92 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Yeah, I saw them before then they vanished.
In any case, you’re good to go with that Crema queen. She seems like an all star.

[PhasorShift]

I am so excited to get to the point where I can actually start feeding them. Not looking forward to wrangling escapees, but giving them proper food and seeing them grow will be so exciting.

Something I know I'm not really prepared for is the size difference in the workers. Making these nests and only knowing the queens, I'm pretty sure the workers are going to be much smaller than I'm expecting.

[PhasorShift]

Update 2/6/2021

 

Simple check today, but things should be getting exciting soon!

 

All of my queens in test tubes now have brood. They seem to be doing alright, so I'm hoping for eight healthy colonies~ I will likely sell or give away six of the Neoniger queens, because I don't really want to keep more than one of a species. I want to make sure they get workers first, of course.

 

Since the Crematogaster laid first, her brood is much farther along. She has a few pupae, and will likely have workers within a week! So exciting. I'll have to pick up some feeder insects once they eclose. As I've said a few times, I am very much looking forward to being able to properly feed them.

 

Anyway, picture time!

 

Look at those pupae!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had the most brood of course, but I couldn't get a clear pic. They wouldn't get out of the way!

 

Soon to be a bunch of big happy families!

 

A few of these pictures captured as gifs (thanks Google pixel) so I'll post those too if it lets me.

 

 

 

 

I also took a time lapse of the Crematogaster queen moving some brood around, but it didn't turn out very well. As soon as I set the camera up she stopped moving or went out of frame.

 

I am currently working on another ultracal nest design. I'm gonna need a place to put these soon~ The two I made previously are testing, and proving to be very moist, with high humidity and lots of condensation. Not entirely sure how to manage it...

 

But yeah. Workers soon! Pretty exciting. 

[ANTdrew]

You will have heart-butt nanitics this week for sure. Congrats! Crematogaster need a lot of food to thrive. It is vitally important that they have constant access to sugars like Sunburst, sugar water or honey water.

[antsandmore]

You will have heart-butt nanitics this week for sure. Congrats! Crematogaster need a lot of food to thrive. It is vitally important that they have constant access to sugars like Sunburst, sugar water or honey water.

The Crematogaster-Master has spoken

[PhasorShift]

You will have heart-butt nanitics this week for sure. Congrats! Crematogaster need a lot of food to thrive. It is vitally important that they have constant access to sugars like Sunburst, sugar water or honey water.

 

In general or for the nanitics? I'm sure once the colony grows bigger for certain. How soon do I need to be feeding them, and what? Sugar or protein?

[ANTdrew]

In general. As soon as nanitics appear, begin daily feeding of sugars. The best thing is to have a byFormica liquid feeder full at all times. You can offer small insect pieces every other day. Once the colony gets larger, feed protein every day. You can give these an outworld as soon as three or four nanitics.

[Kaelwizard]

The Lasius might not need as much food as the Crematogaster, though, as they are not as ravenous. I would still give them constant access to sugar, however.

Edited by Kaelwizard, February 8 2021 - 4:22 AM.

[PhasorShift]

I have Sunburst, have liquid feeders on the way, and I plan to swing by the pet store this week to get some feeder insects. I think I'll get some mealworms, and maybe a container of small crickets. I'll freeze the crickets right away, sand take them out as needed. Mealworms I hear will keep for a while just in the fridge. I'm also gonna get some fruit fly culture kits, and then seed with flies from the pet store, to have ready in a couple weeks.

That sound like a good plan for feeding?

[ANTdrew]

Perfect!

[PhasorShift]

I've noticed while this is my Lasius journal, I seem to be talking more about my one Crematogaster queen than any of the Lasius, because she's faster developing and more active. Should I start a new journal for her, or rename this one?

[ANTdrew]

I think you'll find your Crematogaster a lot more interesting in the long run. I'd say they deserve their own journal. Your call, though.

[Kaelwizard]

I think you'll find your Crematogaster a lot more interesting in the long run. I'd say they deserve their own journal. Your call, though.

I think once Lasius get going, they can be about as interesting as Crematogaster. Right now the Crematogaster will be a lot more interesting to watch.

[PhasorShift]

Update 2/13/2021

 

Checked in on my queens again today, as usual, and not much seems to be developing for the Lasius. They are pretty much the same as they were last week. They've all got brood piles, but it still looks like just eggs, no larvae. There might be some small larvae, but it's hard to tell. It's been almost a month since they started laying, so I would expect to see more development in the brood, but there really hasn't been. What do you think? I'll still post the new pictures, even though not much has changed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do they not have proper conditions? They're all keeping the eggs right against the cotton, farthest from the heating cable. Is it too warm? Not humid enough? Or do they just take a long time to get going? I dunno, but I worry. I'll continue to monitor them, of course.

 

The Crematogaster is doing just fine, though. Her pupae are darkening and due to eclose any minute now.

 

 

Since the Crematogaster is about to reach the next stage of the colony, I've decided to start a new journal dedicated to that species. The Lasius will remain here, and I'll keep both updated.

 

I've also started a thread for my DIY projects, so you can keep up with all the things I make over there.

[PhasorShift]

Crematogaster thread has been started. Follow the progress of my heart-butts there!

[Kaelwizard]

The Lasius queens definitely have small larvae. Some of the eggs are kind of bent which means that they probably just hatched into larvae. (Do they hatch or just form into larvae?) Good luck!

[Scherme]

The Lasius queens definitely have small larvae. Some of the eggs are kind of bent which means that they probably just hatched into larvae. (Do they hatch or just form into larvae?) Good luck!

Ant eggs hatch, there is a shell and everything.

[PhasorShift]

Update 2/20/2021

Checked on my Lasius today, and there really hasn't been any change... They're still all sitting on brood piles, some big, some small. But all the brood still just looks like eggs, or maybe some small larvae. Nothing that looks like a pupa yet. I'm starting to get worried about them. I hope I'm not disturbing their tubes too much, every time I check on the Crematogaster. I'll try to be more gentle with them. Hopefully they start showing some development soon.

Edited by PhasorShift, February 20 2021 - 12:50 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Lasius are notorious for long brood times, especially the pupae stage I believe.

[PhasorShift]

Alright, I guess I'm just misguided by how quickly the Crematogaster is developing. It's also only been like 20-30 days since Lasius eggs first appeared, which is only like two thirds of the way through the cycle according to the care sheets. Feels like it's been a lot longer, but it really hasn't, so I don't have much to worry about yet.