221 replies to this topic

[NickAnter]

That would be over 100 flies. Then I wouldn't be able to open the outworld.

[antwall]

They can easily hunt down all those flies, trust me, I try it. And also, mine don’t seem to like crickets that much.

Edited by antwall, November 14 2019 - 5:35 PM.

[NickAnter]

      They are still doing incredibly well, have about 150 pupae, and 100 eggs, and 50 larvae, and close to 300 workers. They never refuse food that they enjoy, as always. I put some wet sand in a corner of the outworld, and they dug it up completely.  I am thinking about making a naturalistic setup for them, as I have seen most things happening in terms of inside nest behaviors.  I will  probably use a BoxBox outworld, put something hard in the middle, and fill the edges with a sand/clay mixture, and connect it to the current nest.  I would in turn put the new nest over the heating cable, in the dark, leaving the other one off and in the light.  If, or when this setup is done, I will take a picture.  I will plant some seeds, and transplant some nice grasses into it, as well as this plant that secretes nectar, and relies on ants for pollination.  I will also put some millipedes, possibly centipedes, earwigs, and of course springtails in there as well.  I hope that if this setup is made, it will last them at least a year.  I could also, if I added another outworld, add one with another species, such as Cardiocondyla, to see how they react.  How much space should I allow for in between the glass and hard object in the center?  10mm, 8mm, 15mm?  If you have any other suggestions for plants or other invertebrates to be added, please let me know.  There is not much to take pictures of, as the tube is so darn dirty.

[AntsDakota]

They can easily hunt down all those flies, trust me, I try it. And also, mine don’t seem to like crickets that much.

If you released an entire fly culture into the outworld, you could give them a piece of fruit every once and a while and the ants would be practically self feeding.

[antwall]

They can easily hunt down all those flies, trust me, I try it. And also, mine don’t seem to like crickets that much.

If you released an entire fly culture into the outworld, you could give them a piece of fruit every once and a while and the ants would be practically self feeding.

The ants would chase the flies away from the fruit, or kill all the flies. Trust me, I tried.

[ANTdrew]

It seems to me that a BoxBox container is too small for what you’re envisioning. There wouldn’t be enough soil for live plants. I would say forego the plants or find a larger container. More space would allow the other inhabitants to hide from the ants easier as well. In any case, I’d definitely like to see pictures of the colony.

Edited by ANTdrew, November 29 2019 - 3:11 AM.

[NickAnter]

No, these plants are incredibly small(they live in small cracks in concrete) And they both respond well to trimming. I have tested this. I might end up using two that are connected, as it will give, as you said, the other insects more area to hide, and room for more plants. Though, I don't think the would kill millipedes. They only attack if the insect in question is fast moving. Centipedes would probably be an issue, not to mention my mom probably wouldn't ket me take them in the house, as she is rather afraid of them. I totally forgot about this, so I will scratch the centipede plan. I am thinking of using a firebrick to put in the center of the container, after heating, it will take on a far lighter color that is has a nice light color, easily contrasting with the ants. And I will get a picture posted by the end of the day.

[NickAnter]

Here they are:

[NickAnter]

Sorry for poor quality.  I can't show colony size with my macro lens, and this phone is terrible unless it is really close up macro. 

[Kaelwizard]

And I bet they are super hyped given that Nylanderia are called crazy ants.

[NickAnter]

Very correct Kael.  And, exactly as I hoped, they are exhibiting a decent degree of worker size variation, some being about twice the size of others. 

[NickAnter]

     Well, they are still booming.  Probably about 400 workers now, and the whole bottom of their original glass tube is covered in brood.  There are about 50 workers in the outworld at all times.  They can take down live crickets, wild caught  So far they have taken down and killed two of them, without any assistance.  They chase it around until one can latch on, and spray formic acid.  They usually can do so first on the antennae, reducing the crickets agility.  It goes downhill for the cricket from there.   I have started on the terrarium, which only has a sand layer, which is 1cm thick, a big green caterpillar, two crickets, and many green leaves, for the caterpillar, who is taking residence there until it pupates. When it does so, I will add the dirt, which will be mixed with sand.  I have captured some millipedes and have them housed in a snap cap vial filled with dirt.  They too will be added when half the dirt is poured, keeping them safe from the ants, hopefully.  All in all, this colony is doing incredible,as always  And the queen is hidden now, they have dug into the cotton where I cannot see, and I suspect she is there, or under the pile of brood. 

Edited by NickAnter, December 15 2019 - 11:43 AM.

[NickAnter]

This lid of the outworld is so annoying. Through the course of the colony probably 50 workers have gotten stuck in the gap and died. And as the colony gets bigger, more die. Really frustrating. But, they are still doing well. I revise my count to 350, with about 250 brood. Here are some pics:



Sorry for the poor quality. It is impossible to open the lid while holding a phone and not lose over 30 workers.

Edited by NickAnter, March 16 2020 - 7:27 AM.

[ANTdrew]

That’s why I don’t like lids as a containment strategy, especially for small ants.

[NickAnter]

And they can scale right up fluon it seems. Very frustrating.

[NickAnter]

Well, they have quite the graveyard, and are probably down to 340, but the queen laid about 300 new eggs, and they still have many larvae and pupae. Should be at 500 in no time.

Edited by NickAnter, March 16 2020 - 7:28 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Photos?

[NickAnter]

     Photos are hard to do currently.  There are so many of them running around, and the sides of the container are smudged,  so all photos are horrendous.  Video gives a good idea, but I don't have a way of posting the videos.  Also, deaths seem to have been fully balanced by the large amount of newly eclosed workers, most of which are smaller that the previous generation, probably due to less food, as for a little while, I was very busy with homework.  Our load has thankfully been decreased.  They now have over 100 workers in the outworld at all times, probably close to 200 now.  The queen is now impossible to see, as there is a small chamber in the cotton where she now resides hidden from view  I would estimate there worker count to be around 600 now.  They have roughly 75 more pupae, 75 medium to large larvae, and 150 small larvae.  I would stick my phone in, but they would be swarming out of the container  I am very tempted to put them in a medium sized terrarium, and see how big they can get, and witness some more natural behaviors. They are so incredibly aggressive now, I don't think that argentines could possibly hurt them now.  Not to mention the speed of them.  And their incredible alarm system.  As soon as one worker is hurt, it's like someone knocked over a whole spiral of dominoes.  They just move about like crazy, all rushing to attack anything, sometimes even mistaking other workers for enemies momentarily.

[ANTdrew]

These sound like my kind of ants: small, active, and fast growing.

[Kaelwizard]

These sound like my kind of ants: small, active, and fast growing.

Yep. Those are the types of ants I like too.