24 replies to this topic

[nurbs]

Up in the mountains last week I too found a colony of these. About 8-9 queens. I scooped them up in one shovel and dropped them into a plastic container. 

 

Then I put a test tube setup in the container and then put a heat lamp on top of the bin. They all moved into the test tube in about a day. They seem pretty happy. Any tips on keeping these Crystal?

 

[Crystals]

I posted most of my thoughts in this journal already.

 

Mine are really dependant on high heat.

They need a good variety of food (cut up) and a steady access to sugar water/hummingbird nectar.

Watch condensation, they get trapped in it easily.

[Crystals]

Mine came out of hibernation last week and were purchased by a group from Ontario.

I wish them the best of luck with this species.  

 

I did send them the link to this journal, if they choose they can take over updating journal.

[gpoon]

I just wanted to let you know that your colony is doing great!

• I counted at least 10 alates in the colony at the moment- woohoo!
• I have been feeding them mealworms and crickets on alternating days and providing them with sugar water. They seem to like the sugar water better than honey water. I plan on providing hummingbird nectar soon to mix it up.
• I stuck a 5W heat film in a corner of the formicarium and they seem to really enjoy it. The brood is normally directly underneath the heat film though they also seem to enjoy moving small groups of eggs to different parts of the formicarium.
• I had some condensation that lingered for more than a day and sure enough I lost a worker in it.
• Containing the ants is definitely a huge challenge! I watched an ant crawl through 3 layers of fine mesh on the lid (I added an extra layer of fine mesh to the air holes and they still got out)! Coating the top rim and underside of the top with vaseline seems to have done the trick for now. It's quite messy and I may switch to your fluon + olive oil mix since that seems way neater and won't run down the sides but so far so good. 

[Crystals]

Glad to hear you have alates!  I was wondering about the size of some of those larvae.

 

I put a heat cable on top to prevent condensation on the glass in a colony that seems prone to drowning.

 

I will change the title to reflect your ownership, and I still plan to follow this journal.  I enjoyed this colony when I had it, but was running out of room for all of my growing colonies. 

 

PS. the lip on the outworld can easily be removed by using an exacto blade to cut the tape and thin bead of silicone.  I remove it about 3-4 times a year for a good cleaning.  I put fluon on the side that will be the underside, let it dry while facing up, then tape/silicone it back on the foraging area.  Then I spread a circle of olive oil on top of the lip.  These two layers keep all of them in.

Yes, they are great fun to contain.    They are the most difficult species I have ever had to contain, but once I figured the fluon and olive oil barriers, it was simple.