123 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

You and I are in the same boat. The itty-bitty cute outworlds simply do not cut it for thriving colonies, especially Houdini Crematogaster. I can’t do anything in my outworld now without at least one worker slippng out, despite a thick layer of fluon. I
think your best bet is to find some thin plastic that you can cut to fit the rim. In Boog’s Builds, he describes putting a rim under his lid, like a barrier before the barrier. That’s really intriguing to me. I really need some solutions!

[Canadant]

You and I are in the same boat. The itty-bitty cute outworlds simply do not cut it for thriving colonies, especially Houdini Crematogaster. I can’t do anything in my outworld now without at least one worker slippng out, despite a thick layer of fluon. I
think your best bet is to find some thin plastic that you can cut to fit the rim. In Boog’s Builds, he describes putting a rim under his lid, like a barrier before the barrier. That’s really intriguing to me. I really need some solutions!

Yeah I just put the fluon on. It's a bit thicker than I wanted. I'll probably resort to cellophane over the top with air holes punched in. It's an ugly solution that can help for a while if need be. How big is your outworld? I'm hoping the size might help. Who is the person you speak of that built a cover? I'd like to see.

[Lazarus]

 I'm just taking a wild guess on the species.

You can use antmaps.org to at least narrow down your searches.

[ANTdrew]

Here is Boog’s journal. Read about his new outworlds to see the rim he made.
https://www.formicul...ted-5220/page-2

[Temperateants]

I'm not even gonna stealth brag!

This was hard to get had to go to Yale University press website.

20200505_105938.jpg

I have that book. but some moron at my school (that doesn't really narrow it down, hehe) threw it on the ground, so the cover and pages are frayed

[Canadant]

 

I'm not even gonna stealth brag!

This was hard to get had to go to Yale University press website.

20200505_105938.jpg

I have that book. but some moron at my school (that doesn't really narrow it down, hehe) threw it on the ground, so the cover and pages are frayed

 

Bullies suck! feed him to your ants!! 

 

A beautiful book by the way. Thanks for visiting. 

[Canadant]

Crematogastor sp. (I can ID these guys now with my new book! so soon.)

 

So, I woke up this morning and tossed in the nest. Immediately the ants were out and about searching there new outworld. I tossed in some crickets to welcome them. But guess what.... the test was if they could cross the barrier and when they would make an attempt. Well, It didn't take long and the barrier proved useless. Oh well, the seem happier and able to move around more. perhaps that will entice them to stay. They immediately started a trail up the left front corner and were walking along the lip of the aquarium. None went farther than that. The line is gone now so maybe the message got out that its not so bad in here. HA! However, I'm not gonna chance it. Luckily I found a large thin acrylic see-through board outside. I believe it was for a table top. It's been sitting outside my apt. for months. it was about 4 feet by 5 feet. Measured the top of the outworld around the lip, used an exacto knife to score the board and it snapped off perfectly!

 

So now i have a very secure lid, but i ned to either cut a hole ion the top and place mesh over it or drill several holes in the surface. Any ideas on how to cut a hole in acrylic? Should I just score it repeatedly with an exacto knife? I have some 100 micron metal mesh and some sealant. 

 

Here are some pics: 

 

 

Here it is snug as a bug on top!

 

 

If the lid proves to be a major success I'll probably get rid of the PTFE border around the top.

 

[Canadant]

Crematogastor sp. 

 

Just some pics of the ants in their new world. The first is of their cute little nest and the second is an pic showing all that area they can explore from the nest. A huge expanse of twigs and sticks nooks and crannies. 

 

 

 

It's nice to see them in a habitat that's a bit more natural. They're a lot smaller in here. LOL.

 

 

 

I hope to get some better pics in the future. 

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Edited by Canadant, May 8 2020 - 8:02 AM.

[ANTdrew]

That looks beautiful! The only issue will be keeping them off the lid and away from the edge.

[Lazarus]

So now i have a very secure lid, but i ned to either cut a hole ion the top and place mesh over it or drill several holes in the surface. Any ideas on how to cut a hole in acrylic? Should I just score it repeatedly with an exacto knife? I have some 100 micron metal mesh and some sealant.

 

If the lid proves to be a major success I'll probably get rid of the PTFE border around the top.

