Update 28/3/22

 

Tetramorium immigrans- This colony really really needs new space they've filled every chamber of the nest to the brim and have started making brood walls in the corner of their small outworld and towers on top of the nest entrance I have never seen this behavior in person although I am creating a new nest for them. I have spent the last four days designing a 3D printed ant nest that I plan to move them into once I print it out I hope it turns out fine because this is my first 3D printed ant nest that I have designed and it is pretty large 15 centimetres wide 4 centimetres thick and 8 centimetres long.  

 

Crematogaster cerasi- This queen got her first pupa, and its not a male!

 

Solenopsis molesta- I won't update these two queens anymore due to them not having any workers and that I don't think they will survive.

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- Two of the four pupa look like they are about to enclose any day now. They have been eating well and the new eggs have become small larvae.  

 

Temnothorax curvispinosus- The queen laid two more eggs. 

 

Prenolepis imparis- My colony eldest colony's queen  (turning two years old in May) has a GIANT gaster to the point where she can barely walk and hang on the cotton. The other colony's queen has a physogastric gaster but not nearly on the level of the eldest queen.  

 

Formica incerta- The first callow of 2022 enclosed today! this means that this colony is up to seventeen workers now.

Lasius brevicornis- They ate their cocoons I won't update them again them until they have nanitics.  

that sucks about the lasius eating their cocoons.

Some ant photos that were supposed to be the 100th post but antsriondel stole that momentous post from me (this is a joke) and yes every chamber in the Tetramorium's nest looks like that:

Update 1/4/22

This update is jam packed with new additions,allow me to introduce you to my new Basiceros manni, Atta laevigata, Nothomyrmecia macrops, Pheidole antipodum and Cephalotes atratus colonies. APRIL FOOLS! Even if I tried I couldn't get my grubby little fingers on the permits required for those ants not to mention many of them are incredibly rare. Now on to the update.  

Tetramorium immigrans- I have finished up my design for the 3D printed ant nest I plan to move them into I will print this nest and move them into it other than this these ants continue to grow and are starting another of their many booms in population as their worker and brood count grow I have continued to feed them and luckily my feeder insect populations are growing and can now compete with the Tetramorium food consumption and all my other colonies food consumption.  

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- Their seed pile is GIANT  it covers half the Mini Hearth this is the largest seed pile they have ever made. Other than this there is nothing to update.

Temnothorax curvispinosus- One of the larvae looks ready to pupate.

Formica incerta- Four more workers enclosed since the last time I updated that puts the worker count to twenty-two. The queen also laid more eggs.

Prenolepis imparis- Nothing new.

Lasius neoniger- Cocoon! This queen got her first cocoon and its not a male!

Edited by ColAnt735, April 1 2022 - 9:07 AM.

Good luck with the neoniger! They can be slow to start but I'd reckon you'll reach 50-100 workers by the end of this year. 

Edit: If not more!

Edited by madbiologist, April 1 2022 - 7:35 AM.

Good luck with the neoniger! They can be slow to start but I'd reckon you'll reach 50-100 workers by the end of this year. 

 

Edit: If not more!

Thanks!

Update 28/3/22

 

Tetramorium immigrans- This colony really really needs new space they've filled every chamber of the nest to the brim and have started making brood walls in the corner of their small outworld and towers on top of the nest entrance I have never seen this behavior in person although I am creating a new nest for them. I have spent the last four days designing a 3D printed ant nest that I plan to move them into once I print it out I hope it turns out fine because this is my first 3D printed ant nest that I have designed and it is pretty large 15 centimetres wide 4 centimetres thick and 8 centimetres long.  

 

Crematogaster cerasi- This queen got her first pupa, and its not a male!

 

Solenopsis molesta- I won't update these two queens anymore due to them not having any workers and that I don't think they will survive.

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- Two of the four pupa look like they are about to enclose any day now. They have been eating well and the new eggs have become small larvae.  

