23rd March 2022

It's been nearly a month with no updates...

Camponotus parius (1Q, 200W)

They have stopped putting brood in the outworld. The larvae have also begun to spin cocoons.

Can't wait for all those to become workers.

Camponotus turkestanus (1Q, 30W)

Cocoons have started to pop up due to warmer temperature. I have yet to see any eggs but those should appear soon. 

Camponotus lianghuang (1Q, 100W)

I literally cannot get any good pics of them 

They have been getting more workers tho so that is great. 

Cataulacus granulatus (1Q, 15W)

Two more workers came but one worker died today when I checked on them. There is less brood than I wanted so that's not very good.

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (1Q, 1W)

Two new cocoons and three new larvae. Very good. 

Gnamtogenys bicolor (30W)

More brood seemed to have shown up. Some cocoons also formed.

I was surprised to see a new worker appearing too. This colony should be able to bounce back.

Camponotus nicobarensis (2Q, 2Q)

Some new additions. Reminded me of 2020 when I first started ant keeping. My first colony was one of these guys and they escaped. Currently I have two pairs of founding queens so let's see how they do. 

Paratopula sp. (1Q) (Queens 8-9mm, Workers 5-6mm)

I saved the best for last. This is my main target for 2022. Excited to raise her up to a colony.

Not sure if she is P. bauhinia or P. ceylonica. I should be able to find out when I get workers.

10th April 2022

The ants are growing... right?

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 20W)

They didn't very well in that nest I made them so I moved them to a tube setup. Now only half the population remain. 

Camponotus lasiselene (1Q, 2W)

The only Camponotus species that is not growing. Larvae still remain the same size after 2 months. Don't know when will new workers arrive.

Camponotus irritans (1Q, 100W)

All the small larvae from before have became cocoons. There are also a lot of small larvae around. 

I took these photo after I gave them sugar water and the workers' gasters are transparent. 

Colobopsis minus (1Q, 40W)

Been growing very nicely. Lots of brood and a major pupa. 

Colobopsis sp. (1Q, 50W)

The smaller species of Colobopsis has also been growing well. They have a few more major larvae compared to their larger sisters.

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 3W)

Time has not been kind to them. Half of the workers died and even more alates died. They have gotten 2 cocoons recently so I am not too worried.

Harpegnathos venator (1Q, 40W)

They are making alates! Four female alates and four males. Here are two of them. 

Queen has been productive. There are no big larvae now but there are some small larvae with the eggs. 

Dilobocondyla fouqueti (Queens 7mm, workers 6-7mm) (1Q)

An exciting find. This species is an arboreal myrmicinae with a red thorax. Their petiole and post-petiole is thin enough to rival Tetraponera and Paratopula.

I have kept this species before which ended in failure. This queen is happy to lay eggs and not eat them. We shall see if "Dibs ant" perform her task well. (yes Dibs ant is her nickname)

Your Dilobocondyla reminded me of that one time when I found one and decided to release it because I thought she was infertile and I'm running out of test tubes for more queens (I didn't even find more after that)

And hopefully your Paratopula won't be as stubborn as mine when she was founding. Good luck!

20/4/2022

Mostly Ponerinae this time...

Odontoponera denticulata (1Q, 80W)

Moved them to this new gypsum nest with 2 water towers. This nest can provide enough humidity for them.

They have a lot of medium larvae and I have given them more food.

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2020 (1Q, 40W)

They got the same treatment as the Odontoponera, but they don't really want to move. They turned this gypsum nest into a garbage place/ toilet.

They have kept growing and produced some males. Oddly there were two males before and one got killed while the other got kicked out. Not something I expect to happen.

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (1Q, 3W)

Finally have 3 worker. No larvae yet but a good pile of eggs.

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 8W)

Not doing good. There are eggs but they are not hatching. I might have to move them to a test tube.

Polyrhachis demangei (1Q, 10W)

Two workers have died since last update but they have been growing nicely. They have weaved the nest completely so I can only take a pic of their brood.