 

Be wary. Unless that acrylic is much thicker than the one I made, It will warp terribly as I learned:
https://www.formicul...hread/?p=133728

 

Luckily I was still at the 'testing' phase so I did not have to worry about any escapes, but as I did more research after noticing the warp, it seems that acrylic WILL do this so I'm ruling it out for my future setups. Glass is really the best option, but of course it make it much harder to create partial openings for meshes and ways to get in and feed, clean, etc. On the positive side, if I can ever get to cut rectangular holes, it will be completely escape proof.

 

[Canadant]

Left the lid on and came back within an hour and a half. It got pretty damp in there. Definitely gonna have to cut a hole in the lid for aeration. Hmmm.... might just have to get a durable exacto and go to it.

[ANTdrew]

I’ve done this with the blade of a hacksaw I removed from the handle. I started the hole with my drill. Tedious but doable.

[Canadant]

Tetramorium immigrans

Now that the Crematogastor have a new outworld I decided to move the Tetramorium into their old outworld. I'm not going to put the test tube in there though. I'll connect this one with rubber tubing so I can see in their nest. These guys may need a formicarium soon. They'll get the AC omni nest.

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Edited by Canadant, May 8 2020 - 2:43 PM.

[Canadant]

Crematogastor sp.

 

I decided to go out and get the other half of their old nest, I just wanted to give them more options if they needed it. The old nest was actually off of a detour barricade that had been discarded along our old railroad here. They had since abandoned it and had moved down the barricade and were now thriving under a new part. 

 

 

Here's another nest about I found too. I have never collected a wild nest. Brood, yes, but queen, brood and workers, no. I actually don't know how you guys do it. I can never see the queen. They only queen I've seen was a camponotus novaboarcensis queen in her founding chamber. Look at those ants!! I need an aspirator.

 

 

Here's the other half of the nest. 

 

 

I then placed it on top of their current nest. I'm hoping they use both. 

 

 

They've been in and out of this nest and have now occupied both I believe. They have been doing a lot of excavation to both as well. The ants will come out carrying small pieces of wood but I'm not so sure. Hard to see because the pieces are so small. I've seen no brood moving either. Time will tell. technically i don't even know if a queen is in there. lol. But it's cute and looks great. 

 

Well, I wanted to ID these guys. My Field guide to ants of new England states that the only difference is that the cerasi has no erect hairs on the mesosoma except for 1-2 erect hairs on the pronotum and lineolata have smaller erect hairs scattered on the pronotum.  So I got to work....sigh. Man, it is hard to get a pick of an ant that distinguishes some of it's features. I took a lot of pics but only a few were good enough to get a feel. here they are: 

 

 

This is the ONLY pic where I can barely see two erect hairs on the mesosoma. Barely! In all the others it looks like there are no hairs at all. Two more:

 

 

 

From my limited experience it looks like C. lineolata are black. My ants are darker but clearly have redish-brown hue on their mesosoma. 

 

So, my first 'difficult' (meaning needing more than the eye) ID is: these are Crematogastor cerasi. Yaaaaaay!

 

My tape barrier is working for the time being too. I think they're comfortable, b ut if they grow I'll need to rethink the lid again. 

 

Tetramorium immigrans

 

Here they are in their new outworld. They love it. Lots of room for them now. They're busy growing. I fed them some sesame seed which they gobbled up. Didn't really touch the pumpkin seeds. I love these guys. They're so busy. 

 

 

 

Side Note

 

On my anting escapades I found a Camponotus (maybe nearcticus or herculaenus) queen dead in a founding chamber. I guess she never made it through the winter. I dug her out to get a better look. 

 

Edited by Canadant, May 12 2020 - 11:53 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Looking good! Crematogaster are a PITA to identify. I’m lucky an anting buddy of mine had a microscope and a lot more knowledge than me. I think cerasi are far more prevalent than lineolata, so when in doubt, it’s safe to assume cerasi.
Glad you are containing them.
Tetras are a lot of fun, too. Best part is that they suck at climbing.

[Canadant]

Tetramorium immigrans

 

May 16, 2020

 

Moving day!!!

 

So, I felt my Tetramorium needed a new home. They started to expand to the edge of their test tube. I'm sure there are well over a hundred with a healthy brood pile. I detached the test tube and ran the short tube to the AC Omni nest (finally I get to use it). I then sealed the tube with some water proof sealant as these guys are so tiny I didn't want them squeezing out the sides of the formicarium and the tubing. I also placed a heating cable under one side of the nest. For the first few months I will have only 3 caverns open. The rest will remain closed off by a ball of cotton. I then placed their test tube into the outworld and waited. 

