123 replies to this topic

[Canadant]

 

 

About the small ants, it's completely normal for Crematogaster to have petite workers. It just depends on how well the larva was fed. They aren't a different caste, just anatomically identical mini workers. Even the largest of colonies will have petite workers btw.

 

 

Thanks FeedTheAnts, AntsDakota, and Antdrew for the replies and info. Yeah, I really think those little guys were a starter colony.

 

Antdrew, holy $#@%! What a beauty. I've always been a bit jealous of the reptiles and creepy crawlies you guys have down there. I've never seen a snake in the wild longer than 2 feet. I'd be in trouble though, cause if I see it, I gotta catch it! I get bit! Ouch! I'm sure many of you are the same!

 

June 1st, 2020

 

Crematogaster cerasi 

 

So, they took ALL of that brood. I watched them all night going back and forth. It was so cool. The little guys can be so mesmerizing to watch. A true group effort.

 

Since the took all the brood I know now that their little nest is bursting. That means new formicarium. I'm taking my old AC Camponotus Hybrid and painting the inside white. AC in their infinite wisdom printed dark brown formicaria (that plural for formicariums?)for their initial batch. A terrible design flaw. You can hardly see the ants, so white it will be. I'm also placing steel micron mesh on the bottom it was a bit of a bugger to get on - stuff rolls up on you, but with glue gun and sealant i got it on. I really wanted to make it impossible to get through any holes so I really pasted it on. 

 

 

 

I'm going to limit their space in the Hybrid None point 'O'  with some cotton. I don't want to give them too much space to start. I'm trying on cutting down on garbage in the nest. I believe these guys are messy? it will look similar to this design below. They'll be on the right side to start and as they grow I'll remove the cotton as needed.

 

 

I'm also going to place the Hybrid None point 'O' inside the outworld just so I don't have to drill holes in the aquarium at this time. This will give me freedoms on several fronts. Once they outgrow their space, I can easily remove the glass cover and remove the cotton. No escapees this way and less hassle. I also think it will make the move easier as well. I'll run a heat cable along side the outworld. Would love to run it through the hybrid 0.0 but they may climb the cable. Maybe I'll get a heat mat. The Hybrid None point 'O' has 4 entry points, but since its going in the rear left corner I'll block off two on the left side and have them exit through both entrances on the right. I'll place a scouring pad in the watering dish, so I don't have cremas crawling beneath the formicarium. They'll exit through tubing which I can cover with some debris - another plus of internal formicarium. 

 

I would like to ask readers if I should place anything/substrate etc. in the formicarium for comfort? All ideas welcome. I'll then place the old nest nearby and hope for the best. Hopefully they move soon. I have a feeling these guys are comfortable in their little haven I've brought home for them. Fingers crossed.

 

Any ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Wish us the best.

 

Sincerely,

 

Canadant (Brian)

Edited by Canadant, June 1 2020 - 1:11 PM.

[FeedTheAnts]

I should warn you that putting cotton inside the nest like that isn't a good idea. Basically, when you add water to the water reservoir then it will be wicked up through the mesh and into the cotton, saturating the nest. This won't stop until either the cotton is full of water, or the reservoir is empty. The only way it will work is if you don't add substrate to the reservoir, and don't fill it all the way up to the mesh. In other words, water in it's liquid form will pass through the mesh if there is a absorbent substance on both sides. 

 

Edit: btw, good on you for painting it white. Those older AC Hybrid Nests are Sh*t. 

Edited by FeedTheAnts, June 1 2020 - 1:38 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Why not fill it with something non-absorbent like sand the ants can take out as needed? I think they would love that. Not sure if that would wick too much still, though.
Keep us posted.

[FeedTheAnts]

Why not fill it with something non-absorbent like sand the ants can take out as needed? I think they would love that. Not sure if that would wick too much still, though.
Keep us posted.

Sand technically is absorbent because the space between the individual particles laps up water through capillary action. This is really what it means to absorb water in the macro sense of the word. Cotton is absorbent because water is attracted to the empty space between it's fibers. The same thing applies to sand, just with the fibers being exchanged for tiny rocks. 

Edited by FeedTheAnts, June 1 2020 - 2:29 PM.

[Canadant]

Hmmm

 

 

Why not fill it with something non-absorbent like sand the ants can take out as needed? I think they would love that. Not sure if that would wick too much still, though.
Keep us posted.

