50 replies to this topic

[Arroavantho]

To AntsAreUs: I'd love to get an idea of how to make her more comfortable, even if that means a different set-up. Right now she is in a tube with a yellow index card around it (yeah I know, best I had) that has soil in the bottom. This tube is in a small plastic storage bin with dirt on the bottom, and a clump of dirt at the entrance to make said entrance feel smaller. She still has not presently laid but she is coming out to every 2-3 days to eat and takes fruit flies just fine (though she is not as excited as when I give her a termite). After eating, she goes right back into her tube.

 

To Canadian Anter: I'll take a closer look when I get back from a trip 'round Mondayish but it may be just the angle I'm imaging her at. She's a 4mm Myrmicine queen, I suppose Stenamma or Myrmecina are alternate possibilities. There something in particular that makes you feel like she isn't Pheidole?

[YsTheAnt]

The head is too long and slender for pheidole. It looks somewhat like Myrmica, but I'm no expert in ants outside of CA.

[Arroavantho]

Hey folks. Thanks for your input regarding Hestia! After a lot of head scratching by myself and some folks on Discord, we identified her as Temnothorax texanus! This species is claustral, so back under the blanket she goes. Appreciate y'all pointing it out to me so I could fix it!

[Arroavantho]

Hey folks!

 

I got a lot of intros to do tonight as well as an update on my ants, but first, a bit of bad news. Before leaving on a trip this weekend I discovered my Brachyponera chinensis queen, Yuuko, dead in her outworld. I fear the reason may be an improper setup. I also collected the dirt from just outside, so it's conceivable that it was tainted with small amounts of pesticide as well. My other Brachyponera queen (who lasted far longer), Airi, died in her outworld as well shortly after I added dirt. It may have also been that the fruit flies I were feeding them were inadequate.

Rest In Peace, Yuuko. 

 

Now, for some brighter things:

 

Firstly, I am moving the ants Wednesday to the new apartment. When they are there, I will have them in dark boxes with a heating cable with a thermostat (With any "Do not disturb" queens in their own box. Very excited about this move but also a bit nervous about transporting the ants across the state. If y'all have suggestions regarding moving ants I'm happy to hear them!

 

Time for queen-by-queen updates!

 

Q2017001: Congaree (Crematogaster cf lineoalta) has still yet to lay. Honestly I doubt she ever will at this point. I would be highly open to any suggestions regarding Congaree, including if I should try feeding her a small drop of honey and/or a crushed fruit fly. Let me know any ideas y'all may have for how I can get her feeling good.

 

Q2017002: Cayce's (Crematogaster cf cerasi) eggs are still eggs, but they are also still alive. She seems to be doing much better than her fellow Crematogaster sister.

 

Q2017003: Prima's (Camponotus nearcticus) lone egg has hatched into a larva! (Also she's quite the cotton puller) Pic below: 

 

Q2018003: Minnie (Nylanderia sp.) remains well enough. Her brood are a bit scattered which worries me just a tad but she doesn't appeared to have any major progression from a week ago.

 

Q2018005: Delores (Forelius pruinosus) also doing well as far as I can tell. She's been pulling cotton and putting her brood into it like Prima has. Guess she wants them comfy.

 

Q2018020: Bitsy (Nylanderia sp.) is PROLIFIC. I do mean it. She had 10 eggs last weekend (more than any of my other queens) and has since over doubled the number, maybe even tripled. I swear I never expected a new queen to be so prolific.

 

Q2018022: Scarlett (Camponotus chromaiodes) is doing well as is her brood... sorta. There is one confusing thing though. She has a weird brood that is in the pupa position but is fully colored and kinda dead looking. I'll be honest, I did notice one of her cocoons was damaged from collection, and I suspect this is the case here. Pic included below if y'all can figure out what exactly is wrong with it. 

 

Q2018023: Hestia (Temnothorax texanus) Is still alive and still hasn't laid. Probably too stressed after I stuck her under glaring lights to figure out that she wasn't Pheidole. 

