any established colonies from the wild. Our world is too small now for the wild collection of anything - even fish and trees, two things people once thought were limitless.

[CatsnAnts]

You have to collect the majority of workers in a colony for it to survive

I really wish folks wouldn’t collect any established colonies from the wild. Our world is too small now for the wild collection of anything - even fish and trees, two things people once thought were limitless.

True tho

[Kaelwizard]

I will collect more of them tomorrow. It is too lat right now. I honestly don’t know how big the colony was but the queen and quite a few workers were right underneath it. I don’t like collecting wild colonies but the queen and brood were right there. I have also been waiting for a long time to get a successful colony going so, yeah.

[Kaelwizard]

Any tips for what to feed these? Heard they don’t like liquids or something. Also, please don’t criticize what I did. If all of the queens you got were parasitic and you didn’t realize or drowned themselves, you’d understand.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 7 2019 - 6:28 PM.

[ANTdrew]

No offense, but I have a hard time understanding what you post and do on this forum. You have a very high mortality rate with your queens/colonies. I highly advise following the proven wisdom of successful ant keepers on here.

[Acutus]

My A. fulva take honey almost as quick as I can drop it in the out world. They also love their protein in the form of meal worms, wax worms, and termites! Probably other insects too that's just what I've offered so far. They ate a little mulberry but I wouldn't say it was attacked like any of the other stuff.

 

I don't know if this translates to A. picea or not but I do have a small colony of another Aphaenogaster and they like the above stuff too not as quick on the honey though.

[Kaelwizard]

I never asked for you not to advise me. I said not to criticize because I don’t want this to become a debate and not a journal. The other queens died because I didn’t keep them in test tubes. I didn’t have any yet. I will collect as many of the other workers as I can today. I will also provide lots of food for this colony.
Edit: Also, this is always what happens when I post on forums. One time my tarantula wouldn’t eat and died and I didn’t have the time to post about how I mourned it and just said I got a new one. Then they all called me a murderer even after I explained what happened. Might as well just not post.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2019 - 5:30 AM.

[Acutus]

. I will collect as many of the other workers as I can today. I will also provide lots of food for this colony
 

 

Go back at least once everyday until you don't see anymore. the more workers you have the better!

[Kaelwizard]

Both me and my friend had forgotten to roll the rock back over. The workers under there are gone.

[ANTdrew]

I apologize, Kael. I really did not intend to offend. I just hear about many colonies removed uneccesarily, and it frequently doesn’t end well. I wish you luck with this colony, but I still can’t personally condone this kind of capture. It is so easy to find and found new queens that would probably die anyway. It just takes more patience and a bit of luck. I know this isn’t a popular opinion on here, so everyone just needs to follow their own conscience on this, I guess.

[Kaelwizard]

I’m sorry I freaked out that way. I am trying to be very careful with this colony. She is acting like a queen that just got her first workers ( basically a queen that is still sort of founding) so it should be fine. She has some larvae and eggs so that’s good. Should be getting a couple workers in a few weeks here. As far as food goes, I don’t know if my parents will let me use the honey for them. Does crystallized sugar work?

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2019 - 7:19 AM.

[Kaelwizard]

I will get pictures when I get home for those of you who may be interested.

[Kaelwizard]

June 8, 2019 Update
Ok, so brood wise, they have a pile of eggs and one fat larva that goes flying across the test tube every time it is moved because it doesn't stick to test tube. One worker is smaller than the other so it may even be a nanitic.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 9 2019 - 6:04 AM.

[Kaelwizard]

June 9, 2019 Update
The queen may be dying. She is on her back moving her legs and antenna but she is not trying to flip over.
Edit: Yay! I put wet crystallized sugar in there and she is drinking it. She just needed food I think.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 9 2019 - 7:19 AM.

[Kaelwizard]

She still seems close to death.