167 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

That’s pretty cold for any ants to thrive. Get a 15 watt heat cable.

[ANTdrew]

Update 3-29-23

 

My Nylanderia vividula colony is fully active again and ready for their fourth growing season. Their overall population has dropped quite a bit from this point last year, but there is a decent egg pile now. At this point in their life cycle, most of their energy goes into producing alates, plus they still have many alate queens and males from last season. These are still living in their old Antpartment, but the lid is very dirty, so I'd like to try moving them into something new at some point. I wonder how many years I can keep Aslaug and her girls going?

 

Photo and GIF:

 

[AntBoi3030]

Man, I’m always exited for the giant Nylanderia flights in May.

[ANTdrew]

Man, I’m always exited for the giant Nylanderia flights in May.

I should try N. flavipes again this year.

[AntPerson76]

Nylanderka do fly in the hundreds. I caught 12 queens in May in what, 10 minutes? It was insane. I can't say for sure because I'm in Tennessee at the moment, but my 3 nylanderia queens I'm currently raising have big larvae. The other queens, because I couldn't let them go because they were invasive, were put in a better place. My freezer.

[ANTdrew]

Nylanderka do fly in the hundreds. I caught 12 queens in May in what, 10 minutes? It was insane. I can't say for sure because I'm in Tennessee at the moment, but my 3 nylanderia queens I'm currently raising have big larvae. The other queens, because I couldn't let them go because they were invasive, were put in a better place. My freezer.

My N. flavipes just got their first workers. Try blacklighting to find the native Nylanderia vividula queens.

[ANTdrew]

Update 8-11-2023

 

Happy and sad news to report in this update. Aslaug and her three year old N. vividula colony are no longer with me. The colony began to steadily decline after last season to the point where they only had about 100 workers left with very little brood production. They did not produce any new alates this season as they had the past two years. I needed to free up space, so I chose release the colony in my yard. I honestly think this species must grow fast and furious for the first few years, then naturally fade. I'll always remember Aslaug's glory days with fondness. 

 

In happier news, my new Nylanderia flavipes colony is doing very well. They are living in an old THA Mini-Hearth and probably have about 100 workers by now. They are still very shy ants at this point and prefer filling up mini-repletes and laying low. You can really see how similar these are to Prenolepis looking at this photo. Their golden color is adorable. 

 

 

[Jonathan5608]

Update 8-11-2023

Happy and sad news to report in this update. Aslaug and her three year old N. vividula colony are no longer with me. The colony began to steadily decline after last season to the point where they only had about 100 workers left with very little brood production. They did not produce any new alates this season as they had the past two years. I needed to free up space, so I chose release the colony in my yard. I honestly think this species must grow fast and furious for the first few years, then naturally fade. I'll always remember Aslaug's glory days with fondness.

In happier news, my new Nylanderia flavipes colony is doing very well. They are living in an old THA Mini-Hearth and probably have about 100 workers by now. They are still very shy ants at this point and prefer filling up mini-repletes and laying low. You can really see how similar these are to Prenolepis looking at this photo. Their golden color is adorable.

isn’t it crazy how much eggs they lay