279 replies to this topic

[ponerinecat]

Sorry I don't update this journal as much as I probably should. I just am always busy doing other things, such as pinning ants or making formicaria or whatever else I'm doing. Anyways, I'm gonna try and update it more, so here we go.

 

I've been collecting tons of Crematogaster gynes lately, as they seem to fly a lot during late Fall and early Winter. I currently have 10 lineolata queens and 1 ashmeadi queen. While on the subject of Crematogaster, I don't think I ever addressed this, but a few months ago I collected a large colony of C. minutissima, but I kind of forgot about them for like two whole months, but I've finally remembered I had them, checked on them in the temporary (hehe, temporary) holding container, just a pill bottle with a large, wet cotton ball. I looked in and all I saw was mold and a few dead ants on the cotton ball. I assumed they were all dead and took the cotton ball out so I could clean out the pill bottle, only to see dozens of them poor out. They're still alive and thriving with tons of brood! Also, dang are their eggs big. The colony has around 50 workers and 12 queens with tons of brood, mostly young larva. I've moved them into a test tube setup and they're doing very well. I love those little guys, and it's so cute when they get angry. They're like little scorpions! They produce more venom (proportionally) than other Crematogaster species, and it's actually pure white. It's also very sticky. Anyways, I have high hopes for these little guys.

 

So I still have that Gnamptogenys triangularis queen, and she is doing quite well and is now out of hibernation. However, she did scare the crap out of me the other day. So I moved her into a new, larger test tube and gave her a fairly large millipede to munch on (a little Plectroctena reference for you there). I check on her a few minutes later only to see her on the floor of the test tube with her last two pairs of legs in the air. I immediately removed the millipede and took the queen out of the test tube to check on her. Her front pair of legs were working just fine, but her last two pairs of legs were still stuck in an upward-facing position and immobile. The tip of her gaster (the bit curled under the body) was also extended. I put her back into the test tube, extremely worried for her. I went to NC for the day, and when I came back, she was just fine, as if nothing had happened. Her gaster and legs were back to normal, and she was just sitting there like always. I'm guessing the reason she was acting so strange is either a) she was not used to that particular species of millipede, which I think was a juvenile American Giant Millipede, or because the millipede was so large, she couldn't take all of the poison the cut body was producing. In either case, she's fine now and I've learned a lesson about giving her such large millipedes. From now on I'll just stick to giving her Greenhouse Millipedes and other small species, never again such a large species.

 

I've had a large colony of Cyphomyrmex rimosus for a little under a month now, and at the moment they seem to be thriving. They have tons of yeast, have only had one small die-off, and seem to enjoy their custom-designed Attine-style lab formicarium. I need to water them twice a week, and if I do that they should be just fine, as that is what I kept doing wrong in the past, not enough humidity. The only problem I have with keeping them at the moment is the fact that finding caterpillar frass in the middle of winter is no easy task. I've had to revert to feeding the bits of bird droppings, which they seem to tolerate as their yeast is doing very well.

 

So the large colony of Aphaenogaster cf. rudis I've had for a while now ended up being A. carolinensis. A few weeks ago I forgot to water them and they had a huge die-off of over hall the colony. They've been reduced down to about 30 workers and a small amount of brood. I've moved them into a lab-style formicarium and they seem to like it a lot better. They also did have male brood but I think they ate it.

 

I'm doing some modifications to the formicarium that houses my Aphaenogaster lamellidens and large Camponotus castaneus colonies. I'm widening the entrance with a dremel, and I am going to move the Aphaenogaster into a lab-style formicarium so I can keep a close eye on them, as the colony is still very young, and also I wanna have a better look at such pretty ants. The Camponotus are doing very well in their new formicarium, and I can now see them a lot better, and even the queen, though there tends to be a lot of condensation on the front panel the disrupts my view of them. If anyone knows how I can solve this problem, please let me know, as I would like to make some high-quality videos of them. Also, I do have a smaller castaneus in hibernation at the moment with 10 workers and a small amount of small brood. I also found a medium sized colony in the wild I could not find the queen of that has a huge amount of small brood, so I will cleanse them of all pheromones and introduce them to the small colony.

How do you forget about a colonies existence.

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

Sorry I don't update this journal as much as I probably should. I just am always busy doing other things, such as pinning ants or making formicaria or whatever else I'm doing. Anyways, I'm gonna try and update it more, so here we go.