Sand technically is absorbent because the space between the individual particles laps up water through capillary action. This is really what it means to absorb water in the macro sense of the word. Cotton is absorbent because water is attracted to the empty space between it's fibers. The same thing applies to sand, just with the fibers being exchanged for tiny rocks. 

 

Hmm.... something to block, but not absorbent. I was thinking like a steel scouring pad. Not steel wool but the kitchen pads. They're small enough to get all mixed in there though. Perhaps I'll just block off the dry areas up tiop. They can have the full hydration area plus a little of the dry top area. Hmmm... 

 

Thanks for the help. Makes sense. 

 

Also, AntDrew, I like the idea but probably too much work. 

[ANTdrew]

Honestly, why not just leave it open? Being Cremas, they’re going to trash it anyway.
Another thought came to me as I type, what about mounting putty?

[Canadant]

Crematogaster cerasi June 1st' 2020

 

I cut out a piece of plastic to fit exactly over the top of some of the Hydration area. This will give them a bit more room on the hydration area as well. Then I stuffed the cotton on there. It's kinda like having another bottom on there. Should be okay so, I'm gonna go with it and we'll see.

 

I rubbed a little dirt around in there too to get rid of the fresh smell. 

 

Here pics: 

 

[Canadant]

Honestly, why not just leave it open? Being Cremas, they’re going to trash it anyway.
Another thought came to me as I type, what about mounting putty?

Yeah... putty. Great thought. Yeah if it goes south, then screw it I might as well leave it open too.

Gonna get a heat mat to slide under that side of the outworld. They should like that. Nice a cozy.

[Canadant]

Crematogaster cerasi June 1st, 2020

 

Well it's in there. It doesn't look as good as the Crema Hotel where they're living now, but it'll do for now. I'll rearrange the debris and put some on top and around the Hybrid 0.0. I'll make it look as natural as possible. Once the queen is in there that'll be all I need to know. Then close the lid and let her do her thang. However,, I have a funny feeling these guys are just not going to be moving anytime soon. Once I get a heat mat under that side of the outworld it might help. I really like the look of their little Crema Hotel now. If they move I may place it on top at a later date. Who knows? The good news right now is the top is wide open and I have had zero escape attempts, so i know they're comfortable. But they gotta grow. if the space is small they may regulate to that size. Give them more and I suppose they'll fill it. Since I moved their little hotel today I gave them a JUICY spider egg just for disturbing them. If you get a chance to feed one of these, I highly recommend it. They went nuts for it! Thy're chewing the sac now. The baby spiders got carried into the hotel and no doubt fed to the many larvae. I also gave them a nice wild cricket. A favorite of all my colonies. It's being moved in now.

 

Good night and stay safe my American friends (and global anters too). Tough times, but voices need to be heard. Shame about the vandalism though. Please excuse the lighting. Some final pics:

 

Top Down

 

Right side view

 

Lid open

 

Spider Egg Feeding

 

 

 

[Lazarus]

Hmm.... probably gonna have to make room in the fridge then. They definitely go into a sort of dormancy but just not a full dispause. Wish I could keep them outside in like a large container, say my large beer cooler stuffed with hay or something- or between two bales of hay. We'll see.

Check on Kijiji. I found a perfectly fine mini-fridge for $30-$35 which I bought specifically for my ants. Worked great the last two winters.

[Canadant]

June 2nd, 2020

 

Formica neorufibarbis 

 

Disaster today. As some of you know I have two daughters one age 6 and the other age 2.5. I keep my ants in the living room so that access to them is easy and we all like to see the ants. I knew this would be inevitable someday. I have even told my wife to just 'get the vacuum' if it happens when I'm not there. You can probably guess where this is going. Well, my little one was looking at my Camponotus and when she finished, she accidentally hooked her hand on my Formica neorufibarbis outworld and it came crashing to the ground. There was dirt everywhere and the ants spilled onto the floor.   That's on me as a parent, so save the judgments. My hobby will remain the same. These things happen.  They were quietly living in two test tubes in there outworld and were growing at a slower but steady rate. There was about 40 of them and a bunch of pupae. I generally don't disturb them as they're pretty skittish. Either way I got all the ants, pupae and queen (Mads aspirator to the rescue). Their tube was dirty and unlivable. I placed them into a small Tupperware container with a new fresh test tube. I covered it and let them be. They have since moved into the new tube and seem okay. I fed them some nectar and cut up some crickets. 

