387 replies to this topic

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Congrats! Get your Cremas an outworld with a nectar feeder ASAP. Feed them protein everyday. That’s the key to success because they can’t go long between feedings.

I fed them a cricket leg yesterday, with this advice in mind I will connect their tube to an AC test tube portal and give them a q-tip soaked in honey water. My biggest concern is that the outworld will end up hotter than the test tube and that they will try to nest in it.

 

-edit: I washed out a test tube portal, but I am waiting for it to dry completely to ensure it is not humid enough for them to nest in.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, June 6 2020 - 9:16 AM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I just ordered the supplies to start making petri dish formicaria. They should be here within a week or two, and I hope that these nests will work well as a substitute for mini hearths.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

My Crematogaster colonies have grown; Colony 1 has nine workers, Colony 2 has seven, and Colony 3 has nine as well. Colony 1 (which is in an AC test tube) now has an AC test tube portal outworld. The other colonies will have to be fed in their test tubes until my petri dishes arrive. The Myrmica have been declining lately, but have a good amount of brood, including eggs, large larvae, and a pupa. The Formica currently have thirteen workers and quite a bit of brood. They are doing very well. During the period that FC was down, I caught a Temnothorax queen who has yet to lay any eggs.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, June 10 2020 - 3:15 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I am feeding honey to my Crematogaster for the first time right now. They really like it, even more than they like cricket legs.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Crematogaster Colony 2 now has a an outworld: the salad container I stored test tubes in during hibernation. I hope to get another one for Colony 3.

[ANTdrew]

I am feeding honey to my Crematogaster for the first time right now. They really like it, even more than they like cricket legs.

Make sure they have constant access to sugars. The nanitics can’t go long without feeding. Keep the protein flowing, too. Sounds like they’re off to good growth.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I think I might rotate the one outworld between colonies 2 and 3, simply because it's so obnoxious to feed these ants in test tubes.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The petri dishes came yesterday, but the cork borers have yet to arrive. In case you haven't seen the video, a cork borer is a metal tube which can be used to bore holes in thin plastic if heated using a gas stove.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I hope I can catch some more Myrmica colonies of different species, I think they're an interesting genus that just haven't been explored to their full potential in the antkeeping community, if that makes sense. I got pretty close yesterday, but I only found a satellite nest and not the one the queen was in.

[AntsDakota]

I hope I can catch some more Myrmica colonies of different species, I think they're an interesting genus that just haven't been explored to their full potential in the antkeeping community, if that makes sense. I got pretty close yesterday, but I only found a satellite nest and not the one the queen was in.

Well, some Myrmica are indistinguishable, and a microscope or even a genetic analysis is required to tell species apart. But I agree with your sentiments otherwise.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The cork borers just came. I will start making nests tomorrow.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I melted holes into a petri dish, I'll do the plaster tomorrow.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I added the plaster to my first petri dish nest. It worked out fine, but I learned that you should not follow the 1/4 plaster/water ratio that it tells you to on the box. It was way too watery. The plaster covers the tube and is currently is the clay-like stage of hardness - it won't flow, but it's still soft to the touch. I ended up wasting quite a bit of plaster, but on subsequent batches I will be doing more than one nest.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Here is a picture of the petri dish nest:

 

 

This is Crematogaster Colony 1, now at eleven workers. I don't think the picture really captures just how physogastric the queen is.

 

 

This is Crematogaster Colony 3:

 

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, June 13 2020 - 4:19 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I think my Temnothorax queen laid an egg. The Brachymyrmex queens have several pupae, which for some reason have not eclosed yet. Same goes for the Lasius.

[ANTdrew]

Awww. I miss when my colony was that cute.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

Awww. I miss when my colony was that cute.

They probably won't be for long, to be honest. About 20 workers from the first batch, and the second one might be 2 or 3 times that many, with how swollen the queen is (her gaster is bigger than the rest of her body!). Assuming she'll lay a third or maybe even fourth batch this year, that could mean over 100 ants by November.

Edited by Antennal_Scrobe, June 13 2020 - 4:55 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

How long before hydrostone plaster is safe for ants? I couldn't really find any information online. 

[ANTdrew]

4-5 days I’d say, give it a week to be safe.

[ANTdrew]

Awww. I miss when my colony was that cute.

They probably won't be for long, to be honest. About 20 workers from the first batch, and the second one might be 2 or 3 times that many, with how swollen the queen is (her gaster is bigger than the rest of her body!). Assuming she'll lay a third or maybe even fourth batch this year, that could mean over 100 ants by November.

Feed them every day, and you’ll certainly be above 100 workers. I don’t think these queens even really do batches; they just pump out eggs continuously as long as the protein is flowing.