17 replies to this topic

[PetsNotPests]

Hey everyone!

 

One of my C. US-CA02 colonies was acting a little strange lately. The colony in question had 5 workers, all doing well, and when I came to check on them, 2 of the workers had died! I was really put off by this, because they where really young. after that, the colony has been using the water tower of their TarHeel Ants' mini hearth as their trash dump. I think this is probably the result of the colony dropping 40% of their total workers, and their nest suddenly became too big, so they used it as a trash dump. I removed the glass to clean out the garbage with a Q-tip, which worked fine. I'm guessing that I will be doing this again in the future, unless the colony starts to use the outworld. currently, I haven't seen any ants in the outworld yet, but i only check on them once a day, so they probably forage by night because their a nocturnal species. The colony currently has 1 big larve, which I expect will pupate in a week or so. 

 

Any idea why those 2 workers died? the other workers seem fine, and the queen is healthy, so i've got nothing. 

 

Also, sorry to start this journal off with a rough start, but expect me to keep this an active thread.

 

 

[ZTYguy]

I have had a colony do this before but this is why i always try and get doubles with species or atleast genus. If you have any camponotus colonies doing well you can steal some brood and give it to them. I have multiple ca02 colonies so i just brood boost with them.

Edited by ZTYguy, May 24 2021 - 8:37 AM.

[Broncos]

They could have just been unhealthy brood. But you might want to get them out of a mini hearth because I have a colony with 20-30 workers and it is still small for them.

[PetsNotPests]

I have had a colony do this before but this is why i always try and get doubles with species or atleast genus. If you have any camponotus colonies doing well you can steal some brood and give it to them. I have multiple ca02 colonies so i just brood boost with them.

I have some C. Vicinus. Ok, i'll try to boost them with a few cocoons. hopefully their not total wusses like the US-CA02 workers 

[PetsNotPests]

They could have just been unhealthy brood. But you might want to get them out of a mini hearth because I have a colony with 20-30 workers and it is still small for them.

I didn't think of this until you said this, but the 2 cocoons did seem a little darker than average. Also, their legs seemed very fragile compared to the healthy ones. I have tried to move them out, but they are really stubborn and won't budge. 

Edited by PetsNotPests, May 24 2021 - 8:44 AM.

[Broncos]

They could have just been unhealthy brood. But you might want to get them out of a mini hearth because I have a colony with 20-30 workers and it is still small for them.

I didn't think of this until you said this, but the 2 cocoons did seem a little darker than average. Also, their legs seemed very fragile compared to the healthy ones. I have tried to move them out, but they are really stubborn and won't budge.

Try carefully removing the glass front panel and use a test tube to scoop them. But they might be fine. You’ll just need to scoop the trash out mode often

[PetsNotPests]

Ok, the move is official. I put a 20x150mm test tube up to one of the holes in the side, and in literally 10 minutes, most of the brood had been moved! The queen is not yet moved, but that's expected. I'm going to put the test tube into a outworld, with 2 indents for extra tubes when the colony expands. I will add some photos when I put them in (which will be in an hour or so) 

[PetsNotPests]

Ok, they all moved. They sure settled in quickly! Hope they like their new home.

 

Here are some pictures of them:

 

 

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[Broncos]

That is a great looking formicarium!!

[PetsNotPests]

That is a great looking formicarium!!

Thanks! They are very simple and easy to make too! May be adding a few artificial plants into them to add some color.

[PetsNotPests]

Wow, forgot I even had this journal. Yes the colony is still alive, and better yet, a fourth (she would have be they're sixth) worker has popped up. I never really got around to brood boosting them, but they don't seem like they need it. Just thought about including this, and i'll make an update if anything major happens. (It's gonna be a while) 

[PetsNotPests]

Update 9-29

 

The colony is doing good, just got their 10th worker. Currently have a few eggs and a few small larvae, likely preparing for diapause. (Uggghhh!) They are crazy aggressive, attacking all that moves. A single worker is not afraid to run on to my hand and make me scream lol. Makes me wonder if these gals are solitary hunters? 

Anyway, I love these ants. They're just so unique, from their sheer size to their pattern. I'll update this journal if anything exiting happens. (Unlikely)

[AntsLA-1]

Update 9-29

 

The colony is doing good, just got their 10th worker. Currently have a few eggs and a few small larvae, likely preparing for diapause. (Uggghhh!) They are crazy aggressive, attacking all that moves. A single worker is not afraid to run on to my hand and make me scream lol. Makes me wonder if these gals are solitary hunters? 

Anyway, I love these ants. They're just so unique, from their sheer size to their pattern. I'll update this journal if anything exiting happens. (Unlikely)

Awesome journal!! To bad mine died.

[PetsNotPests]

Update 2-4

 

So I lied, nothing exiting is happening at the moment, although they have been more active lately. They haven't gotten any more workers (or laid any new eggs) for at least a few months, but they haven't lost any ether. They still have some tiny larvae, which haven't grown due to the cold. Just yesterday I put them on heat once again, which should boost their activity as well as growth. 

I also tried to get some pictures of them in their test tube, but it didn't really work out because of dirty cotton fibers the workers have stuck to the sides. I might try and isolate one or two of the workers to try and photograph them, and if I am successful, I will post them in the next update. 

 

 

Here are the pictures I was able to get of them while in their test tube:

 

 

 

 

Haha, forgot to mention that I had fed the workers some nectar, that's why they are red. 

[futurebird]

She almost looks like a forest ant. What a chunky girl. 

[PetsNotPests]

Update 2-14

 

Happy Valantines day! (Sorry had to)

 

Well, I'd never thought I would say this, but THEY'RE GROWING!!!

A few days ago, I checked on the colony, and there were 2 pupae and a large pile of eggs. The old larvae are developing quickly, and workers are much more active. Just goes to show what heating can do to an ant colony. 

Oh yeah. Remember when I said that I would try to photograph one of the workers? Well, separating a single one was a lot harder than you'd think, and I was unsuccessful in doing so. Maybe next time. Pics of brood pile coming soon. 

[PetsNotPests]

Update 8-4

 

Its been a while since I last updated any of my journals, so I thought I would start here. 

 

Yesterday, I moved this colony into a Mini Hearth. Unfortunately, they are down to 3 workers, but the queen has been active in egg production for the last few weeks. I expect the colony to start growing once again. Not too much of an update, but I did get some nice pictures. 

 

 

 

 

[That_one_ant_guy]

The queen in the last pic looks angry lol