19 replies to this topic

[giraffedom]

I caught this queen in my local park running along the edge of a strip of concrete on 07/13/18. I placed her in a test tube/tupperware set up and that seems to have been working fine so far. About three days later offered her a very small cricket, and I watched her consider hunting it but then decide against it. Yesterday I offered her fruit flies, and she hunted them readily and took a few back to the tube. I added some rocky/dusty substrate to the set up as well, and she moved it around to her liking. I saw she had five or so eggs (barely visible behind her antenna in the second picture). However, today I couldn't spot them, so she's either eaten them or moved them onto substrate. I'm hoping she didn't eat them, but I have probably been stressing her out by opening her box multiple times to feed, add substrate, and take some quick photos. I'm going to try to leave her alone for the next week, aside from adding more fruit flies as needed—I read that they need more protein than one might expect. I've also been misting the substrate at the entrance of her tube with a spray bottle, since I also read that they like it very moist. I'm really hoping I can successfully get this colony going. She's definitely the most fun-to-observe queen I have right now. 

 

 

Let me know if you have any tips for this species/genus.

[giraffedom]

7.19.18

 

When I misted her tube today, I caught a glimpse of the missing pile of eggs. It was neatly set at the front of the tube on the substrate. I'm glad to know she isn't eating them. So far, she hasn't been difficult to care for. She doesn't respond frantically to disturbances, such as opening the tupperware lid or misting her nest. However, she has been very responsive to fruit flies and seems to be caring for her eggs. It's a lot of fun to watch her hunt when I feed her in the morning. It seems that she always wants to kill all of the flies before she will return to her tube. I've also noticed that she favors constant moisture in her nest more than most desert ants, which is interesting. 

 

 

[Superant33]

I would give my left nut and both of my friends nuts for her. You are lucky. They are native to my area, but I have never seen one.

[giraffedom]

7.22.18

 

I had a big scare with this queen yesterday. I came home to an 88 degree house with no A/C working, and I found her in the outworld all scrunched up with her clutch of 3 eggs, in the classic dead insect pose. I am guessing this happened because the humidity in her container rose so much due to the heat. I left the lid open and hoped she'd pull through, and she did! I checked on the container about 8 hours later and found her standing in the outworld like normal. It's amazing how resilient these queens are; I've heard a lot of stories like this where queens appear to be completely dead but aren't. Unfortunately, I think her eggs were lost. I found them very dried up, and she has not gone back for them. So, we're starting over with this queen.

[giraffedom]

8.14.18

 

This queen has bounced back from her near-death experience very well. I have since moved her into a THA mini-hearth, and she seems to be liking it. She is a very poor climber, so the smaller amount of foraging space and the side-entrance from the nest to the outworld have made hunting relatively easy for her. It used to be difficult for her to catch fruit flies in the old container because they would just climb up the walls. 

 

 

Aside from fruit flies, I've also been feeding her stray termites that I've found around my house (ugh) and they are her favorite. I've since removed the moldy one you can see in the corner. Here she is looking all vicious and alert because a fruit fly entered her nest.

 

 

Since the last update, she has laid more eggs and gotten her first generation of larvae! She now has six eggs, 4 small larvae, and three medium/large larvae. I think it's so cute that the larvae are spiky. Because they are pretty long and bottom-heavy, they can look like they've folded themselves in half when curled up. Sometimes I see them curl and uncurl themselves back and forth when they are disturbed or want attention in a quick snapping motion. It's really funny to watch. 

 

 

I'm really hoping this queen gets pupae soon! She has quickly become one of my favorites to watch.

[Major]

Are those spikey balls in the pic the larvae?

Edited by Major, August 15 2018 - 10:40 AM.

[giraffedom]

Are those spikey balls in the pic the larvae?

 

Yup! They usually like to stay curled in a ball like that. I'll try to get a better photo of them when I get home. They're really cool and unique looking. 

 

 

 

[Superant33]

Sweet! Love Odontomachus! Best of luck! Do you have any substrate in the mini hearth?

[giraffedom]

Here is a slightly better photo of the larvae. The largest one here is feeding on a fruit fly. I saw her trap a fly in her mandibles for the first time today and was amazed.

 

 

Sweet! Love Odontomachus! Best of luck! Do you have any substrate in the mini hearth?

 

Thanks! She has quickly become one of my favorite queens. I don't have any substrate aside from the white sand that coats the walls. Should I add something like sand or eco-earth for the larvae? I didn't know if they would need something in addition to the mini hearth substrate. 

[Superant33]

Everything that I have read indicates that their larvae needs substrate to form cocoons. I would give her something.

[Major]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the large need substrate to help get a grip for their silk to spin a cocoon. Just make sure to sterilize it by baking it, I've learned the hard way...

[giraffedom]

I just added some damp eco-earth substrate to the chamber. Does this look sufficient? I didn't cover the entire bottom of the chamber, but there is a large somewhat-shallow pile.

 

 

[Major]

Try using something like sand, also that should be enough, more than enough to be honest.

[Frank_G]

How large is the queen, and when did you find her (I'm trying to find one myself and haven't found much info on them)? Please keep us updated on the growth.

[Rstheant]

Good luck with that colony
Post pic when it get workers

[FSTP]

Very cool, I didn't know this Genus was in AZ. Looking forward to updates.

[Rstheant]

Don know much about this species so I won’t give advice, but I know that you can add some old coconut wood to the Formicarium and the queen might do better...
Don’t take for granted though ....

[Kaelwizard]

I would give my left nut and both of my friends nuts for her. You are lucky. They are native to my area, but I have never seen one.

OH JEEZ!!!!!!!!

[Superant33]

I actually have one now. And I still have both my nuts

[Kaelwizard]

I actually have one now. And I still have both my nuts

Phew... Good for you!