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Ants4fun's Ants and Stuff... (5-6-2020)

south dakota pogonomyrmex occidentalis camponotus pennsylvanicus

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#21 Offline ANTdrew - Posted February 15 2020 - 1:22 PM

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Excellent! I think most ants do best in natural soil set ups, visibility be damned. I’m going to copy your design someday.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#22 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted February 15 2020 - 5:54 PM

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It really seems so. At least, i have found, they seem to grow faster in substrate. 


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)


#23 Offline AntsDakota - Posted February 15 2020 - 7:29 PM

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I don't really see how that's possible. Perhaps it seems that way because they do better in general.


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#24 Offline Ants4fun - Posted February 15 2020 - 7:53 PM

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I don't really see how that's possible. Perhaps it seems that way because they do better in general.


It’s certainly possible. I did a test on it a while back with 100 Lasius neoniger queens. The ones in soil setups got more workers faster than any other queen. Ants a specially adapted for their soil environment, so it makes sense they would do better in it.

#25 Offline AntsDakota - Posted February 15 2020 - 7:54 PM

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Perhaps, but I still have no idea why.  :lol:


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#26 Offline ANTdrew - Posted February 16 2020 - 5:46 AM

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Perhaps, but I still have no idea why. :lol:

I think in soil the ants have more darkness and less vibrations, which reduce stress. Hydration is more natural without condensation, for example, and there are probably beneficial aspects of the soil micro-biome that we hardly understand.
The Tetramorium I put in a dirt box last May grew so much that I can’t even handle them anymore.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#27 Offline AntsDakota - Posted February 16 2020 - 6:17 AM

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There's so much we don't understand about even the most basic and well known species.  :)


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"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#28 Offline Ants4fun - Posted February 25 2020 - 8:06 PM

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Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

 

8B1B95B5 EB0B 442F B438 D58AE7E90DEA

 

This colony loves their new setup. They have been consuming a bunch of seeds and insects. I feed them from this jar I got at petsmart - all living things dried insects for bearded dragons. Here's a worker eating a grasshopper:

 

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They have expanded their tunnels a lot, but haven't been able to get too good of pictures. The queen has gone berserk laying eggs. I estimate there are several hundred eggs laid. Within a couple weeks, the tunnels should be full of brood. One of my favorite things about this colony and setup is how low maintenance it is. Since making it, the soil has remained moist, and I haven't had to fill the water chamber. Also, because of their diet, they can easily go weeks without food, relying on seeds.

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One interesting thing they do is close up their nest every night. You can see how one unfortunate worker got 'locked out' and has to spend the night outside the nest.

 

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Camponotus pennsylvanicus

 

As it turns out, one queen I thought had died survived. I unfortunately gave her workers and brood to another queen. She has laid 3 eggs, however, and if she survives until spring, I might give her some brood from a wild colony.

 

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Also, some quick pictures of my Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula:
 
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Edited by Ants4fun, February 25 2020 - 9:09 PM.

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#29 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted February 26 2020 - 9:55 AM

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Ahhhh. Your pogonomyrmex colony reminds me of my old Myrmica americana colony... RIP :*(


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)


#30 Offline Thunder_Birds - Posted February 26 2020 - 11:58 AM

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Awe:( Sorry man. 


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#31 Offline Ants4fun - Posted March 10 2020 - 9:29 AM

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Not exactly a journal update, but an update nonetheless. Went down to Las Vegas area this past week. It was surprisingly quiet, probably because it was low 60's. I still found some ants on some hikes though.

 

Here is what I believe to be Veromessor pergandei:

 

Veromesorpergandei2

 

Probably Solenopsis xyloni:

 

IMG 5271 (2)
 
IMG 5360 (2)
 

And last, and also least, Monomorium ergatogyna:

 

IMG 5593 (2)
 
IMG 5562 (2)
 
IMG 5503 (2)
 

That's all for this week, but should have some more exciting updates next week.


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#32 Offline Thunder_Birds - Posted March 10 2020 - 9:31 AM

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Awesome! Those are some great pictures too!


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#33 Offline AntsDakota - Posted March 10 2020 - 12:32 PM

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Nice! Only thing you can see in Phoenix is Dorymyrmex bicolor and Brachymyrmex patagonicus.
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"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#34 Offline Ants4fun - Posted March 26 2020 - 4:53 AM

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Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

 

This colony has exploded in growth. Unfortunately, I left the cover off the vase a while, and they covered all their tunnels. So, with having plenty of time on my hands because of the coronavirus outbreak, I decided to move them. I bought 2 grotubes from Kevin here on the forum. I dumped their vase into a large aquarium with a lamp over them to dry out the soil. They moved into test tubes. Then, I moved them into a grotube with a large outworld. I love the visibility of this formicarium, and from starting the journal with just the queen and some adopted workers, they have probably doubled in size with a large amount of brood. I estimate there are around 150-250 workers.

 

PogosOcc1
PogosOcc4
PogosOcc7

 


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#35 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted March 26 2020 - 5:57 AM

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holly mother of brood!


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#36 Offline ANTdrew - Posted March 26 2020 - 6:32 AM

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Awesome. I bought the ditshacks from Kevin. Lol
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#37 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted March 26 2020 - 7:08 AM

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Stunning photos! Your Pogonomyrmex seem to be doing great too.


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#38 Offline AntsDakota - Posted March 26 2020 - 1:03 PM

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Remember- most of the workers are South Dakota born.
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"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#39 Offline Thunder_Birds - Posted March 26 2020 - 1:24 PM

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holly mother of brood!

I'll say! Nice colony!


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#40 Offline AntsDakota - Posted March 26 2020 - 2:32 PM

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What type of formicarium is that? Is it homemade?
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"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version






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