Camponotus vitious (2Q, 100W)

They pulled a lot of cotton and covered the front of the tube. Slightly harder to feed them because the food might slide down to the tube. The two queens still here.

Paratopula bauhinia (1Q)

She laid 2 eggs but ate them because her tube had mold. The new tube had a cotton water plug. She put cotton all over the wood insert which probably gives her better security. The worst part is that she doesn't eat any protein item. Red runner, dubia, cricket and mealworm, no luck. Before she still likes dubia now she just ignores it. 

Hopefully, and I mean Hopefully, she will eat protein again and lay more eggs. 

Beautiful species. What are you using for a camera?

Paratopula absolutely love to pile their test tube with cotton fibres, the foundding queens are also very picky. I find that with some time the queens would start accepting protein again.

Beautiful species. What are you using for a camera?

I use my phone to take all the photos. Not using any macro lens.

Paratopula absolutely love to pile their test tube with cotton fibres, the foundding queens are also very picky. I find that with some time the queens would start accepting protein again.

Thanks for telling me. I was worried when it started refusing protein. Today I gave her some dubia and she ate a slight bit lol
Hope she can accept protein soon.

29th April 2022

It's nearing May already...

Anochetus risii (1Q) (Queens 8 mm, Workers 6-7mm)

My friend found this queen actually. I traded some Cataulacus for it. Anochetus is one of my targets for the year. Really happy to receive her.

She laid 1 egg and I certainly hope she lays more.

Dilobocondyla fouqueti (1Q)

Not the most recent pic as she was smart to cover her brood with tin foil food tray today but the brood is around the same. She has 1 big larva and a good pile of eggs.

This hire has been willing the perform her task, unlike a certain old hire who never did her task. (raise workers)

Camponotus nicobarensis 1 and 2 (2 queens, around 10 workers)

Both founding pairs got workers now. 

This is pair 1.

Pair 2.

Camponotus lianghuang (1Q, 100W)

Their foraging area is super gross and filled with dead bodies. 

I bought some plastic containers for new nest and I will probably make one for them. No more terrible photo of them. 

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 3W)

They actually ate their old batch of eggs. This pile is new. They also made 2 males instead of workers. ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I mean they had 1 more cocoon but it disappeared today somehow. 

Cataulacus granulatus (1Q, 21W)

Don't have much pupae yet but there are quite a lot of larvae.

Drinking sugar water.

Paratopula bauhinia (1Q, 1Q, 2Q)

After the first catch I went back to catch some more. Now I have 4 queens with 2 single queens and 1 founding pair. The single queens have laid eggs which is great.

This is the first queen I caught with 2 eggs. (you have to live though my gross hand i am sorry)

Second queen with one of her antennae wounded with 1 egg.

Third and forth queen pair with no eggs and don't like protein. (ohno)

I will probably not update them for a while as they have been updated a lot.

6th May 2022

It's 9pm as I am writing this, so Good Evening...

Camponotus parius (1Q, 250W)

Around half of the pupae have became workers and I can see some light coloured ants moving around in the nest. Still a lot of pupae to go through tho.

A problem with this vertical nest that I didn't quite see coming is that I can't really see the queen much. She usually hangs upside down at the lowest chamber. I would probably make a flat Ytong nest for them when they need an expansion. Here is a major with a very pic gaster.

Colobopsis minus (1Q, 50W)

Moved them today. Their old tube flooded for some reason and I see they actually put garbage between the brood pile and the entrance. Trash plus water equals bad. The queen wasn't at the brood pile instead she stood by the entrance which made me slightly worried too. This photo is taken after I plugged their cork entrance into the new tube.

Here is them after they have settled. All of them bunched up next to the entrance probably because the queen is there.

Colobopsis sp. (1Q, 50W)

A number of majors have been made. Here you see 1 newly awaken major and 2 major pupae at the back. These Colobopsis make majors in a wave, while minus just makes majors one by one. 

Gnamptogenys bicolor (40W)

Should I be calling them Stictoponera bicolor now? I think so.

Stictoponera bicolor (40W)

They made a few males which is fine, workers are still being made so the gamergate should still be here, I hope. 

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (1Q, 3W)

Queen has laid a lot more eggs and 2 larvae appeared. The single cocoon hasn't hatched yet. 

Odontoponera denticulata 2022 (1Q)

Single queen caught 3 days ago. Since the old Odontoponera colony isn't doing too well she might replace them if she successfully raise a colony herself.

I made this small nest+foraging area set up for her. Plugged up the entrance so she marks that part as the nest. (ignore my hand)

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 20W)

Slowly making a comeback. Got a decent number of pupae and larvae. They should get back to the old number in 3 months.

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 7W)

I literally just threw them in this dirt setup and have them dig. They have some small larvae when they moved here. 

Sometimes a worker would stay on the surface and put her face in the soil. I say she is just terrified. 

13th May 2022

It has been raining for like 3 days straight...

Paratopula bauhinia (1Qx4)

I separated the pair so now I basically have 4 queens.

These are the two queens from that pair. Both don't have any eggs.

The first caught queen ate half her eggs and now she has 4 or 5 eggs.

Most surprisingly, the queen with the damaged antenna has the most eggs, sitting at 15. Bless her. (condensation in tube so bad view)

Camponotus irritans (1Q, 200W)

They need rehouse soon. They have grown a lot that the workers have filled all space and there are a lot to come.

The queen has been very busy as I can see 4 workers carrying egg piles.

Camonotus vitiosus (2Q, 30W)

A big die off happened. I only noticed this a few days ago that a lot of the workers are gone. I will probably change their tube tomorrow as their tube water is somehow yellow.

Polyrhachis demangei (1Q, 10W)

I don't think I have updated them in a while. They have been slowly growing in the background. Here is some workers eating a mealworm.

It's really painful to not get a good picture of their brood. They weaved up the entire place. Here are some larvae and the queen next to them.

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2020 (1Q, 40W

Getting packed in there. 

I have prepared a new nest for them so no more cloudy view of these ants.

Harpegnathos venator (1Q, 40W)

Moved to this big plaster nest. This is a 10x10 cm plaster nest with hydration at the bottom.

The females alates dropped their wings so I can't really tell who is the queen. I think this ant at the corner is the queen with her extra long gaster.

Odontoponera denticulata 2020 (1Q, 75W)

Uhhhhhhh.....

We will ignore that.

This is the new nest. A bigger nest than the harp one (12x12cm)

Hope the starving larvae situation will actually stop as that continues to happen even when they had the gypsum nest.

The rain had triggered a big Odontoponera flight to occur but I didn't catch any as I already have a new queen that I brood boosted with the 2020 colony. There should be some other ants that fly so I will be going hunting after the rain stops for a bit...

 

Beautiful species. What are you using for a camera?

I use my phone to take all the photos. Not using any macro lens.

 

What phone do you have!?

 

 

Beautiful species. What are you using for a camera?

I use my phone to take all the photos. Not using any macro lens.

 

What phone do you have!?

 

A MI 8 Lite, from 2018. 

23rd May 2022

I AM LATE AHHHHHHH

Anochetus risii (1Q)

Not much has really happened with her, she just laid some eggs and ate all of them. I think I will move her to a new setup that is similar to the 2022 Odontoponera queen.

These ants actually form their nest chamber like a hamburger, with a round shape at first and make two more chambers above or below their first chamber.

Dilobocondyla fouqueti (1Q)

She seemed to have stopped laying eggs and instead focus on the three big larvae she has.(one is under the foil) One of the pupa is darkening and she will soon have a worker. Exciting!

Camponotus nicobarensis (2Q, 10W)x2

It was getting very difficult to feed them as the workers kept bolting out. I accidentally killed a few workers because of that. By the time I am writing this they have their foraging arena in place so no more workers getting crushed by me.

(This one is not working so scroll down)

I am not sure which is pair 1 and pair 2. I think the one with queens that stay at the sponge is pair 1 and the ones that stay at the middle of the tube is pair 2.

Camponotus irritans (1Q, 200W)

From the last update I said they would get a new nest. Here it is.

Now I can see all the larvae super clearly and there is a lot of tiny larvae.

Camponotus lianghuang (1Q, 100W)

As I promised, no more terrible photos of them. Here is them with their brood pile and the queen at the back.

They are given this round plaster nest with a square outworld. Plaster to give them better humidity.

Myrmoteras binghamii (1Q, 3W)

They got this nest which is the same as the one which 2022 Odontoponera queen has. You can see a good pile of eggs and a small larva below the large larva. The big larva is now forming a cocoon so I hope it works out for it.

Cataulacus granulatus (1Q, 12W)

8 worker died... I know the reason of 4. The other 4 is could only guess. I fed crickets and those might have has diseases on them. The larvae haven't really grow. Now I would be feeding roaches only and see how it goes. 

One interesting thing is one worker hasn't darken even after a month. It just has a bronze colour. 

With the poisonous crickets it actually took down two of my colonies. Camponotus vitiosus and Colobopsis sp. are gone. Queens and workers all died and I noticed it too late. Those crickets also seem to have affected some other ants as their larvae didn't grow during this period. I will feed these colonies dubia roaches from now on until I see some recovery.

Bad disease crickets!

29th May 2022

School is chopping me up nicely...

Camponotus lasiselene (1Q, 2W)

I have been sort of ignoring them for the month to see if they will do better with less disturbances. It didn't work. They have less larvae now and the remaining larvae are still the same size. 

Not quite sure what I will do with them now. They have been like this for half the year.

Colobopsis minus (1Q, 60W)

They successfully made their tube gross within the month. They do have the issue of not growing larvae after the crickets. Workers are not dying which is good. 

Camponotus turkestanus (1Q, 30W)

After keeping them for a year I still don't know what I am doing with them. They don't seem to actually grow as in gaining workers but they still have a pile of cocoons waiting to eclose and a whole lot of plump larvae.

Queen seems to not have laid much eggs as I don't see much eggs these days. 

Ectomomyrmex astutus (1Q, 5W)

The colony in the dirt setup. With me not seeing much of them they did a lot better.

I looked into the hole and I do see 3 larvae and a cocoon. I think I should give them more food now. Here you see the hole. The white thing in it is one of the larvae.

Odontoponera denticulata 2022 (1Q)

During the rehousing of the 2020 colony I took some brood from them to brood boost this queen. She took them in immediately and have been raising them well. Not sure when they will become cocoons as they are still mid size.

Pseudoneoponera rufipes 2021 (1Q, 4W)

They got some larvae 2 or 3 weeks ago and one is already a cocoon. The second one should be near pupation as well. Their setup cover is really dirty so doesn't offer great clarity. 

Harpegnathos venator (1Q, 40W)

The cocoons eclosed and they were males... Now there are three males in the nest.

I am worried about them as all the eggs didn't even hatch. I have no idea what is causing this. I uped the humidity and still no larvae. It is getting hot here so temperature is not the issue.

Queen still pumping eggs out however. Here she is holding one.

Tetraponera allaborans (1Q, 20W)

Much worker death occurred but they don't seem to have the larvae not growing issue. They do have some pupa but it will be some time before they fully recover.

I will still try to update once of week although it will not be on Friday every time. School has resumed to its full time and I am getting really busy with way less time on my hand. Next week I have one extra day holiday and it might rain so I will try to find Carebara castanea and keep them again. 

Right this is a small update of things
I have been extremely busy with life and school that I don't really have time to update anymore, and if I have some spare time I can't even get myself up for a full update.
The ant poisoning situation is still happening. Queen not laying eggs, brood not developing and workers dying. C.minus, Cataulacus, Dilobocondyla, C.irritans and more have all suffered the poisoning and I also noticed C.parius not getting many cocoons.

It is likely that I won't be updating anytime soon as exams and preparation for Year 11 comes down on me. 

I want to thank all of you who read and follow this journal, I am really happy that I get the chance to share my ants to all of you.

This is the end for this chapter of the journal. Bye!