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Mettcollsuss's Ant Journals (Updated 23 Oct 2023)

Started By Mettcollsuss , Apr 8 2019 8:59 AM

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189 replies to this topic

#61 Offline ANTdrew - Posted September 29 2019 - 12:08 PM

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Nice! Mine are in a dirt tank, so it’s hard to say, but definitely in the thousands.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#62 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted September 29 2019 - 12:39 PM

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Andrew's colony (based on how many foragers are out) is about 8k.
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#63 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted September 29 2019 - 12:42 PM

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Andrew's colony (based on how many foragers are out) is about 8k.

How can you know how many workers you have based on foragers?


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike

#64 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted September 29 2019 - 12:43 PM

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Just experience. Lol.
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#65 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted September 29 2019 - 12:45 PM

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Just experience. Lol.

guess Mikey Bustos would be good at that because he mostly does naturalistic setups lol


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike

#66 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted September 29 2019 - 12:46 PM

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Actually he sucks at estimation.
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#67 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted September 29 2019 - 12:55 PM

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:wtf:  How though? I think that's more of a medical mystery than I am


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#68 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted September 29 2019 - 1:08 PM

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Haha. Have you seen his trap jaw colony? It's a small colony of a few hundred workers, that he owns. In one of his vids he estimated "hundreds of thousands of workers". Odontomachus colonies Don even get that big. :lol:
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#69 Offline DDD101DDD - Posted September 29 2019 - 1:20 PM

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Well, he kind of has to make it more interesting because almost of the viewers care about is either the drama or how impressive the colonies seem.


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He travels, he seeks the p a r m e s a n.

#70 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted September 29 2019 - 1:32 PM

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Haha. Have you seen his trap jaw colony? It's a small colony of a few hundred workers, that he owns. In one of his vids he estimated "hundreds of thousands of workers". Odontomachus colonies Don even get that big. :lol:

:lol:  true


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike

#71 Offline ANTdrew - Posted September 29 2019 - 2:02 PM

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I trust my sensei. I’m gonna feed the heck out of them come spring and hope for alates.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#72 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted September 29 2019 - 3:15 PM

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I trust my sensei. I’m gonna feed the heck out of them come spring and hope for alates.

Make Baby ants! :yes:


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#73 Offline Mettcollsuss - Posted September 29 2019 - 4:50 PM

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Haha. Have you seen his trap jaw colony? It's a small colony of a few hundred workers, that he owns. In one of his vids he estimated "hundreds of thousands of workers". Odontomachus colonies Don even get that big. :lol:


That's what I thought too. Like "do you even do anything research on the ants you keep at all?" I can't think of any ponerines that get that big. And how would a colony that large of such a large species fit in that terrarium?
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#74 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted September 29 2019 - 5:03 PM

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Brachyponera chinensis can get that big. But they're highly polygynous.
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#75 Offline NickAnter - Posted September 29 2019 - 5:29 PM

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I think B. lutea can get very large colonies. They are fully claustral too.

Edited by NickAnter, September 29 2019 - 5:30 PM.

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Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#76 Offline Mettcollsuss - Posted October 13 2019 - 7:53 PM

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Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Colony 1: So. Much. Brood.

Colony 2: 2 workers, okay brood pile.

Colony 3: 1 worker, small brood pile.

 

Formica neorufibarbis

Eggs and larvae. Making a good recovery.

 

Tetramorium immigrans

There have been a lot of extra workers milling about in the outworld recently and they seem to be chewing at the cotton exit plug. I'm not sure why. They're getting plenty of food, and the nest still has more room for growth. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Aphaenogaster rudis

Okay, but not thriving. They're at 20-30 workers with just enough brood to replace dying workers. Their mini hearth is getting dirty, but I'm apprehensive to move them, since last time I tried to 2/3 of the colony died.

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

I thought they were slowing down for the year, but looking into their Talus, I saw workers carrying tons of young larvae around. Strangely, most of their brood is being kept in the Talus, but the queen is staying in the AA acrylic nest.


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My Ant Journals

 

My Trachymyrmex septentrionalis Journal

 

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The Ant-Keeping & Ethology Discord Server

#77 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted October 14 2019 - 1:02 PM

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Pogonomyrmex occidentalis
Colony 1: So. Much. Brood.
Colony 2: 2 workers, okay brood pile.
Colony 3: 1 worker, small brood pile.
 
Formica neorufibarbis
Eggs and larvae. Making a good recovery.
 
Tetramorium immigrans
There have been a lot of extra workers milling about in the outworld recently and they seem to be chewing at the cotton exit plug. I'm not sure why. They're getting plenty of food, and the nest still has more room for growth. Anyone have any ideas?
 
Aphaenogaster rudis
Okay, but not thriving. They're at 20-30 workers with just enough brood to replace dying workers. Their mini hearth is getting dirty, but I'm apprehensive to move them, since last time I tried to 2/3 of the colony died.
 
Camponotus pennsylvanicus
I thought they were slowing down for the year, but looking into their Talus, I saw workers carrying tons of young larvae around. Strangely, most of their brood is being kept in the Talus, but the queen is staying in the AA acrylic nest.


The activity of foraging varies from colony to colony. Mine rarely forages, and when they do, only one worker scouts.
On a side note, I DID IT! I AM ON ALL RECENTLY UPDATED TOPICS

There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike

#78 Offline Mettcollsuss - Posted October 28 2019 - 11:06 AM

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Formica neorufibarbis

Several new pupae and lots of eggs and larvae. Making a good recovery

 

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Colony 1: Doing very well many new workers, very large brood pile for a colony of this size

Colony 2: Nothing new.

Colony 3: Died  :(. Their test tube dried out without me noticing. Moving colony 2 into a brand new tube out of paranoia.


My Ant Journals

 

My Trachymyrmex septentrionalis Journal

 

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The Ant-Keeping & Ethology Discord Server

#79 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted October 28 2019 - 12:12 PM

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Formica neorufibarbis
Several new pupae and lots of eggs and larvae. Making a good recovery
 
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis
Colony 1: Doing very well many new workers, very large brood pile for a colony of this size
Colony 2: Nothing new.
Colony 3: Died  :(. Their test tube dried out without me noticing. Moving colony 2 into a brand new tube out of paranoia.

well, if 3 out of your 4 colonies are doing well, I would consider that a win in my book
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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike

#80 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted October 28 2019 - 2:03 PM

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Pics of the Formica?
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