102 replies to this topic

[SMILEforAnts]

Whatsup guys!

 

@Myrmicinae Yes there are, and that's the reason why I came on to update this journal. About a week and a half ago alate larvae started to pop up around the nest. After the last update, I've had more time to care for them more. And during that time I've been feeding them more than usual.

 

It's funny to think that, looking back at posts, @antmaniac said feeding this colony might be the equivalent to feeding a pet dog.....that's looking to be somewhat true. Maybe a teacup dog or a chihuahua though. They've been eating a lot of chicken pieces, honey, fruit juice, pieces of steak, pieces of fish, lots and lots of crickets and fruit flies. In two days they consume it all, and no pieces left to be found, except for some pieces of chicken that usually ends up dried out.

 

Here's pictures of some of the alate larvae I've taken with my DSLR camera.

 

 

 

 

 

And yeah, when the alates become pupae I'll make sure to come on and update this journal again. I would've wanted to make a video, but those really take time to make and my laptop is due for an upgrade, so making those is really time consuming especially with a slow a$$ computer like I have. I am planning on making one though, kinda like a day in the life of a Pheidole megacephala colony.

[AntTeen804]

Great pictures!

[Ants4fun]

Awesome colony! One of the best journals here!

[Tpro4]

How do you know if it's an alate brood?

[Ants4fun]

As you can see, the larvae are a lot larger than the workers.

[123LordOfAnts123]

As you can see, the larvae are a lot larger than the workers.

And the majors. They're also fairly globular and the larvae have an incredibly tiny head to body ratio. In this species, and probably most Pheidole, you can often tell as soon as after they hatch due to their roundness. Reproductive brood of most species are usually distinguishable from other castes.

[Jonathan21700]

Amazing pictures!

[dermy]

Great Pictures! Can't wait to see them alates!

[SMILEforAnts]

So somewhat of a bad news. About a week and a half ago I was feeding them their drop of daily honey water. Long story short, I spilled some on their nest near one of their entrances. And you guys know that plaster quickly absorbs liquid, so there was nothing I could do. Days later, mold started to grow and spread on that spot. They didn't seem affected by it, but I just didn't want to risk the mold spreading even more. So I decided to relocate the colony so I could clean the tank and do something about the mold.

 

So two days ago i attached their old nest and encouraged them to move. Prior to that I didn't water the nest anymore, so It was really dried out. Within a couple of hours they move some of the alate pupae and all the brood into the nest. The next day, I made sure there wasn't any queens left in the tank, but there was still A LOT of workers and alate pupae left in the tank. I had to make a quick decision, and since the queens were more important to me, I removed the tank. So the bad news is I lost a lot of workers and most of the alate pupae.

 

Now they are back in their old nest with their old outworld attached, while I do something about the tank nest. It was dirty anyway and definitely due for a cleaning. Also most of the alate pupae they relocated have recently eclosed. All of the alate pupae are males btw, so no queen alates yet. Sorry there are no pictures, but when I get my camera back I'll make sure to have some up. I'm still pretty bummed I lost a lot of workers, but I'm sure they'll bounce back quickly.

[antmaniac]

How is this colony doing?

[Tpro4]

yeah, please update soon

[jpalves]

How is your colony doing?

Edited by jpalves, October 9 2015 - 4:13 PM.

[Tpro4]

Is your colony still alive and well?

[Air]

How is the colony?

[Kingjay]

I have been following the colony through the updates that you posted and I just wanted to say your colony is very awesome and cool and that you take very good care of your ants.I hope that your colony expands even more

[sgheaton]

So I take it this is a species that allows for multiple queens to be contained together or are they more like African Cichlids in that they are territorial and you've provided plenty of space that they don't feel threatened?

[sgheaton]

I'm bummed you haven't updated this in awhile. Its in my top 3 favorite tanks... maybe even top 2 because its one of the set ups I'm going to deliberately copy. Fish background and all!!! But seriously, I am building a replica tank of this style but for a tetramorium. I doubt I can even rival the 60 queens with just her...but I still like this set up. 

For hydration I'm thinking of cornering off a section of the hydrostone nest and doing a "Drew water vat-hot glue sponge" kinda deal to just moisten a small bit of the nest. 

 

What have been some problems you've had now with this mega colony?

[dspdrew]

Unfortunately a lot of people's interest in this hobby doesn't last long.

[kellakk]

It's also rather pointless to ask for updates from a person that hasn't logged in since their last update.

[Tpro4]

It's also rather pointless to ask for updates from a person that hasn't logged in since their last update.

It's because we have hope for him to come back and update. We believe in the notification system for his account.