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Antmaniac's Polyrhachis Sp.


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24 replies to this topic

#1 Offline antmaniac - Posted February 18 2015 - 5:42 AM

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Introduction: The Queen

5/12/2014


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#2 Offline antmaniac - Posted February 18 2015 - 5:55 AM

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From eggs to cocoons

20/12/2014

 

18/1/2015

 

27/1/2015

 

9/2/2015

 

13/2/2015

 

17/2/2015


Edited by antmaniac, February 19 2015 - 12:21 AM.


#3 Offline Jonathan21700 - Posted February 18 2015 - 7:26 AM

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Polyrhachis are an amazing genus ! Good luck ! :)



#4 Offline antmaniac - Posted February 18 2015 - 6:14 PM

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Indeed, the queen is so unsettle, unlike other queens. Also a bit too alert, always runs away when I look closely, make photographing extra difficult.



#5 Offline antmaniac - Posted February 27 2015 - 7:15 AM

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27/2/2015

Nothing dramatic happens really, other than another chubby larva, the colony is developing nicely. The queen is still running around. Once a while I dip a paper in honey and feed to her and she seems be loving it. Occasionally, I also put in mosquito, which she had a good meal out of it too.

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#6 Offline Jonathan21700 - Posted February 27 2015 - 2:17 PM

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The pupae look close to turning into an adult worker. :)


Edited by Jonathan21700, February 28 2015 - 12:24 PM.


#7 Offline antmaniac - Posted February 28 2015 - 4:36 PM

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The pupae look close to turning into an adult worker. :)

It appears so, I am going to finish building the formicarium today and hopefully she would like it.



#8 Offline antmaniac - Posted February 28 2015 - 11:43 PM

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1/3/2015

So I made a formicarium. All of a sudden, there is a big thunderstorm with strong gust. I guess it is a test of my formicarium. This queen is very agitated, keep running out. Not sure if it is due to the thunderstorm or due to the new nest or both. Anyway, I have block the entrance for time being and hopefully she will get comfort in this new home after a while. The speed of this queen is super fast and she really enjoy going outside instead of hiding deep in the chamber. In future if she ever escapes, I may just use this formicarium for other ants instead.

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#9 Offline Jonathan21700 - Posted March 1 2015 - 12:15 PM

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Isn't it too big for her? Maybe you should make a smaller one.



#10 Offline antmaniac - Posted March 1 2015 - 3:08 PM

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No really. I think it really depends on the species of the ants. Some ants just like to stay inside the nest all the time. This species, however, would run around non-stop. I actually put the queen and brood in the furthest chamber from the entrance, but this did not deter the queen from running to the outside. I had to put the queen back at least 5 times, she just too fast. She can go back and forth in like seconds. I would agree if it is other species then it would be too big or I may have to put them near the entrance of the formicarium for better foraging, such as my Pheidole Sp. 



#11 Offline dspdrew - Posted March 1 2015 - 4:46 PM

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I think the issue with a formicarium being too large is that the colony will only utilize a relatively small section of it, leaving the rest of it open for becoming their trash dump, and when that happens, you might start to have mold growing inside the nest.


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#12 Offline antmaniac - Posted March 2 2015 - 1:10 AM

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That is true. I had that issue with my Pheidole Sp. Although they removed the trash dump outside afterward. I am planning to limit the food supply and provide honey instead. On another hand, the queen has been busy trying to dig through ytong, she is quite difficult to keep.



#13 Offline antmaniac - Posted March 4 2015 - 1:46 AM

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4/3/2015

My solution to the dust prevention.

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Outworld, the entrance has been blocked by a green rubber band. The queen ate a mosquito today. I will open up the entrance once the workers are eclose and put the honey in the outworld. 

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The workers still have not eclose.

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#14 Offline antmaniac - Posted March 14 2015 - 2:58 PM

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14/3/2015

The first nanitic worker, looks like a mini version of the queen. At first I thought they were dead as I was quite surprised that the queen is not longer running around, but cuddled with the nanitic. They have dumped the cocoon shell in the gap between the cover and the brick, which is fine. However, another downfall can be seen in this photo, a larva has stuck in the gap. This is due to the vertical design of the formicarium and I am afraid that eggs may fall in there too.

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#15 Offline antmaniac - Posted March 14 2015 - 10:39 PM

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15/3/2015

Second nanitic worker has also eclose overnight. Furthermore, I discovered that there is water build up in the outworld. I suspect it is due to the condensation, which made the honey watery.

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Edited by antmaniac, March 14 2015 - 10:59 PM.

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#16 Offline Jonathan21700 - Posted March 15 2015 - 1:25 PM

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Congratulations!



#17 Offline Ra3MaN - Posted March 15 2015 - 2:03 PM

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...which made the honey watery.

 

I suggest you look into making a feeder...  that should prevent anything happening to you liquid feed and you won't need to attend to/desturb them as much...


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#18 Offline antmaniac - Posted March 16 2015 - 1:41 AM

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@Jonathan21700 Thank you.

 

@Ra3MaN Thanks for the advise, it could be a good suggestion, especially there is a thread of step by step guide on the feeder making. I find they are very useful indeed, providing both sugar and water need. It is definitely a golden learning material for me. I may take a close look later and see how I can make something similar using the resource available around me.

 

How I store my honey is, I use the small straw (The same white one use to hold the dust prevention bag, which I got plenty from...Yakult, a fermented milk drink.) filled with honey and chop up into a smaller section. I am not too keen with honey diluted in water, as I find that they get moldy. If just honey, it does not get mold and can last for a extremely long time. This seems be working quite well as long as there is no water nearby, I may show you the one I used in my Camponotus Sp.

 

One property of honey is that it attracts water, or hygroscopy as scientist call them. So when unsealed, it will attract moisture from the air. The condensation probably due to the recent rain and I have consider cut out holes at bottom of the outworld to drain out the water. On my second thought, I decided not to. Because based on my previous experience of the Pheidole Sp, I think that the condensation can also be a good water reserve on dry days, which is a more common climate in Australia.

 

I actually wouldn't disturb them too much, as the outworld is a separated container. This formicarium has been secured very well and wouldn't shake when I open up the outworld lid.


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#19 Offline antmaniac - Posted March 18 2015 - 1:34 AM

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18/3/2015

I was quite surprised to find the honey all gone today. However, on second thought, it maybe other ants around. So, later tonight I went out and checked and there they are, lots small black ants around. I took out the honey and fingers cross that those black ants wouldn't find the queen and her brood. Now I need to find a way to construct a moat around the formicarium. 


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#20 Offline Ra3MaN - Posted March 18 2015 - 6:36 AM

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I also fear that some of the other, more established ant colonies around my place will get into my formacarium.  :yes: I have small ventalation holes that smaller ants could find. 


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