 

No movement. 

 

Well, I'm not gonna do the waiting game with these guys. I got a feeling that they were very comfortable in there. So I dumped the whole contents of the tube into the outworld. BLAM! It was pandemonium for a while. the started to place the brood on the watering test tube so I took that out. They then got the message and started taking the brood into the omni nest. The nest will be covered for the time being. I do not want to disturb the move any further. I'll place the old tube in there later to see if they will pick up and straggling brood. Those eggs can get pretty small. I'm waiting for the queen to go in soon. She hid under a small wood chip I had in there. 

 

Forgive me. I don't mean to harm the ants. Please don't take my to Ant Court of Justice. 

 

Some pics. You can see the tube in the far right corner here. The omni nest is close behind covered by a dish rag. 

 

 

Here is a top down view with the queen being under the wood chip. 

 

 

I love these guys!! The plan is to adjust these guys to daylight. I do not want to keep the omni nest covered. 

 

Wish us luck!

Edited by Canadant, May 16 2020 - 1:48 PM.

[Canadant]

Tetramorium immigrans

 

May 16, 2020

 

Move Complete! Took about 2 hours for all brood - I even popped in the old test tube and they really cleaned it out. Man, those eggs can get really small! 

 

I've always liked the look of the omni nest. I'm eager to watch this fill up. 

 

 

 

[AntsDakota]

I can't wait to catch a queen of this species this year..........

[Canadant]

C. novaeboracensis

 

I feel that this colony is dying. This is their fourth season and the queen is not producing eggs nor is her gaster full. She actually looks smaller than normal. I have had the odd egg from the previous season develop, but I'm not sure if they eclose and are alive. I think they're like a still birth (I hate using that term... I wonder if there is a more proper one). I have been unable to find any callow ants this season at all. I have pics of some eclosing on here, but then they disappear. I believe I wrote about it in one of my previous posts. I've never seen callow ants turn colour so quick. They usually remain a lighter colour for a few days, so I believe they are disposed of perhaps by being eaten. I've used heat cables, varied their food, changed their outworld habitat and now I've even thrown in a solid block of rotten wood for them to excavate. Actually it is the second block. The first one was excavated slightly, but when the rotten part (which was small) stopped, they stopped as well. I'm trying anything to help them. They were great last year. Their numbers peaked at probably a 500-750. They lost a lot over the winter and I started this season with over 250. Sadly, I don't have the means to hibernate them properly. I only have one fridge (forgive me). They'r enumbers look like they're going down and not up. 

 

Here's the block of wood: 

 

 

I'm debating on whether to put them out of their misery. It's not that I want to, but they're taking up resources. I'm spending money on feeding them and since my Tetramorium are growing out of their small outworld I'll need to give them something larger. I was hoping to just move my Camponotus into a vivarium in the future - a natural set-up without a formicarium so they could be just part of the background. Now my baby salamanders are taking up my slightly larger aquarium. 

 

I believe I read on this site that after 3-4 years some Camponotus colonies just die off. I was not a believer until now. 

 

What to do?

Edited by Canadant, May 28 2020 - 4:33 AM.

[Canadant]

C. novaeboracensis

 

I decided not to give up on these guys. I've got a large pupae in my formicarium and I'm going to keep my eye on it. If they dispose of the body by eating it or if it ecloses as a dead ant I'll meditate on the issue. if it's alive and well I'll definitely keep them. Yesterday, I put in a new large piece of rotten wood. I placed a wet cotton ball on top to add some moisture as it was pretty dry. They began to excavate immediately. There are a lot crawling around the operation today. Lots of pieces of wood coming out. If they move in there I'm fine with that. My Cremas are living in a natural nest. I can't see the queen and that's a problem but I just want them to be happy (Not my Cremas, as I want to know what's going on in there. That's for next post. lol). I figured an ant (Camponotus ant) wants to be busy doing ant things. Maybe they're just bored. Who knows? Things like boredom and repetitiveness are severely detrimental to the health of zoo animals. Could they they affect an ant colony as well? I bet it's debatable.  Either way, I'm going to let them work. That's what ants do. 

 

Here's some quick pics. Sorry for the unsteady hand.

 

 

It's actually really cool to watch them come in and out with pieces of wood in their jaws and drop it and return. Busy, Busy, Busy!