 

 

Soooo....... they're going to need a new set up. I'm thinking of getting brave with these guys and going with a dirt set-up or trying to build a THA style formicarium of grout. I liking having the outworld and nest together as it cuts down on tubing, which leads to less disasters like this. No drilling holes either!  Plus they look cool as heck. I will be looking into some design here on the forum. Wish me and the ants luck! Hope they recover. Ants are tough though.

[Canadant]

June 3rd, 2020

 

Formica neorufibarbis

 

The colony is okay as far as I know. I was considering doing a dirt set-up for these guys and I still am but today I remembered I had an AC Hybrid nest (Formica Version) I bought back in 2017. So I dug it out. Once again AC made this version a dark brown colour. An absolutely stupid design colour. If this was actually a Canadian company (Seeing how he is Canadian) I would have returned them the instant I got the two, but with customs and dollar value differences and the fact that they don't cover shipping fees I was like F@#% it. My Camponotus one was terribly made as well, with scratched glass and sagging mesh (which inevitably led to it's own issue), too. I felt a bit burned actually....still do. But I digress. So I needed to paint the interior of this one as well, and got to work today. Painted the interior a very light beige and added a bit of fine dirt to the bottom. Frankly, I think it looks a lot better. AC you stink! I kinda now wish I took my time with my recent Crematogaster one as well. Perhaps I revisit that one. Still have yet to decide on their outworld, as the old one is trashed. 

 

Pics:

 

 

Crematogaster cerasi  

 

Well today I found my first escapee. This gal was not from the door frame as when I dropped her back in she was not attacked. I actually founf her on the lip of my Camponotus out world if you can believe it. Of all the places she could have gone, I have know idea why she chose there. That's about ten feet away and up the side of a old desk. As I suspected, I think now that I brood boosted the colony and space is at a minimum their going to be looking to expand. They haven't found the new formicarium yet and I don't think they'll move until my heat mat arrives in a week. Perhaps I can buy some heat packs to try and entice them. So, their going to need a lid. I've been surprised up to now how comfortable these guys have been. generally Cremas are super escape artists. That's not gonna happen here again! So, I'm going back to my old snug acrylic lid. I knew I'd need it again someday. I also will hollow out the center so I bought a Tacklife multi-purpose tool. It's a cheaper version of a Dremel - like a hundred dollars cheaper and just as good. 

 

 

This is the lid, which will be cut when the tack arrives. It will give me a snug fit as well as an upside down barrier zone. Plus easy access. I'll do one for my Camponotus as well. I'm actually glad I got it, because it's going to help my with all things around the house including ant hobby stuff.

 

 

Thanks.

Edited by Canadant, June 3 2020 - 6:34 PM.

[ANTdrew]

That looks like an excellent tool. If you find an easy way to cut these, please share. You could probably sell these kinds of lids, too.

I’m going to be making a dirt set up for my Formica colony, so be on the look out for that.

[Canadant]

June 5th, 2020

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis

 

I still believe this colony is not doing well. However, I actually saw the queen produce an egg yesterday. A worker took it gently from her gaster and placed it in a small pile of other new eggs. Perhaps that small brood boost helped. Her gastor still appears small. But here's a comparison pic of when I started this season and now. I felt they lost a lot of workers over the winter, but they're even down more now. Keep in mind there are some in the outworld busily excavating the log. 

 

The end of March 2020

 

June 4th, 2020 (Please excuse the light reflection)

 

I still have my eyes on the two pupae close to eclosing. I really want to see what happens. I saw a worker eating a pupae yesterday. You could tell by the meconium stain on the outside of the cocoon.

 

 

I'm just riding this out. We'll see what happens.

 

Cremaotgaster cerasi 

 

So I set up their new formicarium and placed the Crema Hotel on top. I rearranged to outworld and got rid of some debris. I put a small stick under the exits and built a slope up to both and watered it down, so that it has a bit of strength. I then ran my heating cable beneath the outworld on that side to create some humidity in the new nest. None entered. I believe they are very comfortable and won't move soon. However, I have time. I will not rush these guys. Plus, I like the look of the Crema Hotel. Eventually, their population will grow and they'll have to expand. The only place to go is in the formicarium. I'll remove the cotton swab in the front I think. I may stop hydrating the Crema Hotel as well (for now). The cable is a patch job and my heating mat is on the way. That should give me a bit more options to regulate the heat in the nest. here is what the new set up is like. 