 

Temnothorax curvispinosus- The queen laid two more eggs. 

 

Prenolepis imparis- My colony eldest colony's queen  (turning two years old in May) has a GIANT gaster to the point where she can barely walk and hang on the cotton. The other colony's queen has a physogastric gaster but not nearly on the level of the eldest queen.  

 

Formica incerta- The first callow of 2022 enclosed today! this means that this colony is up to seventeen workers now.

Lasius brevicornis- They ate their cocoons I won't update them again them until they have nanitics.  

Can't wait to see the 3d printed nest. I got an Ender 3 a few weeks ago and have printed a few nests already.

Update 5/4/22

Tetramorium immigrans- I am getting the glass pane that will be covering the 3D printed nest I will post pictures of it when it's completed.I have been feeding them lots of food which they always want despite pretty much every workers gaster being loaded with food, there must be lots of brood underneath the mass of ants that is their nest. I spotted the queen today for the first time in like two weeks which was great but she disappeared before I could get a picture of her.  

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis- I caught this queen laying an egg and watched her slip and fall on the glass. Other than this nothing new has happened.

Temnothorax curvispinosus- Pupa! I want this colony to grow and they are finally granting my wish.  

Crematogaster cerasi- I think you know where this sentence is going its time for WORKERS WELL JUST ONE BUT STILL WORKERS! Crematogaster callows are adorable I can't wait for this colony to grow.  

Prenolepis imparis- Nothing new.  

Formica incerta- Four more workers have enclosed.  

Pictures coming soon!

Edited by ColAnt735, April 5 2022 - 9:55 AM.

The Pogonomyrmex occidentalis queen died. I don't know why she was doing great yesterday but today she is dead.

Update 9/4/22

Tetramorium immigrans-  I am going to have to move them to a new nest and now that I have my 3D printed nest printed (I won't show it yet until it is fully completed) but my parents are putting off getting me the correct dimensions of glass in order for the glass to fit on the nest. I strongly dislike parental excuses. The Tetramorium immigrans colony is doing great with lots of workers and brood  to be honest you know the drill voracity for food, queen lays lots of eggs, and many new callows blah blah blah the usual .

Crematogaster cerasi- I fed them their first meal a drop of sugar water that these two seemed to enjoy the brood pile is pretty large with eight pupa a clutch of eggs and around twenty larvae.

Temnothorax curvispinosus- Hey everyone guess what! There's nothing to update about this very eventful and fun to keep colony, shocking I know.

Prenolepis imparis- Happy Nuptial Day to the younger of my two colonies! Happy Nuptial Day to the younger of my two colonies! Happy Nuptial Day to the younger of my two colonies! Happy Nuptial Day to you! It was today at 11:23 am 2021 that I found this queen scuttling across the sidewalk trying to find the perfect place to call home. 

Formica incerta- More growth and more eggs that literally all I have to say about this colony.

.

Edited by ColAnt735, April 8 2022 - 9:14 PM.

Edited by ColAnt735, April 10 2022 - 7:31 AM.

Update 13/4/22

Tetramorium immigrans- I hooked up an Uncle Milton Ant Farm to their current setup because they are in desperate need of new space and I can't move them into my 3D printed ant nest because my parents keep putting off taking me to the glass store and are making very annoying excuses like "Oh we'll take you next weekend," and " You haven't told us what you want to get." The joys of not having your drivers license.  

Anyway these ants have been doing superb and the continuous stream of new workers and brood is always a sight to see. They are never picky with their food and generally don't make a mess.

Crematogaster cerasi- I fed them a cricket head and some sugar water. The second worker enclosed today my hopes for this colony are sky high.

 Temnothorax curvispinosus- Nothing new.

Lasius neoniger- The first worker enclosed today!

Formica incerta- Nothing new.

Prenolepis imparis- I saved the best for last,I found four Prenolepis imparis queens today! The two main colonies are also doing well but there is nothing to update about them.