 

Following this up I have a lot of introductions to do. I had a few very prolific nights and because A) I was no longer frying my ants and B ) I was more selective on collecting queens I thought looked likely to be fertile, survival rates have jumped 20% to almost 100%. Please bear with me as I introduce them and name them. 

Edited by Arroavantho, June 11 2018 - 7:17 PM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018024

Eve †

Nylanderia cf. faisonensis Brachymyrmex patagonicus

6/2/18

 

Eve is one of a large number of Nylanderia queens that I have (you'll notice I've largely assumed they're all faisonensis for now for simplicity's sake) and the first of the night. She has laid one egg (obscured by her in this picture) and so is confirmed to be fertile. She is named Eve as I found her in the evening before it really got fully dark.

 

Edited by Arroavantho, July 15 2018 - 11:30 AM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018025

Lotte

Colobopsis cf. obliqua

6/2/18

 

First, a few notes about the pug-faced Colobopsis genus. I base initial identification on color pattern... black with no pale stripes is mississippiensis, brown with no pale stripes is pylartes fraxinicola, one pale stripe is obliqua, and 2 or more pale stripes is impressa. This is not fully reliable but does give an early ID. Secondly, all Colobopsis queens will carry Dutch names. Why? They look like pugs. And although pugs originated in China, they were popularized in the West by European royalty, particularly the House Orange of the Netherlands. 

 

Lotte is a cf. obliqua queen that was my first Colobopsis queen. She is an alate still but does have two eggs (which are oddly elongated, characteristic of the genus.) Pics of Lotte and of one of her two eggs are below.

 

Edit: She also was given one egg from a Colobopsis cf. impressa queen that got out of her tube. Best case I brood boosted, worst case I gave her a little food. Either way, should be fine.

 

Edited by Arroavantho, June 12 2018 - 6:17 AM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018026

June †

Nylanderia cf. faisonensis Brachymyrmex patagonicus

6/2/18

 

June is a so-far prolific Nylanderia queen dealate. She and her brood (I counted 15 eggs) are visible here. Her name is a reference to the month she was caught... yeah I know, not very creative, but I'm running out of energy tonight! (Yes, I know she's blurry but she was running around freaking out.)

 

Edited by Arroavantho, July 15 2018 - 11:30 AM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018027

Roos

Colobopsis cf. obliqua

6/2/18

 

Roos (pronounced like "Ross") is a Dutch name meaning "Rose". Roos is a Colobopsis queen alate currently with no brood. She can be seen here trying to dig her way out of the tube. 

 

[Arroavantho]

Q2018028

Maud

Colobopsis cf. obliqua

6/2/18

 

Maud is a Colobopsis queen alate without brood. She was not very active even under the bright light, so I am worried she's infertile and not long of this world, but we'll see if she bounces back.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018029

Andrea (released)

Brachymyrmex patagonicus

6/2/18

 

Andrea is a Brachymyrmex (as evidenced by her 9 segment antennae pictured here) alate queen who like Maud was fairly listless when I pulled her out. She has not laid. She likely isn't much longer of this world but she did make it this far, so we'll see. (Also I'm kinda dead so I will upload posts for the other queens tomorrow morning.)

 

Edited by Arroavantho, July 1 2018 - 1:05 PM.

[AntsAreUs]

As for the Brachyponera, I would recommend just a dirt setup with springtails, whiteworms if possible, and some detritus/fungus eating mites. I'm sure that will make her right at home. Make sure the soil is moist at all times of course.

[Arroavantho]

Continuing from yesterday...

 

Q2018030

Billie

Nylanderia cf. faisonensis

6-12-18

 

Billie is a prolific Nylanderia queen. Not much else to say about her right now.

