292 replies to this topic

[TennesseeAnts]

I need a break from them, to be honest. They’re very mischievous ants.

I bet! Even with a smaller species like Ph. bicarinata, keeping a mature colony seems like a very daunting task. 

[AntBoi3030]

Deleted

Edited by AntBoi3030, January 15 2022 - 4:09 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Update 1-19-2021

 

 The Phatheads are still in diapause. They are in my parents' unheated basement, which is down in the 40s now. I checked them on Monday, and everything looks great. I'm looking forward to waking them up in a month or so. I'm currently debating what I will move them into, but whatever it is, it will need to be very escape proof. I don't feel I can trust their Fallen Fortress anymore since they found a way out of the watering tube somehow.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3/14/2022

 

After a good respite from their mischief, I'm happy to be waking up Alfhild and her Phatheads for their third season. They spent the winter in my parents' cold basement, and I brought them home to my house on Saturday 3/12. The colony is at a point where new workers are closely equaling deaths, so they are holding steady at their current size, which is still quite large. I think the new Antpartment I plan to move them into could be a good forever home for them at their current numbers. The queen looks great, but very little brood made it through the winter. I bet she'll start pumping out eggs very soon, though.

 

Ants happily crammed up in their Fortress nest:

 

Here is the nest I plan to move them into:

[AntsDakota]

I'm going to binge-read this journal from start to finish today.

I may be getting Phediole soon.

[antsriondel]

I'm going to binge-read this journal from start to finish today.

I may be getting Phediole soon.

you are so lucky. I WANT PHEIDOLE.

Edited by antsriondel, March 14 2022 - 7:57 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-18-22

 

After being heated for the past few days, the Phatheads are resuming their plans for world domination. I've fed them twice this week with dubia roach pieces and a few hemp hearts. They did lose quite a few workers over winter, so they have some catching up to do. Good ol' fashioned power feeding will help with that.

 

Here's a GIF of last night's feast. Check out those majors workin' it:

[antsriondel]

Update 3-18-22

 

After being heated for the past few days, the Phatheads are resuming their plans for world domination. I've fed them twice this week with dubia roach pieces and a few hemp hearts. They did lose quite a few workers over winter, so they have some catching up to do. Good ol' fashioned power feeding will help with that.

 

Here's a GIF of last night's feast. Check out those majors workin' it:

awesome!

[AntsCali098]

Awsome colony! I with I was able to raise a colony that size from a single queen, but most of my pheidole caught last season either have been sold or have died.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-23-2022

 

This colony is kicking off their third season with gusto. They're back to launching big feeding responses, and they have a sizable pile of larvae now on the water tower in their Fallen Fortress. They'll probably start producing a new round of reproductives soon as well.

 

Here are some shots of their brood pile:

 

And here is a GIF of them feeding on dubia roaches:

 

[antgallery]

There's a colony of these in my front yard but I never see workers until about a week before their nuptial flight, is that normal?

[ANTdrew]

Update 5/4/2022

 

The Phatheads are doing pretty well these days, but I sense a slight slow down in their growth and general activity level. I wonder how long these queens typically live and whether Queen Aslaug is already starting to slow down a bit? It is her third season pumping out eggs. The colony is still huge, so I'm not too concerned.

 

I've been feeding them lots of termites I gathered up using cardboard traps in my yard.

 

 

[AntBoi3030]

Card board traps? I need an alternative to walking around in the woods with a shovel smacking logs until I find termites.

[ANTdrew]

Card board traps? I need an alternative to walking around in the woods with a shovel smacking logs until I find termites.

Cut 4”x4” squares of cardboard and soak them in water. Put the wet cardboard under logs with termites. When you return in a week, the cardboard will be full of termites. Wet cardboard is like crack for termites.

[ANTdrew]

Update 8-18-2022

 

They did it again! This colony has another large batch of queen alates. Interestingly, they do not produce any males as far as I can tell. The sheer size of the colony is pretty intimidating now, and I'm seriously consider doing some sort of bonsai ant-keeping to prune their numbers. I'd also like to revamp their setup to get them more room. Luckily, they've only had one escape so far this summer when the fluon in their outworld failed. 

 

I caught many new queens of this species this year, but I sold them all. I'm still waiting on one, though. 

Attached Images

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[Jonathan5608]

Great journal. Getting a colony myself soon

[ANTdrew]

I got a nice update in the works for you guys. This weekend, I moved Alfhild and her Phatheads into a sick new nest courtesy of UtahAnts. I can’t wait to show it off here.

[Flu1d]

I got a nice update in the works for you guys. This weekend, I moved Alfhild and her Phatheads into a sick new nest courtesy of UtahAnts. I can’t wait to show it off here.

Yeeeeeees! I can't wait!

[ANTdrew]

Update 12-2-2022

The Phatheads have been living in a THA Fallen Fortress since 2020. It was high time for an upgrade, which is why I contacted UtahAnts about a month ago to kick around some ideas for their new nest/ forever home. We settled on making a 7" X 5.5" Red Sand mAntsion for Alfhild and her colony. UtahAnts did a masterful job making a nest that is both aesthetically pleasing and fully Pheidole proof (no small feat).

Moving them out of the Fortress was a nightmare, and I can honestly say that I suck at moving large colonies. To make a long story short, I got most of the colony moved into the mAntsion, but could not find the queen. I spent over 24 hours straining my neck, back, and eyes to find her in the new nest, but to no avail. On a hunch, I went to check the old Fortress the next evening, and lo and behold, there was Alfhild straight vibing on the water tower with about 100 workers. The F'ing things must have went to hide within the water tower earlier in the move (a long standing problem with that Fortress if you read back in this journal). Anyway, I quickly aspirated her and dumped her in the outworld connected to the new nest. I will put these down for their fourth diapause very soon.

Overview of the nest:


Nest chambers. I love that there is no loose sand for them to do their mischief with.




Alfhild, alive and well:

Edited by ANTdrew, December 2 2022 - 1:16 PM.

[AntsCali098]

Beautiful colony!