172 replies to this topic

[dean_k]

Jan 25, 2015

 

Curved tweezers have been amazingly useful in getting garbage out of the nest.

 

Workers are no longer getting lost in outworld. Yes..., some of them were getting lost.   I have yet to water the nest yet and no more dried up larvae. AntsCanada nest definitely had moisture retaining problem. The side glass also reflects UV light, so no worries on that front as well, not that the colony receives direct sunlight.

 

The video is nothing special. it focuses on their brood field. I specifically asked THA to make the entrance tunnel to have 45 degree slope so that ants may take garbage out that way. You can see the entrance on top left portion of the video where ants come and go.

They've been very active. Tonight, I saw 6 workers out in outworld even.

 

No ants is trying to dig into the gap now. They've also customized the chamber a bit with loose substrates.

 

 

Edited by dean_k, January 25 2015 - 10:24 PM.

[dean_k]

Feb 2, 2015

 

The girls are doing well. I can't complain about how they are doing despite of a sad fact that I can no longer get a clear look at the queen's chamber. I haven't seen queens wander around anymore ever since they moved in there. I suppose that is positive news.

 

The video is about them eating a piece of mealworm. I must point out that they have been favoring maggots over mealworm. I usually put 2 pieces of mealworms if I give them mealworms and they usually leave one piece to rot whereas when I give them 2 piece of maggots, they act more desperate to get them into their nest.

 

Edited by dean_k, February 2 2015 - 6:54 PM.

[dean_k]

Feb 6, 2015

 

A mealworm beetle eclosed today with serious defects. So, I threw it into Myrmica colony's outworld and left for work. When I came back home, I found the beetle in the nest being held by 3 ants.

 

The beetle will eventually die and a feast awaits for the ants.

 

Edited by dean_k, February 6 2015 - 5:36 PM.

[dean_k]

Feb 9, 2015

 

I noticed that two ants were fighting for no apparent reason. One was dragging the other away. I am unsure why this may be occurring. I accidentally noticed this fight while taking a video of the ants fighting a Black solider fly.

 

This video is long. Now that I view the video again, it was actually quite funny. I was filming ants vs. a BSF but then an ant was dragging another ant on the glass side window @ 0:14   The ants fight is eventually over by end of the video when the aggressor lets go of the poor ant's legs.

 

Meanwhile, not many ants seem to want to fight the BSF (Black Solider Fly) except for one single ant that was hell bent on getting the fly.

 

I also saw an ant that had a broken mandible.... (What the hell is going on in this colony? ) She's spotted @ 13:04. It's the approaching ant from below. If you look carefully, her left mandible is broken @ 13:07

 

 

 

 

My setup when taking videos.

 

Edited by dean_k, February 9 2015 - 5:02 PM.

[Michaelofvancouver]

I don't know why, but my Myrmica colony had a lot of fighting between colony members as well.

And they were really slow growers staying at roughly 100 workers for quite a while.

[dean_k]

Feb 25, 2015

 

This is going to be a little long. First of all, I've IDed the species to be Myrmica Latifrons.

 

The population has seen a good boost since last update. There are, now I believe, at least 25 workers. Approx. 10 around the 2 queens and 15ish foragers/cleaners/duelers. Yes, duelers. I see them fighting pretty often now. I assume there will be more duels as the population goes up.

 

Meanwhile, they've started to taking out the "dried larvae" again for past few weeks now. The total number they've taken out is well over 30+ and I am starting to believe that they aren't sacrificing actual larvae because the population is going up and there are plenty of brood around the queens. I think the dried larvae-like objects may actually be some form of food produced by perhaps queens (or even by workers). Or perhaps this species use a portion of larvae population as protein source while maintaining / restricting their brood farm to a certain number.

 

In other words, perhaps this behavior is perfectly normal for this species. I see no sign at all that they are doing bad. They forage far more active now and eat pretty much anything I throw into the outworld. (They dislike superworm but loved BSF.)

 

 

The first video is to show how active the outworld is. It can be even more active at certain times. You can also see a worker carrying yet another dried-up larvae.

 

 

 

 

The second video is to show you their nest itself. The focus is on the area where the queens are. You can see plenty of brood. There should be a lot more where I cannot see.

 

[dean_k]

March 11, 2015

 

This is more of a routine update. I don't have anything to report. They are doing well and have suffered only one death which can only considered to be neutral.

 

The Myrmica has some behaviors that are somewhat interesting. You've seen them fight before in one of my previous updates. Another behavior of theirs is licking each other.

 

They are pretty moody. They sometimes fight each other and they sometimes lick (clean) each other.

 

[dean_k]

March 18, 2015

 

It's been a long time since I saw a cluster of eggs from them, mainly because my view is blocked. But I see a cluster of eggs this time.

 

I am assuming that it's full of brood beyond that bump.

 

P.S. Shortly after I took the video last night, they had a party in outworld. I saw 10+ workers outside.

 

[dean_k]

March 26, 2015

 

Just a routine update.

 

A specific larva was getting a special treatment. It could be what they do before drinking its fluid and take out "dried larva".

 

 

 

[dean_k]

March 31, 2015

 

 

 

There is no doubt that the colony has grown. The ants shown in the photo alone are 16. I am guessing around 30 ants including queens. (4 were in outworld at the time of the photo.)

 

The videos are nothing special but the 2nd video was taken by using a special feature of THA Hearth. Its water tower is see-throu and I used a cell phone flash light for the effect that is seen in the video. What is interesting is that ants don't mind strong light that is coming from below.

 

 

Edited by dean_k, March 31 2015 - 6:01 PM.

[Ants4fun]

Nice colony! Glad they're doing good.

[dean_k]

April 12, 2015.

 

Nothing to report at the moment. Just a routine update for the colony.

 

 

 

[dean_k]

May 4, 2015

 

I am not sure whether they are doing well... They aren't doing bad, but rather they are ... stalling. I do not see any significant population increase, nor do I see any significant increase. They are just ... getting by while keeping low profile.