 

Looking left:

 

Top down:

 

Front on:

 

Jamming a blue bottle into the Crema Hotel. Man, they can stuff stuff in there. Space has to be limited.

 

I thought Cremas were granivorous. I gave them some cut up sesame seeds, but they (very cutely) took them and one by one dumped them off the side of the nest. My Tetras love them.

 

Formica neorufibarbis

 

So, I moved these guys yesterday. It was not a nice move. Once I start moving things in my home, ie: setting up heat cables moving formicariums etc. I start vacuuming, cleaning scrubbing etc. I had the whole apartment torn apart. My motto is if you move a piece of furniture scrub and clean behind it. It keeps the place much cleaner. Well, since I became Rambo the cleaning nazi I rushed the move. Placed their tube onto their new fromicarium and dumped them into the nest (yeah, 'aint nobody got time for that!') So, they're in there whether they like it or not. I joined their nest to a small Tupperware outworld and placed any remaining stragglers in there. 

 

 

I really don't want to disturb these guys anymore. Their last few days has been horrendous. I did notice a few deaths from the accident. They were discarded in the temp set up. My bad. So, we're off to a new start. Lots of protein and sugars coming. They don't really like sugars all that much, if you can believe it. I will not lift their lid for several days. Just let them be. I have always loved Formica. 

 

Thanks for reading.Wishing all the anters out there good luck in our nuptial season this summer!!

Edited by Canadant, June 5 2020 - 4:41 AM.

[Canadant]

June 5th, 2020

 

C. novaeboracensis

 

DOA - Dead worker eclosed by comrades. You can see the discarded cocoon. I finally see the result I was expecting.

 

 

Some close ups:

 

So, something is up with these guys. You can see how their numbers have decreased. Perhaps they'll rebound, but I'm not sure. Either way, I've made a decision. Since my Tetramorium are doing great and in need of a larger outworld, I'm downgrading the Camponotus to a newer outworld -  the Tetras will get center stage now. Tomorrow, I will but a cheap plastic Tupperware container/storage bin, spruce it up a bit and attach the Camponotus to it. I will move their log in there and make it simple but nice. They will be cared for, but left in peace to either rebound or die. Then, I will clean the Camponotus' former outworld/aquarium, add new substrate, and slightly alter the tubing for the Tetramorium ants. These guys are such a pleasure to watch - always moving, always eating, foraging, and growing. I can tell they are in desperate need of a larger outworld and they deserve center stage in my home. So wish us luck. I'm sure all will be okay.

 

Tetramorium immigrans 

 

Some picks of my Tetramorium ants. I bet they'll fill another 3-6 compartments by they end of the summer. They were at just one compartment in the AC Omni nest a few weeks ago.

 

 

Crematogaster cerasi

 

I found a wasp nest just to the right of my bbq on the patio. So I grabbed it, and let the queen go. I thought it would be a real treat for the Crematogaster since their big rearrangement yesterday and a toast to a long and prosperous relationship. They ate each juicy little newly laid larvae and drank some of the nectar. I also gave them a big feed of hornworm, which they really liked. So if you find a wasp nest, feed it to your ants!

 

You can see each glowing ball of nectar and the tiny eggs. In the second pic you see a little guy who is coming out with a egg/larvae. Boy was she excited! tail wagging all the way back to the nest. A good choice.

 

[ANTdrew]

I think you made a good choice. I like the little ants that are always doing stuff, too. I definitely need to find a wasp nest for my Cremas!

[Canadant]

Wow, been over a month since my last update. Some news and pics incoming but for now:

I grabbed my first wild colony yesterday!!

In fact it was two colonies! Boy, I'm stoked. One was a small Aphaenogaster picea colony. The other.... still not 100%, but may be a Tapinoma sessile colony. This one was a mature colony it's just that the queen is so tiny. I was expecting a larger queen. Actually I thought Tapinoma were bigger ants. Time will tell as all thoughts and observations are welcome here. I'll work on pics but for now, I'm excited.

[Canadant]

Been a while! Sometimes life throws curveballs. Anting (and my beautiful family) got me through a tough summer. There is nothing more therapeutic for me than being outdoors, getting on my hands and kness, turning over rocks and logs, aspirator and magnifying glass in hand and collection bottles in my bag. You're probably wondering why I'm updating in Mid january but will get there. Let's start at the beginning. 

