Jump to content

  • Chat
  •  
  •  

Welcome to Formiculture.com!

This is a website for anyone interested in Myrmecology and all aspects of finding, keeping, and studying ants. The site and forum are free to use. Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation points to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!

Photo

Skocko76's Aphaenogaster epirotes journal

journal aphaenogaster epirotes

  • Please log in to reply
70 replies to this topic

#61 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 26 2021 - 12:29 PM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA

Funny how they are clustered up like that. Hope there all wearing masks! Nice colony.

They don’t need masks. They have anty bodies.
  • skocko76, DDD101DDD, Antkeeper01 and 3 others like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#62 Offline PetsNotPests - Posted May 26 2021 - 12:43 PM

PetsNotPests

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 418 posts
  • LocationSouthern LA County, California

 

Funny how they are clustered up like that. Hope there all wearing masks! Nice colony.

They don’t need masks. They have anty bodies.

 

How did I not think of that!?!?!? Hahahaha! :lol:


  • Antkeeper01 likes this

Ants are Pets, not Pests. 

 

-Camponotus sansabeanus

-Camponotus US-CA02

-Camponotus vicinus

-Formica podzolica

-Monomorium spp.

-Pogonomyrmex californicus

-Solenopsis spp. 

 


#63 Offline skocko76 - Posted May 26 2021 - 11:11 PM

skocko76

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 416 posts
  • LocationSplit, Croatia
Thanks for your suggestions! Due to covid, I couldn't order much from abroad, due to postage restrictions. I just got a shipment from AKD I ordered almost a year ago, so it should be possible to do now. Unfortunately, in Croatia, dogs, cats, parrots and goldfish is as far as pets go. So it's hard to find stuff locally (as in the entire country haha).

#64 Offline Lillyrose - Posted June 21 2021 - 5:45 AM

Lillyrose

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 423 posts
  • LocationNorthern Virginia


Why not buy some mealworms?

I don't have access to live feed locally. Pet shop only have dried feed for aquarium fish etc..
I tried feeding them freeze dried stuff, but that didn't work very well. I soaked the insects in water, but the reception was bad.
And I don't think growing live feed would fly with the missus. It's a wonder she agreed to my ants :)

If there is a trick with feeding freeze dried stuff from pet shops, please do tell :)

Have you figured it out?

The pet store near me sells these semi freeze dried insects .. the outside is dry but you can cut into them and it's juicy inside.

My ants loved it the first time but have shown very little interest after that. Worth looking at.

Have you been using things like chicken and egg?

#65 Offline skocko76 - Posted June 22 2021 - 12:50 AM

skocko76

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 416 posts
  • LocationSplit, Croatia

 

 

Why not buy some mealworms?

I don't have access to live feed locally. Pet shop only have dried feed for aquarium fish etc..
I tried feeding them freeze dried stuff, but that didn't work very well. I soaked the insects in water, but the reception was bad.
And I don't think growing live feed would fly with the missus. It's a wonder she agreed to my ants :)

If there is a trick with feeding freeze dried stuff from pet shops, please do tell :)

Have you figured it out?

The pet store near me sells these semi freeze dried insects .. the outside is dry but you can cut into them and it's juicy inside.

My ants loved it the first time but have shown very little interest after that. Worth looking at.

Have you been using things like chicken and egg?

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check for them in the pet shops around town.

I do feed them hard-boiled egg. I haven't tried chicken yet. Should the chicken be raw or cooked? Also the egg, they like it hard-boiled but I am unsure if they can ingest it that way.I did try liquid yoke, but ants get stuck in it.

I have been managing so far with odd house fly, spider and earwig, also with mazu protein powder (which they don't like much), nectar powder from French Fourmiculture and Japanese beetle jelly from AKD.

They are still relatively small so don't need much food.



#66 Offline skocko76 - Posted June 22 2021 - 1:03 AM

skocko76

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 416 posts
  • LocationSplit, Croatia

My photos are becoming less and less clear - the ants clump into big black balls haha

Most of the larvae have enclosed, only a few left, although it's kinda hard to see. A new batch of eggs is yet to come.

They are close to a hundred now, and I suspect they will fill the entire nest by Fall.

As they are a very tidy and clean species, I will be moving them into Aeacus Corinth medium nest I have stashed. It will be a beautiful sight.

 

IMG 20210622 105224

 


  • Canadant and Fatatoille like this

#67 Offline skocko76 - Posted August 16 2021 - 6:37 AM

skocko76

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 416 posts
  • LocationSplit, Croatia

The colony has stalled development at no more than 200 workers.

I suspected they filled their nest full and stalled. I connected a larger nest to the outworld, but they wouldn't move.

An inert worker would always hang in the larger nest, perhaps keeping tabs on it, or perhaps getting far away from the nest to die.

In the end I removed the glass from their nest and placed them in the outworld.

They moved within an hour and are settling in their new, larger nest.

We'll see if they'll start producing eggs again. Currently, they have a single larvae.

 

IMG 20210816 162941

Edited by skocko76, August 16 2021 - 6:38 AM.

  • TacticalHandleGaming and AntBoi3030 like this

#68 Offline Lamarr - Posted June 8 2022 - 11:31 AM

Lamarr

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 141 posts
  • LocationBirmingham, Alabama

Any updates?


  • Kaelwizard and DaAnt like this

#69 Offline skocko76 - Posted June 13 2022 - 3:25 AM

skocko76

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 416 posts
  • LocationSplit, Croatia

Actually.... yes!

 

In the past week, their pupae started enclosing. The colony has reached puberty! They got their first drones!

 

IMG 20220613 132012
IMG 20220613 132020

 


  • Lamarr, ANTdrew, Antkeeper01 and 1 other like this

#70 Offline Lamarr - Posted June 15 2022 - 10:04 PM

Lamarr

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 141 posts
  • LocationBirmingham, Alabama

That's awesome! Seems like they are growing still


  • Antkeeper01 likes this

#71 Offline Kristijan - Posted January 9 2023 - 10:26 AM

Kristijan

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPip
  • 27 posts
  • LocationCroatia, Zagreb

I hope you'll give us another update after diapause, Aphaenogaster epirotes is not common in antkeeping 







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: journal, aphaenogaster, epirotes

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users