Edited by Arroavantho, July 1 2018 - 1:07 PM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018031

Anna†
Brachymyrmex patagonicus

6-12-18

 

Anna is a B. patagonicus queen with a few eggs (not pictured). I want to note here that yes, I do know B. patagonicus is an invasive species that I do not want to keep, but I already kind of have her after making the wrong assumption that she was Nylanderia. Any B. patagonicus here falls in that category, & I will likely be looking to trade them away.

 

 

Edited by Arroavantho, July 15 2018 - 11:30 AM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018032

Fenna †

Colobopsis cf. obliqua

6-2-18

 

Fenna is a Colobopsis queen alate with 1 egg (not pictured). She seems to be doing well.

 

Edited by Arroavantho, August 5 2018 - 5:27 AM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018033

Sarah (released)

Brachymyrmex patagonicus

6-2-18

 

Sarah is a Brachymyrmex queen dealate with several eggs. 

 

Edited by Arroavantho, July 1 2018 - 1:07 PM.

[Arroavantho]

Q2018034

Demeter

Pheidole cf. floridana bicarinata

6-2-18

 

Demeter is my actual first Pheidole queen, which I believe to be an example of the floridana species. Named for the greek goddess of the harvest (reflecting her "florid" species), Demeter has laid a nice clump of eggs, seen in the second pic below. (That wraps up my queens caught 6/2! More intros to come 6/14 and 6/15!)

Edited by Arroavantho, July 1 2018 - 1:07 PM.

[Arroavantho]

As I've found more queens than I ever thought I would, I am altering my approach in order to be less spammy. I will still do the introductions as before but all intros for a day will be in one post rather than separate posts! So here's today's!

Q2018038

Emily

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

6/7/18

 

I found Emily in the parking lot outside my apartment in the morning. She was sluggish and docile when I found her, and I transferred her into a tube as soon as I could. And when I did... ooh boy. She was THIRSTY. She immediately plopped her head into the wet cottonball and held it there for like 2 minutes. Then she perked up and began excitedly licking other parts of the cotton for more water. I'm guessing that hot parking lot had dehydrated her; an hour later she may'be been dead. The name Emily means "Striving" or "Eager", which I think fits her perfectly. Now, Emily has laid and is doing very well and has laid no less than 8 eggs, which is quite a few for a Camponotus starting out. I'll be honest, due to the circumstances around finding her, she is already one of my favorites. 

 

Short YouTube video of her excitedly licking the cotton:  https://www.youtube....h?v=ZXlJsh6O6J4
Pic (yeah my room is messy):

 

Q2018039

Rita †

Nylanderia cf. parvula

6/7/18

 

I recently learned of a place that gets hundreds of queens a night, under a very bright light. Rita was the first find from that night, which I'm calling N. parvula because I saw no hair on her scapes. She is a queen alate and was shy when placed under the camera, running up under the cotton, thus the weird angle. She does have a small pile of eggs though so she seems to be doing alright.

 

Q2018041

Carla

Nylanderia cf. parvula

6/7/18

 

Carla is another apparent Nylanderia parvula, this one a dealate, found in similar circumstances to Rita. She has a large pile of brood and seemed to not care at all that she was removed from the dark. 

 

Q2018044

Babs

Nylanderia cf. faisonensis parvula

6/7/18

 

Babs is yet another Nylanderia queen, this one I'm calling faisonensis til proven otherwise. She has a reasonable pile of brood and seems well placed to be successful.

 

Q2018045

Lucille

Forelius pruinosus Nylanderia sp.

6/7/18

 

This alate Forelius is my second Forelius queen and has so far appeared to be successful, having laid a small pile of eggs. She was very shy for the camera (thus the blur) and even tried to escape with some of her brood, which is that white blur right at her mouth.

 

That's it for today! 

Edited by Arroavantho, July 1 2018 - 1:10 PM.

[Arroavantho]

I'm behind on some introductions! Had a trip to take, this should catch me up. Full update tomorrow.

