18 replies to this topic

[Dethundrel]

Hello Fellow Anters!

 

I am stupid excited to be a part of this hobby now, not as an observer, but as an actual member as I have now had success during a flight!

 

This will be a place for me to keep updates for my own enjoyment as well as the sharing an enjoyment of others.  I'm sure most people have all seen/kept Tetramorium, but none the less we all enjoy seeing each others ants and following how colonies develop.

 

I got a call from my mom at about 6:15 AM on Thursday May 25th that she saw some flying ants on the windsheild of her car on the way to work. I had her stop by so I could pick a few off. 4 were Female, and 1 Male for my own comparison.  They all still had their wings, but there is still a chance! (Pictures below will prove me right).

 

On my way to work, I saw some more flying around and stopped by a business that has a long sidewalk with dirt and trees on both sides of it down the middle of a parking lot. I was able to pick up 9 more right off the sidewalk within less than 5 minutes and stopped as I ran out of caps and figured I had all I needed anyway. I could have easily caught over 100 if I wanted to and had something to put them in.

 

I started off with 12 paint caps from Michaels, and had already used 5 earlier on the ones I got off my moms windshield. I wound up with 5 in their own cap, and I doubled up on 2 of them to see how they would do. All 9 survived being in my backpack inside the paint caps for an entire 10 hour day of work.

 

When I got them home I put a tiny drop of water in each cap and they immediately went to it and started to drink. I was worried they would not last the day and figured I would try to help them out a little before setting up the test tubes. All survived, including the 4 that were doubled up.  All 9 of these queens had already torn their wings off before I picked up them.

 

I set up the tubes, of which 5 had screw caps that I bought last year (they suck, don't use them!) and the rest were regular. In the picture, you can also see the paint caps I use as I had bought a second package for backup.

 

Close-up of one of the Queens:

 

In this image, you can see one of the Queens that started out with wings, but has now torn them off and they are in the tube:

 

And here is her pile of Eggs (with the other wing in frame)!

 

All pictures were taken with an iPhone 7 inside a Lifeproof case (has a plastic film over it for waterproofing) with a 20x Jewelers Loupe held up to the lens.

 

I have an Omni-Nest Large on the way from AntsCanda and that is what I plan to move one to once they are big enough.

 

I'm sure a few of the ones with wings still will not be viable and will not last. So far, 8 of my 13 tubes have eggs even though it's only been 2 days since capture!

 

If any other Western Slope / Grand Junction anters missed the flight, be sure to let me know and I will be more than happy to give some of them away as I do not plan on raising 13 colonies of the same species.

 

What do you guys think?

Edited by Dethundrel, July 7 2017 - 6:50 PM.

[ctantkeeper]

Cheers to being stupid excited!!! lol, congrats man. good luck with them  .

Edited by ctantkeeper, May 27 2017 - 6:42 PM.

[Dethundrel]

I know they are supposed to be left alone, but I cannot help myself.

Have been checking on 1 of them regularly, the one from the pictures above that took her wings off in the tube.

 

Here she is 4 days after capture, now up to 13 eggs! Even tending to them with some in her mouth.

 

[VoidElecent]

Tetramorium tend to be one of the more quickly-growing genera; you'll have fun with these.

[Dethundrel]

I'm like a damn kid who keeps peeking at the presents before Christmas and you cannot keep me out of the damn closet where they are kept.

 

All 8 tubes that have eggs continue to gain in numbers and they all seem to be doing well. Despite my hopes, none of the ones that had wings kept them and laid eggs. They either tore them off and laid, or kept them and are not laying anything.

 

I will admit, I am favoring the one I have been taking the pictures of and have been pulling her out almost daily just to look at and photograph.

 

Here she is today with the larger of her 2 egg piles. From what I can count, she is at around 25 eggs between the two piles already 7 days after capture:

 

[Dethundrel]

Have tried my best to leave them be for a while. I still check on them, but not as much flashlight and pictures over the last few weeks but it's time for an update!

 

Of the original 13, 11 have eggs: including one that still has her wings.  She is constantly getting stuck by them though.  Anytime she goes near the cotton and gets them a little damp, she then ends up on her back or the ending tips hit the tube when she turns around and she cannot break free.  I have been using a Q tip to free her as I really want her to keep going. Her eggs are developing so it's giving me hope.

 

I only took a few pictures this time as I plan to do lots more soon once the next stage is reached. Judging by the pictures below, I should get my first nanitics here shortly.

 

 

[Antking117]

Very cool! I hope they all make it I just caught 4 of these and they are doing about as good I caught 3 others this year, but only 1 of those have passed. It takes soooo long for nanatics! I can not wait! Good Luck!

Edited by antking117, June 24 2017 - 8:09 PM.

[Dethundrel]

Was not planing on updating again yet, but found some things while doing just a quick inspection.

 

One queen has died, not sure why but she just did. She is now covered in a blue fuzz.  There is so much fuzz that I cannot get a clear picture but I did get 2 that at least show her.

