This will be the start of my Odontomachus journal. It is an unidentified species, 90% O. ruginodis. Out of 30+ queens, this queen is one of the most successful.

July 24th, 2022

These queens seem to be outcompeted by the also invasive O. Haematodes, likely due to their larger size. She is currently housed in a 27mm test tube, half with dry substrate, a cork divider allowing her to pass though, and a thick layer of moist sand. The queen seem to not dig in wet sand for quite a while, preferring dirt with sticks and leaves. It took this queen 2 weeks to start a small chamber in the dark.

Queen has some chubby larvae. This queen seems to prefer small prey in big numbers, rather than big prey in small numbers. She quite enjoys termites and flies in batches of 2-5.

If anyone has any name suggestions, let me know!

A basic shot of a queen
[attachment=12689:33ED7CE0-CCBB-40BF-A98E-D744D6694CCA.jpeg]
Founding chamber and a first or second instar larvae(Queen in photo)
[attachment=12693:9EFAA917-635C-4D01-B50D-499907EED89C.jpeg]
More brood
[attachment=12691:2190A98D-5D8F-4AC6-BCE8-0A4A357E6446.jpeg]

Edited by FloridaAnts, July 26 2022 - 4:30 PM.

Wow, this Odontomachus queen seems like she might get a successful colony soon! I wish we had them in Cali, but instead the only ponerine ants we have are Hypoponera.

Wow, this Odontomachus queen seems like she might get a successful colony soon! I wish we had them in Cali, but instead the only ponerine ants we have are Hypoponera.

Glass tubes is the way you get them that far. The only thing is some are really stubborn and eat brood randomly. When she gets pupae, I will not check on her to make it likely she doesn’t eat it. That’s a problem I had with another species.

July 27, 2022

Big news! There is a mature larvae who is currently getting ready to spin a cocoon! I have never seen such a chunky larvae, but I am sorry for missing it. All those pictures were from the 24th of July, so this shows that termites and crickets greatly accelerate brood development. Usually it takes a few more days, but I guess I got lucky. If you look at the founding chamber picture, (second picture), you can see a hallway breaking off into the sand. I saw the chunky larvae once, and the queen decided to whisk it off out of my sight. Trying to take pictures would greatly stress her so I am going to update you verbally, taking pictures when she allows me. I am now heating her at 78F to hopefully speed up development for everyone wanting a good Odontomachus journal.

Edited by FloridaAnts, July 28 2022 - 5:50 AM.

July 27, 2022

Big news! There is a mature larvae who is currently getting ready to spin a cocoon! I have never seen such a chunky larvae, but I am sorry for missing it. All those pictures were from the 24th of July, so this shows that termites and crickets greatly accelerate brood development. Usually it takes a few more days, but I guess I got lucky. If you look at the founding chamber picture, (second picture), you can see a hallway breaking off into the sand. I saw him once, and the queen decided to whisk him off out of my sight. Trying to take pictures would greatly stress her so I am going to update you verbally, taking pictures when she allows me. I am now heating her at 78F to hopefully speed up development for everyone wanting a good Odontomachus journal.

What is this "him" you are talking about? As for brood growth acceleration, it actually has to do with the frequency of feeding instead of what you feed them. The more you feed, the faster they plump up. 

July 27, 2022
Big news! There is a mature larvae who is currently getting ready to spin a cocoon! I have never seen such a chunky larvae, but I am sorry for missing it. All those pictures were from the 24th of July, so this shows that termites and crickets greatly accelerate brood development. Usually it takes a few more days, but I guess I got lucky. If you look at the founding chamber picture, (second picture), you can see a hallway breaking off into the sand. I saw him once, and the queen decided to whisk him off out of my sight. Trying to take pictures would greatly stress her so I am going to update you verbally, taking pictures when she allows me. I am now heating her at 78F to hopefully speed up development for everyone wanting a good Odontomachus journal.

What is this "him" you are talking about? As for brood growth acceleration, it actually has to do with the frequency of feeding instead of what you feed them. The more you feed, the faster they plump up.

Noted. Will see if she accepts a termite a day.

The “him” I am talking about is the larvae she has. I will likely edit it to avoid further confusion and inaccuracy.

Edited by FloridaAnts, July 28 2022 - 5:51 AM.

August 1, 2022

So it turns out, when you make a new test tube setup in a size you have never done before, it’s easy to screw up. This was my first test tube setup in a 27mm tube, so I put two cotton balls. A founding queen without substrate had drowned due to flooding… when I checked on this queen, my fears were confirmed. It flooded. Not as bad as the other queen who drowned, but the sand was pretty waterlogged. The queens little chamber had collapsed from the weight, and no brood was in sight. Quickly, I grabbed an empty tube for the queen, put her in there, and dumped out the tube. The big larvae came to view first. He just fell out, so I separated him. I was most worried about the eggs. Odontomachus seem to lay in batches, so if this batch got lost, the colony would struggle if it made it to early stages. After 20 minutes of shifting through some really wet sand, I was disappointed to only found three larvae… but when dumping water out of the tube, I spotted some long and tan sand… could it be… eggs! I went through the tube debris and found four eggs! I might have drowned one of four, not sure. She is now in a new tube with four cotton balls blocking the water, so hopefully it doesn’t flood this time. If it comes to it I will brood boost her with larvae from another colony.

I am truly sorry for this, so I am going to try my best to get this queen up and going again. If her brood gets eaten, the next update will be tomorrow, if not, in a couple of days.

What has happened to this queen?

What has happened to this queen?

The journal will be switching to another, more successful queen with larger egg batches. This queen has a single cocoon and will likely be sold or kept as a colony for brood boosting queens in need of it.

What has happened to this queen?

The journal will be switching to another, more successful queen with larger egg batches. This queen has a single cocoon and will likely be sold or kept as a colony for brood boosting queens in need of it.

September 27th, 2022](Midnight update)
Returning to the original queen, she has 5-7 eggs, 3 larvae, and a single worker! Can’t believe she made it this far after her original chamber collapsed and she ate most of the brood! Pictures below. You have to appreciate the spiked larvae by now… right?

Edited by FloridaAnts, October 2 2022 - 6:40 PM.

 

 

What has happened to this queen?

The journal will be switching to another, more successful queen with larger egg batches. This queen has a single cocoon and will likely be sold or kept as a colony for brood boosting queens in need of it.

[b]September 27th, 2022](Midnight update)
Returning to the original queen, she has 5-7 eggs, 3 larvae, and a single worker! Can’t believe she made it this far after her original chamber collapsed and she ate most of the brood! Pictures below. You have to appreciate the spiked larvae by now… right?

 

Yes! The larva of this genus is so cool. I keep a small colony of them and you can even see the spikes with just your eye!

What kind of substate did you use?

What kind of substate did you use?

Most recently, play sand, but i recommend reptisoil or something like that that has small sticks and clumps nicely.