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Swirly’s Myrmecocystus mexicanus


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56 replies to this topic

#21 Offline Swirlysnowflake - Posted November 20 2020 - 10:02 AM

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I'm slighly worried now, I've tried feeding them honey, replacing it every day, but the problem is the queen is still very skinny. I've been putting the honey in the outworld so i thought maybe the workers werent going outside that much, so i put the honey on a bit of foil and placed it at the edge of their test tube. the next day, the honey was covered with sand, and the queen is still thin! should i try offering sugar water?


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#22 Offline ZTYguy - Posted November 20 2020 - 10:13 AM

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Try something other then honey. Honey is a thinner.


Ant Keeping Since June 2018
Currently Keeping:
A. versicolor, C. us-ca02, C. yogi, C. Vicinus, C. laevigatus, C. clarithorax, C. maritimus, C. ocreatus, M. mexicanus, M. placodops 01, V. andrei, V. pergandei, N. cockerelli, P. barbata, P. montanus

Hoping to Catch This season:

M. romanei, M. placodops 02, P. imberbiculus, Polyergus sp., F. moki, A. megomatta, Cyphomyrmex sp.,Temnothorax sp.


#23 Offline ZTYguy - Posted November 20 2020 - 10:14 AM

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I also found that sugar water greatly increases the chance of getting repleates sooner.


Ant Keeping Since June 2018
Currently Keeping:
A. versicolor, C. us-ca02, C. yogi, C. Vicinus, C. laevigatus, C. clarithorax, C. maritimus, C. ocreatus, M. mexicanus, M. placodops 01, V. andrei, V. pergandei, N. cockerelli, P. barbata, P. montanus

Hoping to Catch This season:

M. romanei, M. placodops 02, P. imberbiculus, Polyergus sp., F. moki, A. megomatta, Cyphomyrmex sp.,Temnothorax sp.


#24 Offline Swirlysnowflake - Posted November 20 2020 - 10:38 AM

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I also found that sugar water greatly increases the chance of getting repleates sooner.

ohh ok, i will definitely try that. should i soak a cotton ball, or just leave a drop?


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#25 Offline ZTYguy - Posted November 20 2020 - 10:40 AM

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Leave it in a bottle cap but a cotton ball works fine just that it will have to be replaced daily to twice a day.


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Ant Keeping Since June 2018
Currently Keeping:
A. versicolor, C. us-ca02, C. yogi, C. Vicinus, C. laevigatus, C. clarithorax, C. maritimus, C. ocreatus, M. mexicanus, M. placodops 01, V. andrei, V. pergandei, N. cockerelli, P. barbata, P. montanus

Hoping to Catch This season:

M. romanei, M. placodops 02, P. imberbiculus, Polyergus sp., F. moki, A. megomatta, Cyphomyrmex sp.,Temnothorax sp.


#26 Offline JenC - Posted November 20 2020 - 11:43 AM

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Try a feeder
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Current Colonies:
1x Camponotus Vicinus (3 Workers)

Single Queens:
3x Camponotus Clarithorax
4x Camponotus Maritimus
5x Camponotus Ca02
7x Camponotus Sansabeanus
1x Myrmecocustus Testaceus
3x Prenolepis Imparis

#27 Offline SleepyAsianAnter - Posted November 20 2020 - 12:30 PM

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The queen may be taking a break, it is winter after all. Provide adequate heat, but if she's decided to stop for a bit, then there's nothing you can do. 


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#28 Offline Cephalotus - Posted November 20 2020 - 1:13 PM

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I wouldn't be worrying. After a certain point the queen will stop acting as a replete, and especially if she just laid a big batch of eggs, she may appear to be skinnier than normal. As long as the workers have access to food the chances of her starving are extremely slim (get it? slim?) haha


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#29 Offline Swirlysnowflake - Posted November 21 2020 - 12:27 PM

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Fortress just arrived! ill connect the ants soon and get pics  :yahoo:

even sooner than expected :)


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#30 Offline KitsAntVa - Posted November 21 2020 - 12:30 PM

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Noooo if they are in a mini hearth keep them in there. I’ve seen people move them to early into something bigger and because of that they died. I recommend keeping them in a mini hearth until around 20 workers.
We don’t talk about that

#31 Offline Swirlysnowflake - Posted November 21 2020 - 12:46 PM

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Noooo if they are in a mini hearth keep them in there. I’ve seen people move them to early into something bigger and because of that they died. I recommend keeping them in a mini hearth until around 20 workers.

