665 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Probably well above 1,000, possibly even 2,000.

Edited by ANTdrew, May 14 2020 - 4:35 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Well, they did it again. The Divas chewed a new hole in the hot glue. I need to cover it with something more permanent. Any ideas???

[FeedTheAnts]

Try 100% silicone. You can easily find at Lowes.

[ANTdrew]

Would the fumes of that curing be harmful to them?
I have a tube already. Maybe I’ll plug their escape holes with hot glue, then cover everything with a thick bead of silicone? That will look lovely!

Edited by ANTdrew, May 19 2020 - 2:52 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Video update:
Here is a nice video showing my prize Divas:

https://drive.google...zh-gZynnAGvtj-H

Edited by ANTdrew, May 22 2020 - 10:27 AM.

[Ants_Dakota]

Would the fumes of that curing be harmful to them?
I have a tube already. Maybe I’ll plug their escape holes with hot glue, then cover everything with a thick bead of silicone? That will look lovely!

Silicone does not have any fumes, i think.

[Antkid12]

Video update:
Here is a nice video showing my prize Divas:

https://drive.google...zh-gZynnAGvtj-H

Nice video, They are really swarming!

[ANTdrew]

Thanks, my friend. That’s their resting state now.

[ANTdrew]

Update 5-28-2020

 

With this colony, I've been feeling like the little Dutch boy plugging up the dike lately. On multiple occasions, they've chewed new gaps in the hot glue sealing their glass on the Nucleus III nest, and I've found small numbers of ants wandering outside the formicarium. I went ahead and put a bead of mounting putty all along the seam because I think they cannot chew through it. The holes I plugged with the stuff a month ago have held strong, so I'm cautiously optimistic. It doesn't look the best, but it beats the alternative, that's for sure.

 

In better news, I've been able to really clean their Nucleus outworld thoroughly now because most of the workers are up in the new "desert outpost" and I made one of the DIY aspirators. It's oddly satisfying vacuuming up their crap after watching it pile up for months. The aspirator is super helpful for quickly collecting fugitive ants as well, where in the past I would have just given up.  

 

There's nothing else to report really other than their rampant growth. These girls empty a byFormica mega feeder in under a week now. Will I see alates later this year?? Stay tuned...

 

Edited by ANTdrew, May 28 2020 - 7:11 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Post script:
I finally got to see the Crematogaster cf ashmeadi queen my twin found a few weeks ago today. She’s smaller than my cerasi queens, and I’m happy to report that she’s laid eggs. Pretty pumped for a new species! How long should these take, FTA?

[FeedTheAnts]

Post script:
I finally got to see the Crematogaster cf ashmeadi queen my twin found a few weeks ago today. She’s smaller than my cerasi queens, and I’m happy to report that she’s laid eggs. Pretty pumped for a new species! How long should these take, FTA?

Oh, they're fast. From egg to worker is no more than 4 and a half weeks. A friend of mine raised Queen Valentine for the first month, and when she gave her back then the colony got it's first workers almost immediately. Heat is the key, and larvae will grow infinitely fast if given enough protein. 

[ANTdrew]

Nice! Heat shouldn’t be a problem in his apartment. I’ll max them out on protein once she gets workers and I take her into my custody.

[Canadant]

Drew, any odd things your Cremas like? I'm looking for some different protein ideas. I do crickets and fruit flies mainly. The odd bloodworm soup.

Fish flakes?
Cooked/raw meat?
Fruit doesnt seem to work.

Your colony looking really good. Man I love that outworld. Its huge. My cremas don't seem to be growing as I thought they would.

[ANTdrew]

They've been kind of lukewarm about protein of late, but I feed them a mix of mealworms, dubia roaches, fruit flies, along with wild caught stuff like beetles, spiders, earwigs, and termites. I occasionally will pre-masticate some cooked meats for them and drop a wad in their outworld.

[FeedTheAnts]

They've been kind of lukewarm about protein of late, but I feed them a mix of mealworms, dubia roaches, fruit flies, along with wild caught stuff like beetles, spiders, earwigs, and termites. I occasionally will pre-masticate some cooked meats for them and drop a wad in their outworld.

It's kinda weird, but they enjoy saliva(human). Pre-masticated food sounds like a good idea.

[ANTdrew]

Gross, but true. I may try the bird poop thing too if I find a juicy one.

[ANTdrew]

Photo Update 5-31-2020

There have been no escapes in over 48 hours!

Feeding time:

 

Getting artsy:

 

Filling up the Nucleus III. Note the lovely band of mounting putty. I don't think they can actually chew through this stuff - of course I could be wrong!

[ANTdrew]

Update 6-12-2020

 

I just finished "teaching" my last distance learning class of the year, so summer has officially begun! Some more good news is that there is really nothing to report with my Crematogasters, which means there have been no escapes since I put up the decorative putty band on their Nucleus. The number of foragers up in the desert outpost is pretty amazing sometimes. They all go nuts every time I open the lid. These ants drink water like it's 1999 for some reason, more than any other species I've kept. I have a large byFormica feeder filled with water in the outpost, one in the Nucleus outworld, and a nestmate with water in the Nucleus.

 

I fed them banded crickets for the first time last night, and they crushed them:

[FeedTheAnts]

I hate to admit this, but your colony is probably larger than mine now. The Valentines have had a massive die off in the last week, combined with escapes. They're still huge, but probably not more than 3000 strong now. The worst part is that when they escaped then some rouge workers killed my Formica subsericea colony by entering through the crack in their mini hearth (Cremas could fit through, but not Formica). 

[TennesseeAnts]

I hate to admit this, but your colony is probably larger than mine now. The Valentines have had a massive die off in the last week, combined with escapes. They're still huge, but probably not more than 3000 strong now. The worst part is that when they escaped then some rouge workers killed my Formica subsericea colony by entering through the crack in their mini hearth (Cremas could fit through, but not Formica). 

Oh wow... That sucks....