7 replies to this topic

[AntaholicAnonymous]

I'm very excited for this one.

My first colony that got me into ant keeping little over 6 years ago was as with many Europeans lasius Niger.
One thing I like about them is that they are by far the most dominant species in my area in Austria.
No matter in what patch of grass you look you'll see lasius workers running around.

Being that well adapted makes it very easy for a noob like I was to get away with frequent, terrible mistakes and the bare minimum of knowledge to keep ants.

I see this as my chance to redeem my past run with them.
Surprisingly my colony did great and I had to release them after 3 years cause I couldn't keep a thousands of ants strong colony from breaking out.
Hundreds escaped to the point where I sealed the setup with plastic wrap and duct tape. xD

Needles to say I'm aiming to get the colony well into the thousands and provide these ants with the best life possible.
With the knowledge and experience I gained in the past 6 years this should be great.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

I'm worried.

The eggs haven't developed at all in the past 10 days.
I've not been stressing her out and the test tube setup is certainly done properly.
Temperatures are good and the Formica in the same clauset and identical setup is doing great.

I found her without wings in the grass so I assumed she has mated but maybe she didn't.
She quickly layed those eggs and she's caring for them. I hope I'm just too impatient but 10 says without any development seems off to me.

If anyone knows what's likely going on I'd appreciate your input.

[Serafine]

10 days would be a bit fast. 2-3 weeks is more likely, depending on temperature.

The small larvae are also hard to distinguish from the eggs, i guess you'll see clearly recognizable larvae in about 2 weeks.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

Thanks.
I only had a hand full of ant colonies many years each so the founding stage is what I have the least experience with.

The Formica queen in the tube next to her is just speeding through the founding stage I guess that threw me off a bit.
The hardest thing about keeping ants to me is the patience you need with young colonies.

[ANTdrew]

Our Lasius neoniger take an absurdly long time from egg to worker for such tiny ants. Perhaps L. niger are similar?

[Serafine]

Nah, my girlfriend's Lasius niger took a around 12-14 days to hatch, but it was super hot during the last 2 weeks (often 30+°C).

A queen I had a few years back took 3-4 weeks from eggs to workers when it was considerably colder (20-25°C i think with lots of rain).

 

Lasius niger can develop very quickly when it's warm. And Formica fusca aren't really a good comparison because their brood development/growth rate is insanely fast compared to most other ants of their size (and even many smaller ants).

[AntaholicAnonymous]

Good news.
They are developing now.
It took 2 weeks from eggs to larvae.
I counted her eggs when she layed them and I know she layed another batch about a week in.

Either they take two weeks or something was wrong with the first batch and it's the 2nd one developing after a week.
She has a pretty good amount of brood I wouldn't be surprised if she eats some of them to raise the ones who are developing already.

The nest temperature is in the high to mid 20s (°C) so temperature shouldn't be an issue.
If it drags out too long I might give her a drop of sugar water to help her but that doesn't seem necessary now.
I could also brood boost her. That would get her started and I've never done it before so it would be interesting to see.

Edited by AntaholicAnonymous, July 24 2022 - 2:33 PM.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

It's been a year since the last update.
After her nanitics arrived I put her into a small cup terrarium which she's still in now.

It's just sand/soil mix with a bit of torn up leaf litter and a small Patch of moss.
They have springtails and the small white isopods with them.

It's the simplest early stage terrarium with almost zero maintainance. Since it's fully closed I hardly have to water it. All I do is sprinkle in a little bit of sugar and give them some protein about twice a week.
Within the past month their numbers are exploding and they are due for a new setup.
Lasius niger are a little slow at the start but suddenly start booming by the 2nd year and that won't stop until they are thousands.

My goal is to have as large of a colony as possible. Very soon they are going to move into their first larger terrarium.