ok they are currently in a test tube with 12 workers, and like 5 cocoons and 7 larvae. should i wait until the cocoons hatch before moving them into the fortress because i don't have a mini hearth


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#32 Offline KitsAntVa - Posted November 21 2020 - 1:06 PM

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I see, then if they are outgrowing the test tube move them now I suppose. Mexicanus are reasonably bigger than other mrymecocostus species.
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We don’t talk about that

#33 Offline YsTheAnt - Posted November 21 2020 - 11:58 PM

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These things grow super fast if you feed them heavily, they won’t have a problem filling up that formicarium within a few months.
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#34 Offline Swirlysnowflake - Posted November 29 2020 - 4:50 PM

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There is now a small pile of very tiny larvae in the tube! not sure if they were there when i purchased them and i just didn’t see them, or if they recently hatched. strangely, they seem to move around a lot more than tetra and veromessor larvae do... 

pics coming when my phone charges  :)


Edited by Swirlysnowflake, November 29 2020 - 4:50 PM.

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#35 Offline OhNoNotAgain - Posted November 29 2020 - 5:49 PM

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There is now a small pile of very tiny larvae in the tube! not sure if they were there when i purchased them and i just didn’t see them, or if they recently hatched. strangely, they seem to move around a lot more than tetra and veromessor larvae do... 

pics coming when my phone charges  :)

Oh yeah, their larvae can be really active and wormy. It's super cool.


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Formiculture Journals::

Veromessor pergandei, andrei; Novomessor cockerelli

Camponotus fragilis; also separate journal: Camponotus sansabeanus, vicinus, quercicola

Liometopum occidentale;  Prenolepis imparis; Myrmecocystus mexicanus

Pogonomyrmex subnitidus and previously californicus

Tetramorium sp.

Termites: Zootermopsis angusticollis

 

Isopods: A. gestroi, granulatum, kluugi, maculatum, vulgare; C. murina; P. hoffmannseggi, P. haasi, P. ornatus; V. parvus

Spoods: Phidippus sp.


#36 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted November 30 2020 - 9:21 AM

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i have lost colonies putting them into a nest too soon, but maybe things are different with this species. after they get workers, i give my ants a small outworld. maybe try that first.


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Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8

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#37 Offline Swirlysnowflake - Posted November 30 2020 - 9:42 AM

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i have lost colonies putting them into a nest too soon, but maybe things are different with this species. after they get workers, i give my ants a small outworld. maybe try that first.

They do have a deli cup outworld, but the workers never accept food if it is in the outworld. dubias that i leave in the outworld are ignored, while if i put a roach head inside the tube, they will immediately eat it. :P


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#38 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted November 30 2020 - 10:56 AM

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i have lost colonies putting them into a nest too soon, but maybe things are different with this species. after they get workers, i give my ants a small outworld. maybe try that first.

They do have a deli cup outworld, but the workers never accept food if it is in the outworld. dubias that i leave in the outworld are ignored, while if i put a roach head inside the tube, they will immediately eat it. :P

 

interesting. they must just be a less aggressive species.


Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8

My South Dakotan Shop Here

Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)


#39 Offline Swirlysnowflake - Posted December 7 2020 - 9:16 AM

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Ok, checked on them again! They now have a throne of brood (Eggs :yahoo: , larvae, cocoons), on which the queen is perched. 

The workers also completely blocked the entrance of the test tube with sand earlier this week, so I had to break the wall. They won't step into the outworld at all, so I have to offer food inside the tube.

Hopefully they actually are drinking the honey I place inside. They are covering up the honey with sand, but I think this is pretty common behavior for ants in general. 
I’m trying to get pics, but the workers freak out when I uncover the tube and start zooming around the tube really really fast, so I don’t want to stress them out even more. :P 

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#40 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted December 7 2020 - 9:21 AM

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Ok, checked on them again! They now have a throne of brood (Eggs :yahoo: , larvae, cocoons), on which the queen is perched. 

The workers also completely blocked the entrance of the test tube with sand earlier this week, so I had to break the wall. They won't step into the outworld at all, so I have to offer food inside the tube.

Hopefully they actually are drinking the honey I place inside. They are covering up the honey with sand, but I think this is pretty common behavior for ants in general. 
I’m trying to get pics, but the workers freak out when I uncover the tube and start zooming around the tube really really fast, so I don’t want to stress them out even more. :P

 

yes, covering honey with sand is normal... and annoying!


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Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8

My South Dakotan Shop Here

Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)





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