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NickAnter's Nylanderia vividula Journal(Comeback!)

Started By NickAnter , Jul 23 2019 6:02 AM

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#161 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 9 2020 - 8:02 AM

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Also, here is their dietary list:

Mealworms, any life stage

Fruit flies

THA's sugar part of the Ant Juice

 

I will also occasionally give them something like a crane fly caught outside.

 

The fruit flies are given at random, and about 6-15 flies per feeding. I also give a mealworm every couple days. A little protein goes a long way with these ants.

 

They have constant access to sugar water in the form of one of THA's small liquid feeders. They empty it every two weeks.

 

I may get them some crickets today at Petco, as I know that is one of their favorite foods. A single large cricket would probably last them a week as well.


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). 

#162 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 9 2020 - 9:15 AM

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How about Laufey, mother of Loki?
I made a four queen test tube of these with queens I watched mate the other night on my black-light sheet.
One of my earlier queens should have workers very soon!
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#163 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 9 2020 - 9:20 AM

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Awesome, and thanks for the name, even though I know very little about Norse mythology. Be prepared for well mannered little ants, until they get 300 workers.....


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). 

#164 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 9 2020 - 9:33 AM

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My four queen group has eggs, just checked. Not a single one of the queens I’ve collected has shed their wings.

Here's a photo of the group:

 


Edited by ANTdrew, July 9 2020 - 11:01 AM.

"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#165 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 28 2020 - 7:16 AM

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One of my queens has 15 nanitics now. These are fun little ants. Would you recommend a mini-hearth or tub and tubes set up for these?
My four queen grouping is going real slow for some reason even though I watched then all mate, and one shed her wings.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#166 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 28 2020 - 7:21 AM

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Nice! I don't know about the nest. My colony thrived in tubs and tubes. I think it really depends on which has the tighter lid. Fluon will NOT contain them. Especially when they become determined. The key to success with this species is feeding very often. They need constant access to sugar in order to thrive.

 

Its possible those ones truly are infertile to a degree. I've seen this only in Solenopsis molesta group, but if they release in large numbers, there are bound to be more bad queens.


  • ANTdrew likes this

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). 

#167 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 28 2020 - 10:44 AM

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Here's my cute little colony:


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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.

#168 Offline ANTdrew - Posted August 6 2020 - 6:36 AM

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I got my colony to move into my ancient fake mini-hearth. I exposed them to sunlight, and they moved in the time it took me to make an espresso. That was an expresso move, if you will!
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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.

#169 Offline NickAnter - Posted August 6 2020 - 7:11 AM

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Nice! This colony has queen pupae, so an update will be coming today, along with all my other journals.


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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). 

#170 Offline ANTdrew - Posted August 6 2020 - 7:56 AM

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Nice! This colony has queen pupae, so an update will be coming today, along with all my other journals.

Cool. I heart this species now.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#171 Offline NickAnter - Posted August 6 2020 - 10:19 AM

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Yeah, they are super fun, but they can be a real pain. Unless you have a giant outworld, they are super hard to contain when over 500 workers. As soon as you open the outworld for literally 1 second to feed them, at least 10 workers escape. I highly recommend giving these a massive outworld, ideally one that has a gap/hole in center of the lid, which you can plug, and feed from the hole. They aren't great at climbing fluon lined, upside down acrylic thankfully.

 

The hundred worker mark is an exciting time for these. Before that they can be kind of boring, but afterwards, they will readily attack pretty much anything, despite being super small.

 

Update will come as soon as my phone is charged, and I can take pictures of the queen pupae. 

 

 

Also, within the last two days I have noticed that the majority of the workforce is in the outworld, trying to escape, despite the fact that I have been feeding them huge amounts of food, and they don't even have many larvae. I wonder if they are checking conditions to see when they should attempt to release the over a hundred males they have.


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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). 

#172 Offline ANTdrew - Posted August 11 2020 - 11:29 AM

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Here's a photo of my new colony. I'm really enjoying these overlooked ants. I named the queen Aslaug, after Sigurd's daughter from the Viking Sagas.

 

 


"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#173 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted August 11 2020 - 12:27 PM

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I really want to find a Nylanderia queen. I have never even seen a worker.

#174 Offline ANTdrew - Posted August 11 2020 - 12:56 PM

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I really want to find a Nylanderia queen. I have never even seen a worker.

I found dozens this year black-lighting. I spent a long time confusing the workers with Tapinoma, so they’re easy to overlook.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#175 Offline Antkid12 - Posted August 11 2020 - 2:07 PM

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I found one in my house so I put it in a test tube, but it escaped.  :*(


Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 

#176 Offline NickAnter - Posted August 11 2020 - 2:08 PM

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I have the pictures of the queen pupae, just need to add them. Will do today! Nice job on your colony ANTdrew.
  • ANTdrew likes this

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). 

#177 Offline NickAnter - Posted August 11 2020 - 2:11 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). 

#178 Offline CatsnAnts - Posted August 11 2020 - 3:44 PM

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Awesome colony! I find these little gals all of the time in hickory nuts and twigs, so I may consider keeping a colony of them soon.

Spoiler

#179 Offline ANTdrew - Posted August 28 2020 - 5:22 AM

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Aslaug and her colony continues to do well. I  <3  this species! The colony is starting to launch big feeding responses now, and they're getting full sized workers.

 

Still and a GIF:

 

Edited by ANTdrew, August 28 2020 - 5:30 AM.

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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.

#180 Offline NickAnter - Posted August 30 2020 - 3:00 PM

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There will be even larger workers.

 

 

 

 

This colony lost a lot of its population due to a poisonous fungus that spread in their outworld. They are luckily bouncing back.


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). 

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