42 replies to this topic

[Crystals]

I think I see a thin layer of fluon on the glass, but I have never managed to get fluon to work on the silicone joints.

How do you plan to prevent them from taking a stroll to raid your refrigerator?

 

I am curious to see how this colony does in the years to come.

[jimbodw07]

Hey Dspdrew, the mound has gotten bigger! As for the view inside of the nest, it was a trade off I was willing to make; however, I intend to place cardboard along the sides of the tank so that I could potentially view their activity.

 

Hey Crystals. I've read about Fluon, mainly from your thread on "Ant Guide for Beginners". Really good guide by the way. It looks like I'll have problems with Fluon as well. For now I'm gonna hit the drawing board and come up with an idea to keep the ants from escaping.

[dspdrew]

For now I'm gonna hit the drawing board and come up with an idea to keep the ants from escaping.

Maybe a lid?

[Crystals]

I have found that a "lip" around the top with fluon on the underside will work.  There is a picture of one of mine in the pinned thread Pictures of Formicariums and Outworlds.

I had the exact same situation, glass outworld with silicone borders.  Even after I cut out the top 2" of silicone they could still find grip.  I took one solid piece of acrylic and cut the centre out.  Painted fluon on it and siliconed it to the top of the outworld and I have not had a single escapee since.

 

I have not heard of any ant species that can walk upside down on fluon.

[jimbodw07]

Dspdrew. Haha yea that would work, I was already thinking about using plexiglass and silicone because the actual top frame is out of square. So for now I have to fabricate a permanent lid with a latch in the center.

 

@Crystal. That's what I had in mind, Using a piece of plexiglass with a latch in the center. I would like to use Fluon on the underside of the plexiglass as you mentioned to prevent any escapees.

 

Thanks for the tips guys.

[jimbodw07]

Update: May 8th, 2014

 

The Honey pots are doing pretty well. The queen is now in her chamber and she is laying eggs. As of now, the workers have slowed down with their digging and instead spend a lot of their time standing guard near the entrance. I suspect they have slowed down because for the past couple of days, it dipped down into the lower 40's at night. Now it's warming up slightly.

 

I am going to start preparing my pogonomyrmex formicarium pretty soon so I'll start a journel then.

 

[dspdrew]

Mine have really slowed down, especially the ones I have in my little prototype formicarium. They also won't seem to eat anything but a little bit of humming bird nectar every once and a while.

[jimbodw07]

Update: January 21st, 2015
Myrmecocystus sp.
Since my last update, these ants have been pretty stable. Now that we are in winter, these ants have practically become inactive on the surface. I'm not using any heaters in my room so it gets pretty chilly. I love the cold weather anyway so it doesn't really bother me. Today though, I noticed a few workers standing near the entrance of their nest. It's been awhile since I've seen these ants so I was quite content when I found them to be doing well.
 
I went ahead and offered them some honey using a toothpick and I had one worker feeding on the honey. There were a few more standing near the entrance, but they didn't seem interested in the honey. Now they are back in their nest and I haven't seen one out of their nest since.
I have a video of the worker feeding on the honey. I'll keep this journal updated as spring comes around. 
Happy Anting!

 

http://vid344.photob...ding Winter.mp4

[dspdrew]

You're still alive!

 

Wow the honeypot ants definitely do a lot better in a setup like that, as I have started to suspect. Mine died off a long time ago. I got a few other species last season, but most did pretty poorly. I do have a couple colonies that are still doing okay, but they're both small species and not at all as cool as M. mexicanus.

 

I was hoping you would come back around last season when M. mexicanus were flying, but I never heard from you. Please let us know this coming season when you see Veromessor pergandei fly; I really want to get a few more of them. The one good colony I had is actually still doing quite well, with over a thousand workers now.

 

Nice video BTW.

[AntsAreUs]

That honey looks appetizing!

[Gregory2455]

This settles it- test tubes do not work for this genus. A hydrostone test tube replacement with a bit of loose sand should be superior.

[jimbodw07]

@Drew Haha yup man I'm still alive. I figured since the ants weren't going to be active, I wouldn't update. But today was a little active so I decided to do an update on both colonies. I've actually been keeping up with most of the journals on here so I didn't miss out completely. I'm sorry to hear that your honey pots didn't do so well. And for Gregory as well.  There is always room for trial and error. The plus side to this is that these queens are very easy to acquire during their nuptial flight.

Either way, I have to see what happens this spring and summer to both colonies. I'm not out of the woods yet.

 

As for updates on nuptial flights, I will let you know when Messor and Myrmecocystus are flying. We are actually getting close to Messor's nuptial flight so I will keep an eye out for them.

[jimbodw07]

@Gregory I'm curious to see how the queens do with the sand and hydrostone method.

I'll post any nuptial flight occurrences on the mating chart thread.

[Foogoo]

Would you mind sharing any pictures of points on Google Maps of where you scored your finds? It looks like Pinon Hills is near Phelan, and that's where I plan to go anting, though I've never been there and am not familiar with the area (but I'm sure will have better luck than metropolitan LA...).

[jimbodw07]

@Foogoo. All of the honey pot queens that I had aquired were from my backyard and surrounding areas near my house. It pretty much boils down to where the thunderstorms occur and since they are unpredictable in nature, there really isn't a specific location. When summer comes around and we hit the monsoon season, I'll update where the storms and queens are with locations.

[Foogoo]

@Foogoo. All of the honey pot queens that I had aquired were from my backyard and surrounding areas near my house. It pretty much boils down to where the thunderstorms occur and since they are unpredictable in nature, there really isn't a specific location. When summer comes around and we hit the monsoon season, I'll update where the storms and queens are with locations.

 

Awesome. I was wondering if they favor any particular open spaces or washes but it sounds like all is fair game. Where I am, I'm excited to find a single Solenopsis and Dorymyrmex colony amongst a few Pogonomyrmex on a dirt sidewalk!

[dspdrew]

Haha, man you totally remind me of exactly what I was going through when I first got into this. Chromerust and I should be going on plenty anting missions this season, and we go to that area quite a bit. You're more than welcome to go with us. I can guarantee you'll get some queens.

[kellakk]

Haha, man you totally remind me of exactly what I was going through when I first got into this. Chromerust and I should be going on plenty anting missions this season, and we go to that area quite a bit. You're more than welcome to go with us. I can guarantee you'll get some queens.

Ooh ooh does that invitation apply to anyone on this forum?

[dspdrew]

Sure why not.

[Miles]

This settles it- test tubes do not work for this genus. A hydrostone test tube replacement with a bit of loose sand should be superior.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - They barely 'work' for any genus, and seem to be especially bad for formicines.