 

Q2018049

Artemis

Pheidole cf. bicarinata

6/8/18

 

Artemis is one of three Pheidole queens I collected on 6/8. Everything else that night was Brachymyrmex which I have now released or infertile Colobopsis. Artemis has a large pile of brood visible under her head.  She is a promising Pheidole and I am looking forward to seeing how she does. Named for the Greek goddess of the hunt and childbirth.

 

 

Q2018055

Aphrodite

Pheidole cf. bicarinata

6/8/18

 

The second Pheidole queen from 6/8. Also a large pile of brood, also seems to be doing well. Named for the greek goddess of beauty (which doesn't really fit but oh well.)

 

 

Q2018056

Hera

Pheidole cf. bicarinata

6/8/18

 

The third Pheidole queen from 6/8. She has a larger pile of brood than the previous two, which is why she got the name Hera, the queen of the gods.

Edited by Arroavantho, June 17 2018 - 8:06 PM.

[Arroavantho]

I want to start off by saying that I have chosen to release Andrea and Sarah, as well as the unnamed Brachymyrmex queens caught earlier this week. I have done so as I cannot easily trade these off. I chose to release rather than kill because while they are introduced, they are only mildly invasive. I also want to say that the queens that were overheated due to my inexperience are not doing very well compared to the others. These are Congaree, Cayce, Prima, Minnie, Delores, and Bitsy. Of these Congaree and Minnie seem especially unwell. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with them if anything or if I should just let them be. Keep an eye out this week as I have queens of five new species: Dorymyrmex bureni, Colobopsis impressa, Pheidole cf. metallescens, Pheidole navigans, and (my favorite find) Camponotus floridanus!

 

Q2017001: Congaree (Crematogaster cf. lineolata)

Still no brood for Congaree. She’s alive but not particularly active.

 

Q2017002: Cayce (Crematogaster cf. cerasi)

Cayce’s small number of brood are still alive as is she, and she was active. Seems she’s doing ok, though I hope she lays more soon.

 

Q2018002: Prima (Camponotus nearcticus)

Prima’s one larva is still alive and well. Prima herself was active but hadn’t laid anymore.

 

Q2018003: Minnie (Nylanderia sp.)

Though Minnie does have several brood she is also very clumsy and inactive. I’m getting the feeling she isn’t going to make it very long unfortunately.

 

Q2018005: Delores (Forelius pruinosus)

Delores was not particularly active but rather brooding over her small pile of eggs. She hasn’t laid much, but I am not super familiar with Forelius’ laying habits so that may be normal.

 

Q2018020: Bitsy (Nylanderia cf. faisonensis)

Bitsy has larvae! Of the overheated queens she is definitely doing the best (which makes sense as she was also the one with the least time overheated). Her brood pile though is still not as large as my other Nylanderia queens', so I’m not 100% sure how she’s doing.

 

Q2018022: Scarlett (Camponotus chromaiodes)

Scarlett laid new eggs! She also still has one pupa and several larvae. Hopefully that presumably healthy pupa will eclose soon and I can feed them. I did decide to remove the entry cotton and the q-tip in it left-over from collection. I also removed a second damaged pupa and a dead nanitic (also likely a damaged pupa that she eclosed later) and some of the sawdust in her tube. She was not happy  with the disturbance but Camponotus are tough and she’ll get over it.

 

Q2018023: Hestia (Temnothorax texanus)

Hestia has still not laid I’m afraid. I’m getting worried about her, but I have heard this species likes more confined spaces, especially acorns. I’m going to go and find a small empty acorn in the woods and add it to her tube to see if that helps.

 

Q2018024: Eve (Nylanderia cf. faisonensis)

More brood from Eve. She’s active and appears to be well.

 

Q2018025: Lotte (Colobopsis cf. obliqua)

Lotte appears to have adopted the third egg. She was pulling at the entrance though so idk if she’s ok or not.

 

Q2018026: June (Nylanderia cf. faisonensis)

Not much to report here! I don’t think she’s laid more but it’s hard to tell since she had a large pile to begin with.