 

 

 

And then I finally took some pictures of Winged queens with eggs, they are still constantly getting stuck and it's a pain to keep freeing them. Thinking of either pitching them, or just cutting their wings myself so they will stop getting hung up all the time.

 

 

 

And this queen has a worker almost ready to eclose: below her you can see legs on it already, next to a pile of 5 eggs.

 

 

Some of the tubes are starting to get a buildup of black mold on the cotton. Do I really need to worry about it and try to move them all to fresh tubes, or will they be ok and just live with it?

[Kanye2020]

I have just caught some tetrimoriums of my own and i was wondering if you  could answer this for me but. For the first couple of days do they just kinda wander around aimlessly looking for an exit. then they calm down and start laying eggs if so please tell me if not tell me if there is something i could do to encourage them to nest. I have them in a test tube set up besides 1 which is in a Y-tong nest with 1 cavity in it and a tube running into it giving them access to water so they have good humidity. So i am some what feeling like you excited but then again worried for them. I am also placing a black light out to night to see if they are attracted to it and maybe catch some that aren't winged ones.

Edited by Kanye2020, July 3 2017 - 3:39 PM.

[Antking117]

Yes I caught 6 the other day and 4 out of 6 laid eggs right away, however the other 2 took two days to get used to tube and then laid.

[Dethundrel]

Some may take several days to lay, while I've had some lay eggs the day I caught them. A few of my winged ones took like 3 weeks before they started laying eggs.

 

Biggest advice I can say is keep them in a dark undisturbed area. I put mine in a small box in an unused bedroom that has the AC vent closed so they room doesn't get as cool as the rest of the house.

 

I disturb mine a lot, more than I should. But when I'm not activly looking at them, they are in an area with no vibrations/movement and no lights going on or off. They are kept completely in the dark.

[Kanye2020]

Thank you very helpful for a while i thought i had 1 caught unfertilized queens or male drones due to the fact of how they look but after looking in to more pictures of them i realized that the gaster is a hair away from the main body of the ant.

[Dethundrel]

With Tetramorium, the quickest way to decide male/female is the head. Males have tiny heads compared to the females.

[Kanye2020]

Well then... I may have just caught all males then. Any tips on where to find the queens because i have only seen the males then.

[Kanye2020]

So I have just caught a small colony of something but no for sure on what it is. I am thinking it is 1 a pogonomyrex or 2 some type of apheongaster. Description they have a brown head a body but their gasters are a semi translucent orange or red color. How i got them well i was looking for some tetrimorium i was walking through an ally way so as i am walking i see this huge ground hog hole with like 1-2 pieces of bark sitting on the mound there is a tiny but noticeable hole underneath the pieces of wood so i think well maybe i got lucky and found a tetrimorium and i flip it over slowly and i see the tunnel leading back and then it breaks lose all of them freak as i look through them i spot the biggest one and know it's the queen so i trap it in a test tube set up. next i go for the workers and eggs. those were mostly easy to get but these ants aren't super big but look like they could pack a punch. So i scooped them up mad sure to get the most of all of them. She had twenty ish workers to start with and a lot of eggs larva and brood i get all the brood which is in the twenty's as well i believe and i lose around 6-7 works as i capture them. Then i got home and placed them in this https://tarheelants....micarium-type-iSo i place the workers a larva in there first so the queen doesn't feel like she is alone and in danger the ants were ruining around aimlessly and then i place the queen in there she goes right for the tunnel leading into the formicarium the workers follow her then all i see is the worker ants sifting through some of the dirt i picked up with them picking out the eggs brood larva. i start seeing them pile it inside where the water is inside the nest so i think they are taking to the nest already. If you think you know what type of ants these are please tell me.

[Kanye2020]

I have figured out what type of ants they are they are. http://www.alexander...ter/i-D3jGvvZ/AApaenogaster fulva 

[Dethundrel]

It's finally update time for the moment I have (and hopefully some of you have) been waiting for:

 

​Nanitics are here!

 

Some have only 1 or 2 or 3, others have none still and 1 even has 4 that eclosed overnight as there were none when I checked yesterday. You can also see lots of antennae, eyes, and legs on the; is it pupae or larvae at this point? I gave each tube that has them a small drop of honey to give them the option. So far, the nanitics have not touched it, but the queens are going crazy for it. My original capture date was 5-25 so these girls have gone a month and a half without anything to eat.

 

I'm thinking of adding a tiny drop of honey into each tube, regardless just to feed the queens. Anyone have thoughts on that one way or the other?

 

My last winged queen has also now just started laying eggs as well, not sure they are fertile but she's laying 'em anyway.

 

And now on to the show!

 

 

 

 

[Antking117]

Congrats! I guess this answers my question on approx. how long until I have nanatics!

[Kanye2020]

Nice i finnaly caught 2 tetrimorium queens today. Now i habe to get a new ant farm since the one i have now is full.