 

I've been collecting tons of Crematogaster gynes lately, as they seem to fly a lot during late Fall and early Winter. I currently have 10 lineolata queens and 1 ashmeadi queen. While on the subject of Crematogaster, I don't think I ever addressed this, but a few months ago I collected a large colony of C. minutissima, but I kind of forgot about them for like two whole months, but I've finally remembered I had them, checked on them in the temporary (hehe, temporary) holding container, just a pill bottle with a large, wet cotton ball. I looked in and all I saw was mold and a few dead ants on the cotton ball. I assumed they were all dead and took the cotton ball out so I could clean out the pill bottle, only to see dozens of them poor out. They're still alive and thriving with tons of brood! Also, dang are their eggs big. The colony has around 50 workers and 12 queens with tons of brood, mostly young larva. I've moved them into a test tube setup and they're doing very well. I love those little guys, and it's so cute when they get angry. They're like little scorpions! They produce more venom (proportionally) than other Crematogaster species, and it's actually pure white. It's also very sticky. Anyways, I have high hopes for these little guys.

 

So I still have that Gnamptogenys triangularis queen, and she is doing quite well and is now out of hibernation. However, she did scare the crap out of me the other day. So I moved her into a new, larger test tube and gave her a fairly large millipede to munch on (a little Plectroctena reference for you there). I check on her a few minutes later only to see her on the floor of the test tube with her last two pairs of legs in the air. I immediately removed the millipede and took the queen out of the test tube to check on her. Her front pair of legs were working just fine, but her last two pairs of legs were still stuck in an upward-facing position and immobile. The tip of her gaster (the bit curled under the body) was also extended. I put her back into the test tube, extremely worried for her. I went to NC for the day, and when I came back, she was just fine, as if nothing had happened. Her gaster and legs were back to normal, and she was just sitting there like always. I'm guessing the reason she was acting so strange is either a) she was not used to that particular species of millipede, which I think was a juvenile American Giant Millipede, or because the millipede was so large, she couldn't take all of the poison the cut body was producing. In either case, she's fine now and I've learned a lesson about giving her such large millipedes. From now on I'll just stick to giving her Greenhouse Millipedes and other small species, never again such a large species.

 

I've had a large colony of Cyphomyrmex rimosus for a little under a month now, and at the moment they seem to be thriving. They have tons of yeast, have only had one small die-off, and seem to enjoy their custom-designed Attine-style lab formicarium. I need to water them twice a week, and if I do that they should be just fine, as that is what I kept doing wrong in the past, not enough humidity. The only problem I have with keeping them at the moment is the fact that finding caterpillar frass in the middle of winter is no easy task. I've had to revert to feeding the bits of bird droppings, which they seem to tolerate as their yeast is doing very well.

 

So the large colony of Aphaenogaster cf. rudis I've had for a while now ended up being A. carolinensis. A few weeks ago I forgot to water them and they had a huge die-off of over hall the colony. They've been reduced down to about 30 workers and a small amount of brood. I've moved them into a lab-style formicarium and they seem to like it a lot better. They also did have male brood but I think they ate it.

 

I'm doing some modifications to the formicarium that houses my Aphaenogaster lamellidens and large Camponotus castaneus colonies. I'm widening the entrance with a dremel, and I am going to move the Aphaenogaster into a lab-style formicarium so I can keep a close eye on them, as the colony is still very young, and also I wanna have a better look at such pretty ants. The Camponotus are doing very well in their new formicarium, and I can now see them a lot better, and even the queen, though there tends to be a lot of condensation on the front panel the disrupts my view of them. If anyone knows how I can solve this problem, please let me know, as I would like to make some high-quality videos of them. Also, I do have a smaller castaneus in hibernation at the moment with 10 workers and a small amount of small brood. I also found a medium sized colony in the wild I could not find the queen of that has a huge amount of small brood, so I will cleanse them of all pheromones and introduce them to the small colony.

How do you forget about a colonies existence.

 

They were in a small container on the side of my desk, and any time I remembered them, I would forget soon after. The good thing is that they're very resilient and very few workers died.

[ponerinecat]

I see.

[Ferox_Formicae]

So a while ago, I made a very large, naturalistic plaster formicarium designed for Camponotus. However, when I found a young colony of Aphaenogaster lamellidens, I couldn't resist the opportunity to move them in, but when I did, they only moved into the chambers for a bit before moving back into the outworld. At that time, my large vivarium wasn't doing so hot, so I decided to dismantle it and move in the Camponotus castaneus colony that was in it. They took the the formicarium very well. Eventually, I decided I wanted to move out the Aphaenogaster into something different where I could view them better. The problem was that the only opening I left in the formicarium (the front panel was sealed) was a small entrance port at the top. It would be impossible to get to them. So, I widened the hole with a dremel and was able to get the Aphaenogaster out. As for the Camponotus, I did eventually decide to remove the front panel and do a bit of cleaning. I painted the outside black (for filming purposes), added a large rock to the outworld over the nest entrance, and cleaned the front panel. I left the Camponotus in a container overnight while the paint dried. The next morning, it was finally done. I sealed the front panel back up, added a sheet of red cellophane, and moved the ants back in. They moved back in very quickly, and a lot of them are in the larger bottom chamber this time. The queen however remains in the upper chamber.

