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NickAnter's Doyrmyrmex insanus: First Workers!


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#1 Offline NickAnter - Posted January 31 2020 - 7:03 PM

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So, this is a journal for my D. insanus queen that I just found in my pool. Stuck her in a dirt filled snap cap vial, and she has already shed her wings and dug a chamber. Sadly, she ignored my premade hole, and made one away from the glass. Title is as such as I am only keeping them to use as test subjects for formicariums and food(if they don't just die, of course).
Here she is:


Edited by NickAnter, May 17 2021 - 3:43 PM.

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). 


#2 Offline AntsDakota - Posted February 1 2020 - 5:30 PM

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I've caught queens of this species. None of them were fertile, though.  :( Hoping to catch more this summer.


Edited by AntsDakota, February 1 2020 - 5:30 PM.

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#3 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 1 2020 - 6:31 PM

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Yeah, I don't really have much interest in them.  Except for using them as the title says, test subjects.  I do hope that you can find some fertile queens though.


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). 


#4 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 9 2020 - 2:22 PM

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There are eggs.  No idea how many, as she seems to not hang around in areas I can see her in.


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). 


#5 Offline NickAnter - Posted March 31 2021 - 6:37 PM

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Well I just dug up two queens of this species in my Formica spot while everyone else is getting Camponotus us-CA02. Lucky people being able to drive, or their parents actually driving them places that are more than 5 minutes from their house. They will continue in their role of test subjects, if they can even found colonies. Here is a video of California's most boring native ant species:


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). 


#6 Offline NickAnter - Posted April 11 2021 - 1:56 PM

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Well coming home from my trip I was happy to see both queens had clusters of eggs. The queen in the hydrostone/sand/dirt tube has a chamber whose view is obstructed, so I can't see if there are any larvae, or take pictures. I was able to take pictures of the other queen though. I do apologize for the low quality, I still have to unpack my macro lens:

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). 


#7 Offline NickAnter - Posted April 27 2021 - 12:56 PM

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The queen in the above picture has a pile of larvae! They are growing very fast as well. Assuming the pupal stage will be the same speed as the larvae, she should get workers fairly quickly. I will have to drill a hole in the formicarium while the queen is in there, as I neglected to do so before putting her in. Hopefully this will not cause her to eat any of her brood. I would poke a hole with a hot poker, but I believe that would gas the queen to death, as when the plastic of those containers melts it produces an acrid odor. The reason for that it is so the workers would be able to exit the formicarium to forage in an outworld. Ideally I would be able to prolong this until they had a larger number of workers, but this species is extremely fast, and would likely result in issues.


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). 


#8 Offline NickAnter - Posted May 17 2021 - 3:43 PM

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They have gotten their first two workers!! Here is the first worker that was videoed yesterday, and I am quite happy with how the video came out:

 

 

Because of how cute these new workers are they may just be spared their career of test subjects. Might actually try to get them into a large, thriving colony. I am actually somewhat interested in their diappause cycles around here, so there is that too.


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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). 





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