Hey, y'all!

I've finally collected a colony of this elusive genus! Not the larger Proceratium chickasaw or Proceratium pergandei I have been hoping for, but it's a great start! I flipped over a fairly large rotting pine log and broke it open to reveal the mature Camponotus chromaiodes colony inside, from which I was going to gather some brood for my C. pennsylvanicus as they aren't doing as well as I'd hoped. After looking through the log for a bit I noticed several Proceratium workers and a few dozen tiny larvae in a small chamber off to the left of the C. chromaiodes colony's galleries. The wood was soft and fairly moist, so I carefully cut out that chamber with my knife and placed it in a damp collection container I always have on hand when I think I might find cryptics. After searching for a few minutes, carefully scanning that portion of the log I saw another piece of wood where a larger individual and several larvae were tucked in a corner. That larger individual turned out to be the queen and I cannot believe that she wasn't lost when I broke open the log like that. I put her in a snap cap vial with the larvae and what few spider eggs they had and removed wood until I found the rest of the workers and brood and aspirated them up. In total I was able to collect about 40 workers, a single dealate queen and a few dozen larvae and spider eggs. 

Here's a terrible picture from before I dumped the workers from the aspirator in with the queen: 

I'm so jealous! Good job finding them!

I'm so jealous! Good job finding them!

Thanks! It was definitely a very proud moment.

Good luck feeding them!!

Good luck feeding them!!

Ah yes... The spider eggs. I was wondering where he'd get those in the first place as a constant source.

I've found that in my experience, P. crassicorne do not exclusively eat spider eggs, but will also readily accept other small, soft bodied soil arthropods like springtails. Good luck with this colony, you are one of few to have ever kept them in captivity.

Good luck feeding them!!

Haha, thanks!

As Antkeeper014 stated, springtails and booklice are going to be my main priority at the moment. In addition to some soil centipede eggs, this colony seems to be also interested in prekilled baby (~3mm) mealworms so far.

Edited by TennesseeAnts, April 17 2022 - 12:00 PM.

Update: 4/17/22

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture: 

I feel like these ants are waaaaaaaay out of my league but still want em good luck!

I feel like these ants are waaaaaaaay out of my league but still want em good luck!

Thank you! 

They can be pretty challenging for sure, but I believe the most difficult aspect of their care is their unique diet.

Update: 4/17/22

 

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture: 

 

I highly recommend trying different commonly kept ant species as an egg source.  Please make notes and keep good data on what are accepted.  If we can expand on food options then perhaps this genus will become more commonly kept since in reality many of its species are very common if one knows where to look.

My goal is to keep Proceratium silaceum to try and find out more about what these ants do underground and if they do have a larger variety of food, they take besides spider eggs then that's great news so I wouldn't have to work with creepy crawlies...

Update: 4/17/22

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture:

I highly recommend trying different commonly kept ant species as an egg source. Please make notes and keep good data on what are accepted. If we can expand on food options then perhaps this genus will become more commonly kept since in reality many of its species are very common if one knows where to look.

Update: 4/17/22

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture:

I highly recommend trying different commonly kept ant species as an egg source. Please make notes and keep good data on what are accepted. If we can expand on food options then perhaps this genus will become more commonly kept since in reality many of its species are very common if one knows where to look.

 

 

Update: 4/17/22

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture:

I highly recommend trying different commonly kept ant species as an egg source. Please make notes and keep good data on what are accepted. If we can expand on food options then perhaps this genus will become more commonly kept since in reality many of its species are very common if one knows where to look.

I'll be sure to keep note of everything they show interest in. They've eaten a good dozen or so eggs already and the rest are being stored away in their nest.

 

Update: 4/17/22

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture:

I highly recommend trying different commonly kept ant species as an egg source. Please make notes and keep good data on what are accepted. If we can expand on food options then perhaps this genus will become more commonly kept since in reality many of its species are very common if one knows where to look.

I'll be sure to keep note of everything they show interest in. They've eaten a good dozen or so eggs already and the rest are being stored away in their nest.

 

how big do you think this colony will get?

Update: 4/17/22

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture:

I highly recommend trying different commonly kept ant species as an egg source. Please make notes and keep good data on what are accepted. If we can expand on food options then perhaps this genus will become more commonly kept since in reality many of its species are very common if one knows where to look.

I'll be sure to keep note of everything they show interest in. They've eaten a good dozen or so eggs already and the rest are being stored away in their nest.

Update: 4/17/22

The colony continues to do well and has settled in nicely to their new home. They've been very accepting of virtually all egg offerings, but their favorite so far has been eggs of wild Formica subsericea colonies. You can see some workers collecting said eggs in this picture:

I highly recommend trying different commonly kept ant species as an egg source. Please make notes and keep good data on what are accepted. If we can expand on food options then perhaps this genus will become more commonly kept since in reality many of its species are very common if one knows where to look.

I'll be sure to keep note of everything they show interest in. They've eaten a good dozen or so eggs already and the rest are being stored away in their nest.

how big do you think this colony will get?