372 replies to this topic

[Serafine]

I think there's a worker below the queen and it's gaster sort of adds to the queen's shape, that's why it looks so odd on the last picture.

I'm glad they finally moved and are no longer storing their brood right next to the food dish and the sugar water towers (couldn't remove the old food when it started to smell), even though there had to happen some sort of natural disaster first.
But then "my ants are so lazy it took a flood to get them moving" makes for a good laugh, so there's that.

Edited by Serafine, August 10 2017 - 11:43 PM.

[VoidElecent]

Wow, they're beautiful!

[lucas3431]

Good teamwork Lazy Tube, good to see they all survived. 

[Krogzaxants]

Awesome post! Good to know information  

[Krogzaxants]

I also have a Camponotus barbaricus colony. 
Its nice to see your development.

Edited by Krogzaxants, August 11 2017 - 1:16 PM.

[Hikari]

Glad to see the Lazy Horde moved successfully, even if it did take a flood to finally get them to go, lol

[Nathant2131]

I got scared too at the beginning. But glad to hear Lazy Horde has made their voyage to the formicarium!

[Serafine]

This just a small foraging party but then it was quite early (few minutes before midnight) usually they come out in larger number after midnight. They're still eating a lot, about 2 bee pupae per 1-2 days. This time I'm trying a wild grasshopper but they're probably not interested.



Looks like they really like the nest. They live mostly in the top and mid chambers with the pupae closer to the heating cable and the small larvae more in the mid chambers, however there's always a few ants moving between the water tube in the bottom slot. In the top right chamber you can see the size difference between minor and major pupae.







They frequently bring the smaller larvae into the water tube. I can't see any eggs but there might be some hidden at the cotton or carried by a worker in the vinyl tubing part of the water tube.





It doesn't really look like much has happened in the last few days however ALL the eggs have hatched into larvae, maybe because now there's more nesting space available.
I expect them to become more hungry now that they have that many brood. They're already a lot more active than before, although only during night times.

[Antking117]

Wow! That is a lot! Come on queen! We need majors!

[Serafine]

You mean "more majors". They already have three

[Antking117]

You mean "more majors". They already have three

Oh wow, i diddnt see them! Very cool! YES MOAR!

[Serafine]

Here's a small major parade for you

[Antking117]

Woo Hoo! Yes we need all majors.. who needs media? MAJORS!

[Serafine]

Well, actually the majors are pretty useless right now. They're like the Royal Navy during most of the 17th and 18th century - all they do is walk around looking intimidating due to their sheer size. The important work is all done by the nanitics, the minors and a few medias. Also some of the medias seem to be dedicated nurses.

Edited by Serafine, August 14 2017 - 7:18 AM.

[T.C.]

Majors are fun if you feed your colony live insects. Otherwise, yeah they do just kind of wander around and guard the nest entrance. But they put there life on the line when it's time to defend, so it's nothing but mere preparation time.

[Jonathan21700]

Nice pictures and colony! Do you plan on hibernating them?

[Serafine]

I'm probably gonna hibernate them around October/November at room temperature (by just turning off the heat cable). They're mediterranian/north african ants and as such only need a short hibernation (about 3 months at around 15-18°C), I've also read that hibernation isn't a necessity for them. Last year I didn't hibernate them but they showed little to no activity or growth from December to March anyway.

 

Their light hibernation is actually a good trait for antkeeping as hibernation is always a very critical period and since these ants don't really hibernate (they are still mobile although they move quite slowly) the risk of any of them dying from mold, dehydration or starvation is minimal.

Edited by Serafine, August 14 2017 - 1:12 PM.

[Serafine]

The Lazy Horde now eats through 2 bee pupae in a night and even shows some interest in superworms. Honey however is not their thing.



The larvae are growing well, there's a lot of big ones now and more pupae.







There are two garbage piles, one right next to the pupa pile and another one next to the bottom right corner of the nest (which means I'm not gonna water that corner anymore). Let's hope they toss out the garbage at some point and don't make a mess like they did in the test tube.



The water tube is busy as well with a lot of new eggs and small larvae. Their development speed picked up significantly since they are heated around the clock.

Edited by Serafine, August 16 2017 - 4:49 PM.

[Antking117]

When will live feeding happen xD ?

[Serafine]

I have a feeling that there's more of them than last time I looked into the nest...




Seems like the central chamber has become the main brood hub. Look at all those batches of minilarvae held by the workers.


Most of the pupae is still in the top chambers but there's also quite a few of them scattered around in the upper half of the nest. They're not really sorting them that much anymore.


In the water tube there's brood of all stages. I think they bring the brood into the water tube to feed them water and then carry them back to the warmer parts of the nest.



Close-up of a major.


 

When will live feeding happen xD ?

Well... the last time I tried feeding them a half-dead spider didn't go too well. I could try to feed them live mealworms or fruitflies but they don't like either of those. Also as long as they're growing that well I don't see a need to feed live food anyway.
And then there's the problem that even if I'd manage to feed them live food I couldn't record it on video anyway because these ants are real night owls. During days it's like they're not there at all. So... probably at some point next year, after hibernation.

Edited by Serafine, August 20 2017 - 5:16 PM.