Update 17/4/22

Tetramorium immigrans- I got rid of the Uncle Milton Ant Farm and replaced it with a Ants Australia Acrylic Nest because I like Ants Australia nests. This colony continues to grow and I haven't seen the queen in forever. I got even more feeders and now I can easily keep up with their constant demand for food. I want to keep this colony for a long time so fingers crossed she will live a long time. 

Crematogaster cerasi- Two more workers have enclosed since my last update and I watched the queen lay an egg. This is probably my favourite colony as they look really nice and seem to be some of the most chill ants I have. I fed them a chunk of superworm, a cricket head, and quite a bit of sugar water.

Temnothorax curvispinosus- A new worker enclosed today! That puts the colony up to 3 workers. This colony is so eventful and fun.

Prenolepis imparis- The alate in the test tube died but the two other dealates are doing pretty well. Other than this nothing new has happened.

Formica incerta- The brood pile is staying at a pretty consistent size and are up to around thirty workers (these ants are so fast its hard to tell the exact number of workers).

Edited by ColAnt735, April 18 2022 - 8:17 AM.

Update 22/4/22

Tetramorium immigrans- I am running out of interesting thing to say about this colony but today I gave them around 100 fruit flies and they were gone within 20 minutes of me first placing the food in I've been feeding them everyday and they've been growing so much that they already fill up around half of the Ants Australia nest. This colony is a joy to keep and hasn't been problematic but is pretty hard to write about without it sounding similar to earlier updates.

Crematogaster cerasi- Okay so this is a joke that I thought up don't take this seriously:

(Dramatic music) Oh my goodness, my ant colony exploded in population. They are truly massive now numbering well into the single digits! (Dramatic music stops)That's right everyone my ant colony exploded in population and I think they are ready to move into a massive Tar Heel Ants Nucleus. At five workers strong they should be able to fill this formicarium up very quickly. Ready folks? Dumping in the ants, and SUCCESS! The ants are in the new nest and look, that's the queen! I'll see you all in two days to give you an update!

Two days later...

For some reason these ants moved into their water test tube perhaps they are two small for this formicarium. Although it doesn't make any sense as this formicarium is only five by two feet and five 2-3 mm ants and their 7-8 mm queen should fill up a giant portion of this nest. 

The End.

Jokes aside this colony got 2 workers in one day and the brood pile has grown a lot.

Temnothorax curvispinosus- Nothing new.  

Lasius neoniger- WORKER! Welcome to the world, little disappointment of an ant! I know Lasius nanitics are supposed to be small but this worker is the size of my Temnothorax workers. She is TINY.

Formica incerta- The queen laid more eggs.  

Prenolepis imparis- Nothing new.  

Edited by ColAnt735, April 22 2022 - 9:50 AM.

Why do you own three Tetramorium immagrans colonies? Isn't one enough for colonies that grows at 1000 mph? Good luck with feeding them though   

Why do you own three Tetramorium immagrans colonies? Isn't one enough for colonies that grows at 1000 mph? Good luck with feeding them though    

I sold two of them then my friends Tetramorium colonies workers died out so now I have more that I worker boosted. Although I am selling them.

Update 26/4/22

Tetramorium immigrans- Nothing new to update.  

Solenopsis molesta- I brood and worker boosted this colony now they have around thirty workers and a large pile of brood.

Crematogaster cerasi- This colony has seven workers now and a MOUNTAIN of brood. They eat everything I give them and are really laid back ants.

Temnothorax curvispinosus- Nothing new.  

Formica incerta- I moved this colony into a Tar Heel Ants mini hearth. Other than this there is nothing to update.  

Prenolepis imparis- Nothing new.  

Lasius neoniger- Nothing new.  

Lasius brevicornis- Advertisment: https://www.formicul...cornis-journal/

Edited by ColAnt735, April 26 2022 - 7:49 PM.