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Aphaenogaster occidentalis (A-Colony)

aphaenogaster colony myrmecology

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27 replies to this topic

#21 Offline westhollywoodant - Posted July 12 2022 - 8:31 AM

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Colony is doing good. Although the extra alates have been eating food and so the brood size has slowed. I suspect once the males die off they will be able to balance out again. My B-Colony is doing very well with a great brood pile. Interesting species to keep with the specifics of the species.

25 ish workers, half dozes male alates. few larvae and small batch of eggs.  

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#22 Offline westhollywoodant - Posted July 19 2022 - 6:32 AM

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Moved the colony into a Mini Hearth. Was able to catch and remove most of the males so all workers now. About 25 workers holding steady. Colony is doing alright. 

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#23 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 19 2022 - 8:16 AM

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Nice work. Keep it up! 


"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#24 Offline westhollywoodant - Posted July 26 2022 - 9:03 AM

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I connected the A and B colonies and they merged right away. 30 or so workers with a nice brood pile, They are doign well. Messy species which I don't like but its all good. 

Seem to be doing well and happy with the merge. 

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#25 Offline westhollywoodant - Posted July 30 2022 - 7:21 AM

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I merged A colony with B colony and they seem to be happy with the merge. 

Now two queens and about 50 workers. Brood batch stays very small as this species is such a finicky eater. 

Still my least favorite ant species by far. 

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#26 Offline westhollywoodant - Posted August 10 2022 - 8:56 AM

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Colony is doing alright. They are such a messy colony, moved again to clean out the other identical formicarium I have been keeping them in, at least for as messy as they are they are very easy to move.

I want to make a vivarium and add them to it. I feel with the behavior and lifestyle and soil natural setup would be best for them. 

But for now they seem happy being merged and up to about 40 workers or so. Brood pile staying minimal since they are so tricky to feed. 

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Edited by westhollywoodant, August 10 2022 - 8:57 AM.


#27 Offline AsdinAnts - Posted January 26 2024 - 10:23 PM

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is that an alate larvae? (female)
edit: nvm js saw that this user is no longer active, please ignore.

Edited by AsdinAnts, January 26 2024 - 10:23 PM.


#28 Offline ReignofRage - Posted February 8 2024 - 1:27 AM

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And what was the point in moving this to Sanbox? Even though Westhollywoodant is banned, it doesn't mean their mature and relevant content should be hidden away.







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: aphaenogaster, colony, myrmecology

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