8 replies to this topic

[BitT]

 

Genus: Pheidole
Species: Floridana

Common Name:

 

Colony Stage: Fresh Queen
Caught Date: 05-28-2020
Eggs: 05-30-2020
Larva:
Pupa: 06-28-2020

Nanitics: 06-29-2020

Diet:

Special Needs:

 

Do they Sting or bite?:

Escape Artists?:

 

Queen or colony count: 1 Queen

 

06-03-2020:

She seems pretty laid back and pretty quickly started laying eggs. Still doing good so far and hope she keeps up the chill and thriving vibe.

 

06-28-2020:

We have pupa that are dark and looking ready to pop! Eagerly waiting her first workers.

 

06-29-2020:

We got workers today! They are so tiny~

 

02-15-2022:

Having issues with them digging through cotton in their tube and drowning themselves. They have used some play-sand I gave them and plugged up their tube entrance. Since then I have seen very little activity. It makes me think they are hibernating? And maybe their digging in the cotton was trying to find a deeper place to hibernate in? Maybe in the near future I should try another housing method. Just they are so tiny there aren't many options I feel.

 

Link To My Journal Directory

Edited by BitT, February 15 2022 - 4:20 PM.

[Antkid12]

Nice! Pheidole are so cool! Abosultely jealous of all your Pheidole.

Edited by Antkid12, June 3 2020 - 2:18 PM.

[BitT]

Nice! Pheidole are so cool! Abosultely jealous of all your Pheidole.

Thanks ! Everyone seems excited about my Pheidole! Since I was able to get 4 different species I figured they were pretty common. Are they not as common as I thought? They also seem the easiest to care for (with the exception of my Solenopsis Invicta which are super easy and hardy). Most my Pheidole seem to be eager layers too.

[ANTdrew]

I think the further north you go, the less common they are. I’ve seen maybe 12 workers. Ever.

[Kaelwizard]

Pheidole live here, but I have never seen any Pheidole in my life until I went to Florida for a vacation. I live in Michigan, and that is way farther north than Florida so I can back Drew’s claim.

[AntsDakota]

Pheidole live here, but I have never seen any Pheidole in my life until I went to Florida for a vacation. I live in Michigan, and that is way farther north than Florida so I can back Drew’s claim.

I am shocked at how extremely similar our stories are.........
Except for the fact that I’ve never visited Florida. 🤣

Edited by AntsDakota, June 3 2020 - 4:36 PM.

[TechAnt]

I have never seen any Pheidole down here in South CA..But I probably would not expect to see them as I’m a newbie ant keeper.

Edited by TechAnt, June 3 2020 - 5:34 PM.

[Mdrogun]

 

Nice! Pheidole are so cool! Abosultely jealous of all your Pheidole.

Thanks ! Everyone seems excited about my Pheidole! Since I was able to get 4 different species I figured they were pretty common. Are they not as common as I thought? They also seem the easiest to care for (with the exception of my Solenopsis Invicta which are super easy and hardy). Most my Pheidole seem to be eager layers too.

 

In most of the temperate United States Pheidole spp. seem to be much more sensitive to human disturbance as well as the presence of exotic or invasive species. I don't think I've ever seen Pheidole spp. in an area with Tetramorium immigrans, the temperate United States' most prevalent invasive. It also is, in part, likely because there are no exotic species of Pheidole spp. in the temperate United States, unlike Florida.

 

On a separate note, if you know where to look, Pheidole spp. can definitely be found up here. I've even been to places in Illinois where Pheidole spp. were so common that it almost became a disappointment  to find them, just because I wasn't looking to find my 757th colony of Pheidole sp. 

Edited by Mdrogun, June 3 2020 - 8:24 PM.

[BitT]

Thank you all for the information! And yah, Florida is pretty diverse and invasives have it easy in getting a foot hold. Plus my state is not the greatest at protecting our native wildlife or our natural world. I remember how clear the water was here when we first moved here when I was a kid and the beaches were pretty clean but now the water is a brown muck and there's trash every step. But we're a tourist state and business comes first. Sad for our native wildlife but I guess it benefits ant keeping since we get our fill of not native ants. I believe my Pheidole Megacephala are an invasive species here, if I remember right. But they're so easy and actually surprisingly curious I can't help but love them. Then I look at my native Colobopsis Impressa and how hard it is to get them settled and I understand why they might be having trouble because of human construction and invasive species.
 

But yah, I'll treasure my Pheidole and try to share them with you all who might not be able to get your own. If I can keep them thriving and happy that is. Wish me luck!