60 replies to this topic

[tdlnx]

I’m starting this journal in anticipation of receiving my starter colony from THA in the next few days. This is my first colony and my first venture into ant keeping as a hobby, so this may work out perfectly or be a disaster. Either way I’ll learn a lot and hopefully some of my discoveries and experiences will help someone else that wants to get in to this super interesting hobby.

 

As of right now I’ve got a small formicarium by UtahAntShop that I bought from Etsy. It’s pretty small but should be ok for a while based on other journals I’ve read and research I’ve done, and it looks like it’s mostly made from acrylic and plaster so that should handle any acid the ants might leave due to stress. I’ve also ordered some fluon to put around the top of the enclosure after reading about what good climbers formica subsericea are.

 

I’ve decided to leave out any substrate at first after getting some feedback from other forum members. Depending on how the ants look later I may add some loose sand or something to the outworld and they can bring that into the nest if they feel like it.

 

Pictures to come soon! I’ll try to update this regularly (once a week or so) with pictures and any notes I happen to think are interesting or educational.

Edited by tdlnx, March 4 2021 - 5:55 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Good luck!

[antsandmore]

good luck! I want to formica sometime.

[tdlnx]

I got ant-mail today! 🐜

After opening the box I had to do an emergency rescue because the Queen had become trapped in between the cotton and the test tube insert (she seems to be fine, I hope she wasn’t stuck there for long). After making sure everyone in the tube was moving around again I hooked them up to the tiny formicarium that will be their new home.

For now the queen and most of the 8 or so workers are holed up inside the insert, but they’ve been sending out a few at a time to explore. They seemed to get very excited when they discovered the honey water feeder.

I’m going to let them do their thing and hopefully they’ll decide to move in to the new darker nest.

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Edited by tdlnx, March 6 2021 - 4:08 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Excellent! Be patient with these, and it will definitely pay off. I lost patience with my colony a few times last year, but now one year later, I can say it was definitely worth it.

[tdlnx]

One more picture because I’m excited. The queen came out of hiding and wandered around the test tube a little bit. Didn’t leave, but it was nice to see her walking around.

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[ANTdrew]

These have to be some of the nicest looking queens, and that girl’s gaster is pretty stacked.

[tdlnx]

I learned my first lesson today: Don’t leave a test tube full of ants on your desk if you have cats!

I came home from running errands to find the tube on the floor and the glass cracked. Luckily none of the ants had escaped since the plastic tubing attached to the tube had bent closed. They looked pretty upset about the whole situation, and since the tube was now cracked and chipped I decided to remove the plastic insert and place it in the outworld of their formicarium.

Hopefully since the nest’s water tower is full and the test tube insert is no longer pressed against damp cotton they will decide to move in to the permanent nest. Has anyone had to “force” a relocation like this? Is there any reason to worry about the colony or is this something they’ll be able to brush off?

*on a happier note, I put a piece of apple in their outworld earlier this morning and it was immediately popular with the scouting party.

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[ANTdrew]

They’ll be fine, but you’ll definitely need to cat proof your setup. It would not harm them in any way to shake them out of the tube into the outworld.

[tdlnx]

They’ll be fine, but you’ll definitely need to cat proof your setup. It would not harm them in any way to shake them out of the tube into the outworld.

 

 

Great to know. Yes now they're in a spot much safer so the cats won't be able to get to them. Usually it's not a problem because I keep my office door closed, but of course the one time I forget...

Edited by tdlnx, March 7 2021 - 4:57 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Thank God worse didn’t happen!

[Ants_Dakota]

Thank God worse didn’t happen!

i am pretty amazed worse didn't happen! 

[Antkeeper01]

They’ll be fine, but you’ll definitely need to cat proof your setup. It would not harm them in any way to shake them out of the tube into the outworld.

maybe keep the cat out of that room

[Canadant]

Your cat must be jealous of your new pets!

[tdlnx]

It would appear so!

A bit of good news I peeked in on them and they’ve completely moved out of the test tube insert and in to the formicarium. The queen has arranged a small pile of eggs on the water tower and I removed the insert from their outworld and replaced it with a couple of fruit flies. They grabbed the flies up immediately! I guess they were hungry.

[tdlnx]

I noticed my first worker casualty this morning, and the colony is now down to 7 workers. I believe it was a fluke because all of the ants are very active and seem healthy, so here’s hoping more deaths don’t follow.

 

I bought some flightless fruit flies earlier this week and have been dropping in a couple every other day. I originally smashed them first, but yesterday one of them wasn’t dead and the ants wasted no time chasing it down and dragging it back to the nest. The colony seems to really love them. Side note - other people who have raised Formica Subsericea suggest feeding them often: is a fruit fly or two every other day a good amount or should I increase/decrease feeding?

 

Their liquid feeder’s mesh started to mold a little bit, so I took it out and cleaned it before replacing the honey water with sugar water. I’m planning on buying some sunburst nectar this next week since it seems like everyone here swears by it.

 

Overall I think the colony is doing alright, here are a couple of new pictures

 

 

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[tdlnx]

I found a cheap desk organizer at the store today ($3!) and it fits my ant supplies pretty nicely. I was able to fit all my forceps, syringes, a couple test tubes, fruit fly bottle, etc.

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[ANTdrew]

I found a cheap desk organizer at the store today ($3!) and it fits my ant supplies pretty nicely. I was able to fit all my forceps, syringes, a couple test tubes, fruit fly bottle, etc.

Nice! Marie Kondo would be very proud. I suggest adding an aspirator and a magnifying glass if you don’t already have them. Seems like you have a rather large escapee, though!

[tdlnx]

I found a cheap desk organizer at the store today ($3!) and it fits my ant supplies pretty nicely. I was able to fit all my forceps, syringes, a couple test tubes, fruit fly bottle, etc.

Nice! Marie Kondo would be very proud. I suggest adding an aspirator and a magnifying glass if you don’t already have them. Seems like you have a rather large escapee, though!

Ah yea I didn’t even think about those good idea!

[Kaelwizard]

 

I found a cheap desk organizer at the store today ($3!) and it fits my ant supplies pretty nicely. I was able to fit all my forceps, syringes, a couple test tubes, fruit fly bottle, etc.

Nice! Marie Kondo would be very proud. I suggest adding an aspirator and a magnifying glass if you don’t already have them. Seems like you have a rather large escapee, though!

 

Just don't breathe in their formic acid. Probably not good for your lungs.