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Dspdrew's Paludarium (Updated 10-12-2019)


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78 replies to this topic

#61 Offline Zeiss - Posted June 27 2018 - 10:38 PM

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Those have to be beetle eggs.  Backswimmer eggs are too long for that.  Those definitely aren't frog eggs.  I am certain they are beetle eggs.



#62 Offline MegaMyrmex - Posted June 28 2018 - 7:58 PM

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The whirligig beetle looks more like a diving beetle since whirligigs have shorter back legs and longer front legs.

Edited by MegaMyrmex, June 28 2018 - 7:59 PM.

Proverbs 6:6-8 New International Version (NIV)

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
    and gathers its food at harvest.

 


#63 Offline Zeiss - Posted June 28 2018 - 11:14 PM

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The whirligig beetle looks more like a diving beetle since whirligigs have shorter back legs and longer front legs.

He did catch some tiny diving beetles, at least I think he was able to get them in his hand (they were fast and tiny), but the ones that spin around in circles in little groups are definitely whirligig beetles.  Diving beetles do not behave as such, at least I believe they don't.


Edited by Zeiss, June 28 2018 - 11:21 PM.


#64 Offline dspdrew - Posted November 11 2018 - 11:24 AM

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Plants have really been taking over in this thing. I added some of these nice little ground-cover type plants I find growing under water in the local creeks, and they grow like crazy. I have to keep trimming them back once a month to keep it from turning into a jungle. I also added more creeping myrtle, which seems to be doing pretty well this time around. The most exciting thing that has happened is the fern gametophytes have finally grown some mature fronds. I've been waiting about five years for this fern to grow. Once it started, roots grew all over and now they're popping up everywhere.
 
I added some more Whirligig Beetles I caught on my black light while collecting queen ants about two and a half months ago, and they are all still alive and well. I think the lack of predators this time might be allowing them to live longer. I hope they'll actually breed in there.
 
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#65 Offline neoponera - Posted January 13 2019 - 8:36 AM

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you should trim it down


a bit



#66 Offline dspdrew - Posted October 11 2019 - 11:16 PM

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I got a whole bunch of these dragonfly nymphs, but put them in a separate container so they would be able to crawl out and molt without being eaten by the frogs.
 
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#67 Offline dspdrew - Posted October 12 2019 - 5:28 PM

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I got a couple more water scorpions. One already had eggs on his back when i found them, and the female continued laying more. Unfortunately one day the male along with all the eggs disappeared.
 
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#68 Offline ponerinecat - Posted November 13 2019 - 5:46 PM

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update?



#69 Offline dspdrew - Posted December 10 2019 - 11:07 PM

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The other day I found some nice looking moss in the gutter in a Home Depot parking lot right here in the middle of the city. I rarely see moss anywhere in a place like that. I picked some of it up while sitting there bored waiting for my truck to be worked on.

 

Here is what I ended up with. It's a very thick compact moss that would look great in a vivarium.

 

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I have no idea what species it is, but this is what it looks like up close.

 

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I decided to try growing it, so I divided it into multiple containers and put them each in slightly different conditions: wetter, drier, hotter, colder, less light and more light. Hopefully I will find out what conditions it does best in.

 

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#70 Offline Zeiss - Posted December 10 2019 - 11:08 PM

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I didn't think the moss you found would be that green and that dense.  I'm surprised, haha.


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#71 Offline dspdrew - Posted December 10 2019 - 11:19 PM

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Yeah it was really strange. Usually when i see moss somewhere in the middle of the city, it's just a very small amount and really thin and barely growing. This was thick and went for a stretch of like 50 feet.



#72 Offline FSTP - Posted December 11 2019 - 4:04 AM

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that's a nice bunch of moss there. If they throw up any gametophytes/sporophytes take a picture an id maybe possible.



#73 Offline NickAnter - Posted December 11 2019 - 6:25 AM

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On the title you mean 12-10-19, not 10-12-19 right?


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#74 Offline ANTdrew - Posted December 11 2019 - 11:42 AM

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That's really cool. I'm trying to figure out how to grow moss in terrariums myself. I put a couple types in a closed jar terrarium back in September, and one died while the other is doing well. The one that is growing well is actually attached to a piece of bark, so I guess I disturbed its roots less while collecting. Do moss even technically have roots? Not sure..


"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#75 Offline ponerinecat - Posted December 11 2019 - 5:07 PM

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I think its some sort of thread moss.


That's really cool. I'm trying to figure out how to grow moss in terrariums myself. I put a couple types in a closed jar terrarium back in September, and one died while the other is doing well. The one that is growing well is actually attached to a piece of bark, so I guess I disturbed its roots less while collecting. Do moss even technically have roots? Not sure..

 

yes, they do


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#76 Offline Canadant - Posted April 5 2020 - 4:04 PM

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Awesome dspdrew! Love the passion! Great pics. Would love to explore California.
"You don't get what you want. You get what you deserve".

#77 Offline dspdrew - Posted April 7 2020 - 5:38 AM

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All that moss I found eventually died. It had too much water sitting in the containers for too long and it started to smell like poop.



#78 Offline ANTdrew - Posted April 7 2020 - 8:59 AM

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Moss is surprisingly hard to grow, I’ve found.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#79 Offline Temperateants - Posted April 7 2020 - 9:17 AM

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Amazing amphibians!


Check out my Youtube Channel! https://www.youtube....xh-HaScAuE5CShQ

Check out my Crematogaster Journal! https://www.formicul...e-2#entry141180

 

 





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