 

Back to the Aphaenogaster lamellidens, they are settling in well. I gave the a drop of sugar water and they quickly accepted it, surprisingly. They've covered it all in dirt now as a sponge and are taking the soil bits back into the nest. Last night, the queen actually laid a batch of around 30 or so eggs. I just adore their slow, careful movements and their gorgeous coloration.

 

I have also collected another Camponotus castaneus colony, a far smaller one with 10 workers and a small amount of L1 larva. I also managed to collect 21 workers from under a rock with a huge amount of L1 larva. However, I was unable to find their queen. So, I cleaned all of the workers off by dunking them each in water before introducing them to the colony. It worked, and now the colony has around 100 or so brood items and 31 workers. I offered them some sugar water, but they did not take too much of it.

 

The Gnamptogenys queen is not doing much of anything, and I'm starting to worry for her. Sometimes, I'll see her on the floor of the test tube seemingly dying, and a few minutes later she's fine. I haven't fed her in a while. That's probably why she's acting so strange. I'll give her a pre-killed Greenhouse Millipede and see how she does.

 

I gave the Crematogaster minutissima a drop of sugar water along with a piece of a dead beetle larva (probably a ground beetle or a rove beetle or something), and needless to say, I have never seen such far Crematogaster! Each and every single individual of the colony, queens included, is absolutely filled to bursting! Boy do small Crematogaster love their sweets. Larger Crematogaster do too so I've heard.

 

The Pheidole navigans queen I found under a rock a few weeks ago actually has a good-sized batch of eggs at the moment, around 15 of them. Originally, they were all scattered throughout the test tube, but now she has them all in the same area.

 

Now for the colonies I've lost since the last update, my large Cyphomyrmex rimosus colony and Aphaenogaster carolinensis colonies, both to dehydration, and one of my four Lasius claviger gynes for unknown reasons. For those of you disappointed that my Cyphomyrmex rimosus are dead, do not fret. I can literally collect a colony of Cyphomyrmex whenever I please. They're some of the most common ants in by area believe it or not, and there's a huge colony near my park I could collect with an absolutely huge garden. They're inside of a Solenopsis invicta mound though, so their collection won't be easy, or fun.

Edited by Ferox_Formicae, January 23 2020 - 9:24 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

They're inside of a Solenopsis invicta mound though, so their collection won't be easy, or fun.

Yeah I can imagine...

[Ferox_Formicae]

The Gnamptogenys triangularis queen has finally eaten! So last night I gave her two termites, and she seemed to be very intrigued by them, sensing them with her antennae and carefully following their movements. The termites became very aggressive and snappy, slamming their mandibles into the cotton ball they were sitting on. However, the Gnamptogenys queen, being more than 3 times their size, could not have cared less. I put them away, and check on them just a few minutes ago. One of the termites has been reduced down to nothing but legs and a single mesosomal segment, and she ripped the gaster off of the second one, and also all of the legs. She seems to be a lot more perky now that she's full. In a few days, I'll go ahead and give her a Greenhouse Millipede. I tried to look for some last night, but it had been raining for a few days, and I only saw one tiny baby, a few other small species, and some of the huge, bicolored species. None of those would do for her, so I just gave her some termites.

 

I managed to capture a decently sized colony of Hypoponera opacior from under a brick. The colony has around 25 workers, and if the colony does have a queen, she is certainly ergatoid. Only time will tell, time and high magnification. I will look closer once they settle down.

 

Some of the Crematogaster queens are actually starting to lay eggs. It's pretty surprising, as I wasn't expecting eggs until at least late February. It's probably because after a hibernation period of over a month, I've had to remove them from hibernation, as my mom has an exterminator spray pesticides quarterly (although I've begged her to stop), and I don't want them to get caught up in that, as he sprays in the crawlspace where I hibernate my ants. I will put the egg-less queens back in the crawlspace in a few weeks after the pesticides have died down.

[Ferox_Formicae]

After half a year, it's time I finally make a full collection tour of the ants in my ant room. I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out. Here it is, enjoy!