 

Q2018027: Roos (Colobopsis cf. obliqua)

Roos shed her wings and laid one egg. Which means yay fertile!! She was pulling at the cotton at the entrance.

 

Q2018028: Maud (Colobopsis cf. obliqua)

Maud has laid a single egg! And here I was worried about her not doing well.

 

Q2018030: Billie (Nylanderia cf. faisonensis)

Billie is doing well. She is also a cotton puller, liking to pull at the wet cotton. It's kinda silly to think about with her being a tiny Nylanderia queen.

 

Q2018031: Anna (Brachymyrmex patagonicus)

Anna is the most prolific of my Brachymyrmex patagonicus queens and the one that I’ve decided to keep. She had the largest brood pile and will probably one of my colonies of choice moving forward, because I do like the look of patagonicus.

 

Q2018032: Fenna (Colobopsis cf. obliqua)

Fenna’s egg turned out not to be an egg. It was a dead male. I didn’t really look closely I guess. In any case, she’s not laid (yet) and the dead male has been removed.

 

Q2018034: Demeter (Pheidole cf. floridana)

Demeter has laid even more! She’s doing well and I’m hoping to keep seeing her get larvae soon.

 

Q2018038: Emily (Camponotus pennsylvanicus)

Emily has laid a few more eggs! Her original eggs also seem to be nearing hatching too, so hopefully I’ll have larvae soon!

 

Q2018039: Rita (Nylanderia cf. parvula)

Rita kinda has a few brood strewn all over the place, but they are there and she is alive. Hopefully she’ll be a better mother at some point. ;P

 

Q2018041: Carla (Nylanderia cf. parvula)

Carla appears to be doing well enough. Can’t really tell if she’s laid any new or if any have hatched but I’m also trying to leave her be.

 

Q2018044: Babs (Nylanderia cf. faisonensis)

Babs is doing well, with possibly the largest pile of eggs among all my Nylanderia queens.

 

Q2018045: Lucille (Forelius pruinosus)

Lucille has laid more eggs! She’s proving more prolific than Delores. However unlike Delores, Lucille wasn’t baked at 100 degrees for two weeks, so I’ll cut Delores some slack here.

[Arroavantho]

Ok folks, four new queens to mention today!

 

Q2018057

Winifred

Dorymyrmex bureni

6/13/2018

 

Winifred is my first ever Dorymyrmex queen! Still an alate, she has laid a few eggs which are scattered around her tube. Dorymyrmex are a very fast species that is fun to watch, so I am hopeful she can turn out well!

 

 

Q2018058

Adelaide

Dorymyrmex bureni

6/13/2018

 

Adelaide is another Dorymyrmex queen, this one a dealate. When found I accidentally stunned her trying to catch her, slightly squishing her, and I was afraid I had accidentally caused her to die. I'm happy to report however that she is absolutely fine and has laid a sizeable clump of eggs, which she can be seen carrying here!

 

 

Q2018059

Athena

Pheidole cf. metallescens

6/13/2018

 

Athena is my first small Pheidole queen. A mere 4mm, she is much smaller than the bicaranata queens I have. She was caught as an alate but subsequently removed her wings, and now she has laid a large clump of eggs!

 

 

Q2018060

Persephone †

Pheidole cf. bicarinata

6/13/18

 

Persephone is another bicarinata queen I found being attacked by an invicta worker. I managed to separate the invicta worker from her and save her, but her brush with death inspired me to name her after Persephone, wife of Hades and queen of the underworld. She has laid a clump of eggs, not pictured here.

 

 

That's it for today! Three more tomorrow. In addition, I'd like to note that I am no longer collecting large Pheidole queens like bicarinata, as well as no more Nylanderia, Brachymyrmex patagonicus, or Colobopsis obliqua. I have enough of these and don't want to overdo it.

 

Thanks for reading!

Edited by Arroavantho, July 1 2018 - 1:10 PM.