6 replies to this topic

[gsparrow]

Hello all

I'm having problems with getting started in ant keeping. 

I have 10 Tetramorium immigrans founding in test tubes.  They are all doing well and have their first nanetics. 

4 Pheidole bicarinata founding in test tubes- they have eggs but doesn't appear to be fertile.  

1 Lasius neoniger founding in test tube- layed a clutch of eggs.

1 Aphaenogaster rudis with 11 workers and brood in a THA Mini Hearth.

 

Last friday I cut up a large cricket and divided it up between the Tetramorium and Aphaenogaster.  Then today I checked on them (planed on taking out the cricket pieces that weren't eaten) and found the Aphaenogaster queen and 3 workers dead.  Also found the Lasius queen dead.  So, I didn't have a very good morning.

 

Don't know what is going on or what I'm doing wrong.  I also had a Camponotus pennsylvanicus queen that I got this spring and had her in a test tube set up.  She had some eggs which developed into larvae and one was getting ready to pupate and then that queen died.  I only check on them once a week and don't pick them up or anything.  Just lift off the paper that I cover them with.  Check on them and then cover them back up again.

 

The test tube set ups look normal - still have plenty of water in the end of the tubes, use regular cotton balls, don't notice mold, and have a heating cable.  

The Aphaenogaster were in the Minin Hearth for about a month and half.  

 

Any suggestions or is this amount of problems normal or am I just having bad luck?

[ANTdrew]

Sorry- this hobby can be very frustrating at times. Was your cricket wild caught? Perhaps it had some pesticides on it?
Other than that, I can just say that my impression is that most people’s Aphaenogaster colonies don’t do too well from what I read. Again, that’s just my impression. Overall, I think you just had bad luck, but thankfully you still have plenty of queens left.

[LIFEsize]

I feel your pain with this. I have had more luck recently by doing a number of small things. Avoid placing ants in rooms I use home defense in and away from loud noises and vibrations, always washing hands with antibacterial or dish soap before working with my ants, use store bought insects for regular feeding, leave the ants alone as much as possible especially in the founding stages, use disposable sanitary tools and disinfect tools before use such as tweezers, make sure to clean test tubes thoroughly along with any new formicariums or outworld before use, and using only bottled water and clean cotton that hasn't touched other surfaces. I can think of many more things, but that's a start. Also aphaenogaster are a pain to raise, from my experience they would be picky eaters and grow/decline in numbers often. Not to mention the queen I had would lay eggs but only a few at a time. My best colonies I've raised are camponotus and any selenopsis or tetramorium. Hope any of this helps, keep trying and changing your approach until you see the improvement

In addition, have you tried heating the ants to optimal temps either by heating cables or overhead lighting?

Edited by LIFEsize, July 31 2019 - 6:14 AM.

[disasterants]

I feel your pain with this. I have had more luck recently by doing a number of small things. Avoid placing ants in rooms I use home defense in and away from loud noises and vibrations, always washing hands with antibacterial or dish soap before working with my ants, use store bought insects for regular feeding, leave the ants alone as much as possible especially in the founding stages, use disposable sanitary tools and disinfect tools before use such as tweezers, make sure to clean test tubes thoroughly along with any new formicariums or outworld before use, and using only bottled water and clean cotton that hasn't touched other surfaces. I can think of many more things, but that's a start. Also aphaenogaster are a pain to raise, from my experience they would be picky eaters and grow/decline in numbers often. Not to mention the queen I had would lay eggs but only a few at a time. My best colonies I've raised are camponotus and any selenopsis or tetramorium. Hope any of this helps, keep trying and changing your approach until you see the improvement

In addition, have you tried heating the ants to optimal temps either by heating cables or overhead lighting?

all good ideas, especially the feeding captive bought/bred insects. one time i was feeding my c.pensylvanicus a grasshopper (wild caught) and a parasitic horsehair worm burst out of it and i immediately had to remove the grasshopper!!! i think that's one thing that led to my colonies sharp decline afterwards. not to mention other inter-invertibrate parasites out there and also insecticides. I'm in charge of doing the garbage in my house & one time there were maggots in the trashcan at my house and i dumped em on the concrete & sprayed them with raid. the next day they were all dead on the concrete and this nearby camponotus colony were bringing them all back to the nest. Needless to say this year i havent seen that colony around anymore

Edited by disasterants, July 31 2019 - 11:08 AM.

[Acutus]

Dude that sucks! Sorry we all go through those times though. So far I've found Aphaenogster to be not so bad I have 2 colonies A. fulva and A.cf rudis. Wild caught food can be a problem. Was the cricket wild?
Just hand in there! We all have set backs.

Edited by Acutus, July 31 2019 - 3:50 PM.

[gsparrow]

Sorry- this hobby can be very frustrating at times. Was your cricket wild caught? Perhaps it had some pesticides on it?
Other than that, I can just say that my impression is that most people’s Aphaenogaster colonies don’t do too well from what I read. Again, that’s just my impression. Overall, I think you just had bad luck, but thankfully you still have plenty of queens left.

Yes, the cricket was wild caught in my yard.  Would it make sense that I fed the cricket to the Aphaenogaster and 3 Tetramoriums but only the Aphaenogaster died from it?  And the Lasius wasn't fed anything yet but died also.

 

I feel your pain with this. I have had more luck recently by doing a number of small things. Avoid placing ants in rooms I use home defense in and away from loud noises and vibrations, always washing hands with antibacterial or dish soap before working with my ants, use store bought insects for regular feeding, leave the ants alone as much as possible especially in the founding stages, use disposable sanitary tools and disinfect tools before use such as tweezers, make sure to clean test tubes thoroughly along with any new formicariums or outworld before use, and using only bottled water and clean cotton that hasn't touched other surfaces. I can think of many more things, but that's a start. Also aphaenogaster are a pain to raise, from my experience they would be picky eaters and grow/decline in numbers often. Not to mention the queen I had would lay eggs but only a few at a time. My best colonies I've raised are camponotus and any selenopsis or tetramorium. Hope any of this helps, keep trying and changing your approach until you see the improvement

In addition, have you tried heating the ants to optimal temps either by heating cables or overhead lighting?

I have my ants in the basement where they are not disturbed.  Washing hands, store bought insects, disposable sanitary/disinfected tools, clean test tubes, and only bottled water are good points.  How do you clean a THA mini hearth?  I do use a heating cable for my house has whole house air conditioning.  I've been thinking about getting a cabinate to keep them in and warming the whole inside of cabinate.

 

Dude that sucks! Sorry we all go through those times though. So far I've found Aphaenogster to be not so bad I have 2 colonies A. fulva and A.cf rudis. Wild caught food can be a problem. Was the cricket wild?
Just hand in there! We all have set backs.

Yes, the cricket was wild caught.  see above reply to  Antdrew's post.

 

Thank you all for your advice!!!  I will keep trying and learning.  Didn't realize how difficult ants are to keep.  Makes me wonder how many new queens are actually successful out in the wild - from predation, insecticides, not fertilized, drowning, conditions too dry, parasites..........etc.? Just amazing.  Has anyone been able to do a study on success rates - that would be a real challenge?

Edited by gsparrow, July 31 2019 - 4:54 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Only a tiny percentage of queens ever make it to found a colony. This is why I vehemently oppose the practice of capturing colonies of any size from the wild. People who do this are removing fhe “all stars” from the local gene pool.
I think it’s entirely possible that the Tetramorium could have withstood something on the cricket that the Aphaenogasters didn’t. There’s a reason they are so dominant in human disturbed areas full of contaminants.