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=lUUWJg_RQgc

[madbiologist]

Are you sure the first Camponotus castaneus colony you mention isn't actually americanus? They have the dark part on the last tergite of the gaster.

Edit: Also, how do you collect Camponotus castaneus colonies, considering they are ground dwelling?

Double edit to say that I've done a little more research and realized the gaster color is most definitely not how to tell the difference here, but I still think they may be americanus. Based on the castaneus taxonomy section in "The Ants of Ohio" on page 165, americanus can be distinguished from castaneus by "the head of the major worker in americanus [being] slightly broader than long." The major in your video around 3:44 certainly could have a wider than long head in my opinion, but I can't be sure.

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Edited by madbiologist, January 19 2020 - 9:23 PM.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Are you sure the first Camponotus castaneus colony you mention isn't actually americanus? They have the dark part on the last tergite of the gaster.

Edit: Also, how do you collect Camponotus castaneus colonies, considering they are ground dwelling?

Double edit to say that I've done a little more research and realized the gaster color is most definitely not how to tell the difference here, but I still think they may be americanus. Based on the castaneus taxonomy section in "The Ants of Ohio" on page 165, americanus can be distinguished from castaneus by "the head of the major worker in americanus [being] slightly broader than long." The major in your video around 3:44 certainly could have a wider than long head in my opinion, but I can't be sure.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Actually, the best and most surefire way to distinguish castaneus from americanus according to Mark Deyrup's Ants Of Florida, is by examining the clypeal margins. In americanus, large punctures are present on the 'cheek' just above the mandibles. These punctures are not present in castaneus. Also, in my area near to where all of my three castaneus colonies were collected, we do have a small population of americanus, which are very distinct from our castaneus color-wise, having black heads and darker bodies. The queens of americanus here are also tricolored, having black heads, brown mesosomas (with darker dorsal stripes), and a reddish-orange gaster, while queens of castaneus are either monocolored or bicolored, having slightly more reddish heads.

[madbiologist]

Are you sure the first Camponotus castaneus colony you mention isn't actually americanus? They have the dark part on the last tergite of the gaster.

Edit: Also, how do you collect Camponotus castaneus colonies, considering they are ground dwelling?

Double edit to say that I've done a little more research and realized the gaster color is most definitely not how to tell the difference here, but I still think they may be americanus. Based on the castaneus taxonomy section in "The Ants of Ohio" on page 165, americanus can be distinguished from castaneus by "the head of the major worker in americanus [being] slightly broader than long." The major in your video around 3:44 certainly could have a wider than long head in my opinion, but I can't be sure.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Actually, the best and most surefire way to distinguish castaneus from americanus according to Mark Deyrup's Ants Of Florida, is by examining the clypeal margins. In americanus, large punctures are present on the 'cheek' just above the mandibles. These punctures are not present in castaneus. Also, in my area near to where all of my three castaneus colonies were collected, we do have a small population of americanus, which are very distinct from our castaneus color-wise, having black heads and darker bodies. The queens of americanus here are also tricolored, having black heads, brown mesosomas (with darker dorsal stripes), and a reddish-orange gaster, while queens of castaneus are either monocolored or bicolored, having slightly more reddish heads.

It's good that yours have such big color differences, we've had issues up here trying to tell the difference sometimes. How do you catch colonies of castaneus, since they live in the soil?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[ponerinecat]

Dig.

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

 

Are you sure the first Camponotus castaneus colony you mention isn't actually americanus? They have the dark part on the last tergite of the gaster.

Edit: Also, how do you collect Camponotus castaneus colonies, considering they are ground dwelling?

Double edit to say that I've done a little more research and realized the gaster color is most definitely not how to tell the difference here, but I still think they may be americanus. Based on the castaneus taxonomy section in "The Ants of Ohio" on page 165, americanus can be distinguished from castaneus by "the head of the major worker in americanus [being] slightly broader than long." The major in your video around 3:44 certainly could have a wider than long head in my opinion, but I can't be sure.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Actually, the best and most surefire way to distinguish castaneus from americanus according to Mark Deyrup's Ants Of Florida, is by examining the clypeal margins. In americanus, large punctures are present on the 'cheek' just above the mandibles. These punctures are not present in castaneus. Also, in my area near to where all of my three castaneus colonies were collected, we do have a small population of americanus, which are very distinct from our castaneus color-wise, having black heads and darker bodies. The queens of americanus here are also tricolored, having black heads, brown mesosomas (with darker dorsal stripes), and a reddish-orange gaster, while queens of castaneus are either monocolored or bicolored, having slightly more reddish heads.