 

The two mature colonies I collected from the wild have been released. Not soon after I caught them to be exact. I guess with anting maturity, you learn it's best to focus on the few colonies I have that I can give special attention to. So... collect a wild colony... Check that off my bucket list. Both the Aphaenogaster and Tapinoma were cool but I can have them some other day.

 

C. novaeboracensis

 

My Camponotus Colony suffered the dreaded 4 years blues and died off. They were big and beautiful and again in the future I will try. 

 

Tetramorium immigrans 

My Tetramorium ants had to be moved out of my gorgeous AC Omni nest because as the colony grew I had to remove the cotton between the passages in the nest. However, as I removed some cotton to expose three new chambers, upon trying to replace the small chamber cover it fell into the formicarium! Yeah not cool. I had to act fast, ants were coming out everywhere and you just can't get your fingers in there to grab it. Had to get a piece of tape and kinda stick it and carefully pull it back out. Then another fell in! Yeah I take back that AC stuff is good. It looks great but it has its issues. So I moved them into my AC lg. Camponotus Hybrid nest. It's doing the trick and I'll have pics in the spring. They're larthargic now. As some may know I do not hibernate my ants. Just don't have the space. (That could have been the reason for my Camponotus' demise). Tetramorium are tough so I'm sure they'll be okay.

 

Formica neorufibarbis

 

These guys are now in hibernation mode. They grew slowly over the summer. I see the odd one come for water or a cricket leg every now and then. I'm looking forward to spring and a much larger outworld. These guys will probably go into the AC Omni nest. Their worker size really grew as the months passed over the summer. I believe they'll grow much faster in their second year. 

 

Crematogaster cerasi

 

The stars of the show tonight!!!

 

First, here's my roof I made them: 

 

 

That's not acrylic. It's something I can't remember the name.... I cut better than the acrylic though. between the two sheets is micron mesh and I glued on two handles. I placed it on my putworld but they still crept under it, so I placed a ring of felt around the aqurium lip and rested it on that. It was better but still not perfect, so I went back to my tape method of placing a ring around the top about an inch in width. I placed the lid on that and have not had an escappee since!It's been perfect.

 

To the ants: They were quiet most of the summer. They DID NOT move into the formicarium set up I tried. Since they don't have a formicarium and only live in that little wooden nest, it's hard to gauge what is going on in there. I frankly didn't even know if there was a queen (Check back story and great escape) in there. I tried making a cool nest of grout that I form fit to the side of the glass that I could view inside the nest from outside the aqurium outworld. I had wood chips in it and everything. they showed interest but it didn't work. I just let them be. Fed them periodically and lots of sugar water. Well they went into a small hibernation of sorts in the fall and then about two weeks ago they started to gather around the outside entrance to their little wooden nest. And a few days later they were all over the outworld, active as ever. Lots of them! I then checked the testtube I left in there for hydration and they had some brood in there! The nest was obviously too dry. I would water the nest every now and then. I had cotton balls on top. It worked, but this time I waited too long I guess. So I thought, heck, I'm going to put in some covered test tubes and see what happens. I put a straw covered in cotton on the front of the tube to make it more inviting. I thought a smaller entrance might entive them more. I lay them close to the entrance of their wooden nest. They just spilled out of the nest. Hundreds of them. I'm like where did you all come from?!

 

And... the next day...

 

 

There she is!!!!!! 

 

Here's more pics of the setup. Forgive the poor quality.

 

 

Horn worm action!

 

The entrsnce to the two tubes

 

They're so active all of a sudden. I mean they just came to life. The queen has since moved into the second tube with tones of newly laid eggs and the other tube is stuffed with brood. Stuffed! They are also still using the wooden nest as well, hence the piece of bark I laid across the front of the tubes. 

 

So.. I'm happy. 

 

 

Last but not least, I still see some Crematogaster in my door jam a year and a half after the great escape. I fed them some sugar water the other day. Fewer and fewer, but still there. Amazing.

 

Good night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TennesseeAnts]

Happy to see you're back! Sucks to hear about the Camponotus, but yeah, they really can't go long without hibernation, especially in your more Northern climates. Here, they can get away with not hibernating, but its still a good idea to give them at least 6-8 weeks. 

[ANTdrew]

Dude! I’m SO glad your back! This forum really needs folks like you. That’s awesome you got to see your Crematogaster queen again.