152 replies to this topic

[Kaelwizard]

Those seem like they are meant for Temnothorax.

[ANTdrew]

Yeah, it's a weird combination of a really small nest with a really big outworld. It'll work for my Monomorium if I give them other test tubes to nest in as well.

[KitsAntVa]

Do you think I should use my mini hearth for the crematogaster instead?

[ANTdrew]

My dual queen colony has really hit their stride now with several hundred workers and a big brood pile. Their cotton was getting really black, so I needed to move them before diapause. I found that this species is pretty stubborn about moving. I did my standard technique of leaving the new tube in for them to explore several days, then I exposed them to sunlight and pulled the lid off their old tube. They still showed no interest in moving, so I just dumped them out the next day. Thankfully all the brood and ants just slid out with none sticking. They finished the move in 20 minutes.

I brought their set up to my parents' cold basement for hibernation now. It will be interesting to see how long I can keep these two queens going and if I can perpetuate the colony by adding in newly mated queens next summer.

[AntsDakota]

I found that this species is pretty stubborn about moving.

I've found this to be true with  Myrmicinaes in the Solenopsidini tribe. My molesta refuse to move unless they are dumped (they don't mind light barely at all), and even then they didn't move into the new test tube for weeks.
 

[Nanos]

Yeah, it's a weird combination of a really small nest with a really big outworld. It'll work for my Monomorium if I give them other test tubes to nest in as well.

 

I have one of my colonies within a test tube in an inception nest. They've been there for a while, probably since last year or early this year, they never moved to the designated nest. They just stayed in the test tube. The tube ran out of water so i provided them with another which they partially moved into but they never completely left the first test tube. guess i'll just have to keep giving them tubes.  

[ANTdrew]

Wow! Wish I’d known that before buying the nest. Seems like dumping them is the only way to move them. They may just be a tub and tube kind of species, though.

[ANTdrew]

My dual queens, Bil and Hjuki, are doing well in diapause. I had a scare, though, because the mini-fridge I had them in for a few weeks turned out to be way too cold - pretty near freezing. When I checked them, they all appeared dead. After warming up a bit, though, they revived, thank God. I’m keeping them in my parents’ basement now in the low ‘50s. I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings for this colony.
I would add extreme cold hardiness to the list of info on this species. That makes sense if their nests are so shallow in the soil.

Edited by ANTdrew, December 12 2020 - 6:08 AM.

[Devi]

Wow.  I just read through this whole journal and am loving it so far.  Nice ants ANTdrew!  I hope to keep these someday.  I love how they look.

[ANTdrew]

Wow. I just read through this whole journal and am loving it so far. Nice ants ANTdrew! I hope to keep these someday. I love how they look.

It would definitely be worth the effort to find these underappreciated little ants.

[Swirlysnowflake]

 

Wow. I just read through this whole journal and am loving it so far. Nice ants ANTdrew! I hope to keep these someday. I love how they look.

It would definitely be worth the effort to find these underappreciated little ants.

 

I once saw a huge colony of these moving across my yard (from one bag of soil to another). I saw 15+ queens and countless workers. However, they've all been killed by prenolepis.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-5-2021 New Season

 

My Monomorium minimum colony made it through diapause. They're ready to kick butt and take down names! A pretty sizable pile of larvae overwintered with them, so they activated right away looking for new protein. They had a big response to some chopped up mealworms last night. I may move these into an Inception Chamber soon. I can't wait to see what 2021 brings for queens Bil and Hjuki.

 

[Kaelwizard]

Wow! I'm glad they are doing so well.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-23-21

 

Ants can be really stupid some times. Yesterday, I discovered that my two queen Monomorium colony had tunneled into their wet cotton and caused a flood in the their tube. Even a little bit of water is really dangerous for such tiny ants, so I had to act quick and do an emergency move. Luckily, I had ordered a THA Inception chamber for them last fall, so I took the plunge and dumped them all in. I used sunlight and airflow, and they scuttled into the nest part very quickly. The full move was done in under an hour. Sadly, a lot of workers and brood were lost to the flood, but the two queens are fine. They look pretty sharp in the nest nest!

 

 

[ANTdrew]

Update 4-2-21

 

I really, really like how this new Inception Chamber is working out for my Monomorium minimum colony. They've been in it about two weeks now and seem to be doing really well. Their brood pile is growing and they are accepting all kinds of feeder insects, some hemp hearts, and a bit of hard boiled egg yolk I gave them yesterday. They'll probably get more eggs in the next few days, I predict.

I've read some posts on this forum about difficulties heating the Inception Chamber without condensation, but I haven't had any issues at all. I'm running a loop of heat cable under one side of the foraging area, and the whole thing heats up into the high 70s-low 80s. There is a lot of foraging space, which is good because these tiny ants are surprisingly bold and energetic explorers. I <3this species and can't wait to try adding in more queens this summer if I find more. 

 

You should be able to make out the two queens here, Bil and Hjuki:

 

Brood and more brood:

 

[Nanos]

This is awesome, i think i'm gonna take my colonies out this weekend or sometime this week (depends on when the mealworms i ordered come). One of my colonies had a die off unfortunately ( i didn't realize they were low on water) but there are still many left. My other colony is doing much better no die offs I'm thinking of getting a heat mat for them (because ANTdrew your colony is growing way faster than mine ever has) recommendations are appreciated.  It also looks like the single queen colony i started also made it so that's great, overall i'm excited to start this season lol.
 

Any one whose colony survive can you post the hibernation temperature you kept them at? I tried to keep mine at 8C (~46F) but i think the lowest it reached was 10C (50F).

[ANTdrew]

Great to see you’re back, Nanos, and ready to kick off the Monomorium mania! I definitely recommend getting a 15 watt heat cable for yours. I use a Zoo Med cable.
As for hibernating, I had mine in a mini-fridge for a few weeks, but that turned out to be way too cold, just slightly above freezing! I pulled them out, and they recovered, at which point I moved them to my parents’ unheated basement that varies between the low 50s to the mid 40s. It’s basically perfect for hibernating ants.

[NicholasP]

Great to see you’re back, Nanos, and ready to kick off the Monomorium mania! I definitely recommend getting a 15 watt heat cable for yours. I use a Zoo Med cable.
As for hibernating, I had mine in a mini-fridge for a few weeks, but that turned out to be way too cold, just slightly above freezing! I pulled them out, and they recovered, at which point I moved them to my parents’ unheated basement that varies between the low 50s to the mid 40s. It’s basically perfect for hibernating ants.

Hey ANTdrew I have a question. How long do Monomorium Minium queens live?

[ANTdrew]

It’s definitely longer than the one year the internet says. I know Nanos has queens older than that, and my queens are getting close to a year old now.

[Antkeeper01]

update?