It's good that yours have such big color differences, we've had issues up here trying to tell the difference sometimes. How do you catch colonies of castaneus, since they live in the soil?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

I just dig until I find the queen. Most of the time though, I just flip over rocks and the whole colony is right there, queen and all.

[madbiologist]

Are you sure the first Camponotus castaneus colony you mention isn't actually americanus? They have the dark part on the last tergite of the gaster.

Edit: Also, how do you collect Camponotus castaneus colonies, considering they are ground dwelling?

Double edit to say that I've done a little more research and realized the gaster color is most definitely not how to tell the difference here, but I still think they may be americanus. Based on the castaneus taxonomy section in "The Ants of Ohio" on page 165, americanus can be distinguished from castaneus by "the head of the major worker in americanus [being] slightly broader than long." The major in your video around 3:44 certainly could have a wider than long head in my opinion, but I can't be sure.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Actually, the best and most surefire way to distinguish castaneus from americanus according to Mark Deyrup's Ants Of Florida, is by examining the clypeal margins. In americanus, large punctures are present on the 'cheek' just above the mandibles. These punctures are not present in castaneus. Also, in my area near to where all of my three castaneus colonies were collected, we do have a small population of americanus, which are very distinct from our castaneus color-wise, having black heads and darker bodies. The queens of americanus here are also tricolored, having black heads, brown mesosomas (with darker dorsal stripes), and a reddish-orange gaster, while queens of castaneus are either monocolored or bicolored, having slightly more reddish heads.

It's good that yours have such big color differences, we've had issues up here trying to tell the difference sometimes. How do you catch colonies of castaneus, since they live in the soil?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I just dig until I find the queen. Most of the time though, I just flip over rocks and the whole colony is right there, queen and all.

Wow, I wish they were that common up here, I've never seen a worker near my house, but I probably just haven't been out enough at night.

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[Vern530]

very cool post

[Ferox_Formicae]

Wow, I wish they were that common up here, I've never seen a worker near my house, but I probably just haven't been out enough at night.

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Yeah, it's one of the most common Camponotus here, or at least the most common large species here. Myrmentoma (nearcticus, decipiens, and snellingi) are more common however, and chromaiodes is common, but I see castaneus more often. I don't see them in my yard very often however, though I've seen a major worker on my front porch my cat was trying to get to from the door, and the occasional worker on my fence. More often I'll see them at my neighborhood park (there are at least two large colonies there that I know of) and the forest across from it, which is also where I see a lot of the chromaiodes and where the local americanus population can be found (there's another one in Little Mountain that I've seen).

[Ferox_Formicae]

I finally boosted my smallest Camponotus castaneus colony with 9 workers, one of them being a major. When the workers of each colony were introduced to each other, after the new workers were dunked in water to remove all previously existing pheromones, they were met with very little aggression, just a few minutes of antennal dueling and mandible locking, coupled with a bit of abdominal curling. After that, the workers went their separate ways. I hope that this colony can recover from last year's die-off.

 

The Gnamptogenys triangularis queen has been a lot more active in recent days, a lot more active than usual. I offered her a millipede and two more termites, but she refused. I'm speculating that she's full, and hopefully she'll finally lay eggs within the next few days. I'm really excited to finally see workers of this rare species, and given she's been alive for over three months at this point, my hopes are high for her.

 

My largest Camponotus castaneus colony has been eating a lot lately. I've mostly been giving them sugar water, and I really only see them eating at night. However, the queen is remaining thin. I suspect they are still feeding her, but not noticeably so. She should start laying again so, and by then, her daughters may start feeding her more often.

 

New eggs have appeared in my large Crematogaster minutissima colony. A lot of the brood has also been growing, and it's likely that pupa should appear by this afternoon, as I actually saw some larva with pupa outlines visible. New workers should be appearing by mid February, possibly earlier depending on how long it takes them to develop.

 

A lot of the Crematogaster cf. lineolata queens have been producing eggs, and more of the queens have eggs than don't have eggs at the moment, which it great! I thought they would produce eggs a bit later on, but I guess they decided now was the right time to produce.

[AntsDakota]

I didn't know water alone was enough to wipe out pheromones......

[Ferox_Formicae]

I didn't know water alone was enough to wipe out pheromones......

In my experience at least, it is. I've only ever tried it with Camponotus castaneus though, so it may not work well for other species.

[TennesseeAnts]

Works for Aphaenogaster.

[AntsDakota]

I tried vinegar (did not harm them at all) on Tetramorium as well as the fridge, but none worked. I rinsed off the vinegar with water.