85 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Great colony and superb camera work! That was really fun to watch. The only downside is that it made me sad about my failed Pheidole cf davisi colony (the queen dropped dead after getting five nanitics).

[KitsAntVa]

Does davisi get super majors like pilifera? I know those two are quite similar, If so I may take another shot at keeping both of them.

[Antkeeper014]

Great colony and superb camera work! That was really fun to watch. The only downside is that it made me sad about my failed Pheidole cf davisi colony (the queen dropped dead after getting five nanitics).

Oh I’m sorry to hear about the davisi, at least your bicarinata are doing great!

[TennesseeAnts]

Does davisi get super majors like pilifera? I know those two are quite similar, If so I may take another shot at keeping both of them.

Neither are trimorphic, so no. Both are dimorphic.

[Antkeeper014]

Yes, both pilifera and davisi are dimorphic.
We only have 3 (I think) species of trimorphic pheidole in the US, Rhea, tepicana, obtuspinosa, and hirtula gets very close to the southern border but is restricted to outside of the US for what we know.

[TennesseeAnts]

Yes, both pilifera and davisi are dimorphic.
We only have 3 (I think) species of trimorphic pheidole in the US, Rhea, tepicana, obtuspinosa, and hirtula gets very close to the southern border but is restricted to outside of the US for what we know.

Yes, you are correct. Also, really great work on this colony. I've only found one Ph. pilifera queen, though I've found plenty of workers. I'll be searching far more this year for any and all Pheidole and other Attines I can find.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, December 16 2020 - 11:06 AM.

[Antkeeper014]

Ever since moving them into the inception chamber, they have been kept at my room temperature (70-75 F) to keep the glass from condensating. Although in the past week or two at cooler temps I’ve been seeing greatly reduced foraging behavior, and I’m fairly sure the queen stopped laying. As of yesterday I put them pack in the heating mat, and within hours the glass was completely covered in condensation. So no pictures, although I will still update this journal.

Their second major eclosed about two days ago, and there are three more major larvae at the pre-pupal stage. Colony is doing quite well, hopefully I’ll be able to get some alates in 2021.

[AntsDakota]

Nice. One of these days I will get my hands on some of these. 

[ANTdrew]

Sounds like the Inception nest isn’t that practical. I kind of regret ordering one now.

[Antkeeper014]

Nice. One of these days I will get my hands on some of these.

Good luck! They are super fun to keep, by far my favorite colony.

[Antkeeper014]

Sounds like the Inception nest isn’t that practical. I kind of regret ordering one now.

Yeah, as much as I love THA, the inception chamber just isn’t very practical at all. The ants themselves are fine with the condensation and they do well in the nest, although I can’t see anything at all. Tbh I’d say tubs and tubes are the simplest set-up, as well as the cheapest.

[Antkeeper014]

Quick update, and some good news.

As of putting them back on the heat mat, their brood pile has grown immensely and they are eating almost everything I put in their outworld. As of now they have two majors, ~130-140 workers, with 4 major pupae and several dozen worker pupae.

~One week previous to the date of posting this:



(Sorry for the spots of sand on the glass obstructing the view, it’s a consequence of heating the nest.)

They have actually raised a male to pupation, previously male larvae were not cared for and ended up kind of deflated... almost like a pancake or something. Right now I assume it’s about a week from eclosing, and from why I’ve seen I don’t think they are going to eat it. Hopefully they don’t eat it, and I’ll be able to take pictures.

Males can pop up frequently in smaller colonies from trophic eggs, an infertile egg laid solely for the purposes of nutrition, and reared by the workers unknowingly. Usually by the time it exceeds the size of a worker larvae it is either abandoned or directly eaten.

[Antkeeper014]

Kind of an unexpected turn in comparison to my last reply, but this colony is not doing very well anymore. They have almost completely stopped taking in food, and their brood pile has immensely reflected this recent change. It is now about a quarter of the size it was in the previous post, and continues to dwindle. The new majors they are producing are malnourished and often deformed(3/5 have deformities)and they have started to frequently raise male larvae, although almost never to pupation. If this trend continues they will most certainly die.

Thankfully I still have time to try and get them to eat like they used to, and hopefully as spring comes around the corner they might resume their typical feeding routines. They have a very large pile of seeds, and I’m actually theorizing that this colony is going through an almost “diapause” like phase, only using their seed reserves and never foraging outside. They were also completely blocking out their nest entrance with debris.

I have a dark morph colony as a backup, so if this colony ends up dying they will take over this journal. At about 30 workers and a healthy amount of brood.

[Chickalo]

On July 23 I ended up catching 7 Pheidole queens after a short afternoon thunderstorm. Since this species is known to fly immediately after short and heavy rainstorms, I left for the pine barren right after the rain stopped. As of parking my bike, there was a queen digging her chamber right on the trail. I couldn’t believe my luck. Soon after, I saw another, then another, and eventually ended up with seven queens. As of making this journal, all have a sizable egg pile.

Since I’m from MA I didn’t think I would ever find Pheidole, This has been my dream species ever since I started keeping, and I can’t wait to have a colony.

TF UR SO LUCKKYYYYYY

[Antkeeper014]

I’m considering moving them into a natural setup, containing a sandy soil mix. Many people that try this often have better results with colonies that are struggling in traditional formicariums.

[Antkeeper014]

I’m considering moving them into a natural setup, containing a sandy soil mix. Many people that try this often have better results with colonies that are struggling in traditional formicariums.

[ANTdrew]

I’m almost certain you are seeing some sort of diapause here.

[Antkeeper014]

Thankfully, I've fixed the problem and the Pheidole have resumed normal feeding habits.

Basically, something similar happened to my colony that also occurred with Aaron's Pheidole Morrisi. In essence, the problem was that they were not getting enough sugars. Over a week or two, I didn't really give them sugars, as most of my other colonies had previously done fine with sugars every 2 weeks or so. Unfortunately, most Pheidole seem to be much more sensitive to needing sugars, and this is probably what caused the workers to stop foraging normally and reject most food I offered them. Lesson learned I guess.

Their brood pile is still recovering, but the queen has begun normally producing again and the workers are pretty active again. I assume they will be back on track with 2~3 weeks or so. Still no good pics since the glass is constantly covered in condensation 

[ANTdrew]

I see no good reason not to offer colonies sugars every day and let them decide what they need. All my colonies have constant access to byFormica feeders with Sunburst. I have basically the same philosophy for protein as well. Fat ants are happy ants.

[Antkeeper014]

Uhhh hey, I'm back. No, I'm not dead, and nor are my Pheidole. Just kinda forgot I had a journal going lol.

The Pheidole are doing great! At about 200-250 workers and 8 majors. Their growth is steady, diet is stable, and hopefully it'll continue to be this way. Unfortunately, no pictures since the nest is almost constantly obstructed by condensation. But, I do have this video if anyone is interested: