102 replies to this topic

[AntBoi3030]

 

Made a little video for some of the workers collecting fruit flies today. They sure seem to love them. They've also drank an unbelievable amount of sunburst too!

 

Youtube video

Screenshot 2021-05-25 10.56.14 AM.png

Stupid GoGuardian 

Anyways, glad to see your colony doing well!  Will be checking on the journal for updates!

 

Dude got wrecked by goguardian teacher lol

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Started feeding the Lasius neonigers some of the bigger flightless fruit flies. They are still growing very quickly, and there's almost always 3 - 5 workers foraging in the out world now.

 

Slightly blurry picture, but you can see that they are stashing a lot of the brood where the plug is by the water tower. They are also doing a fantastic job of bringing their garbage up to the out world for me to remove.

 

[AntBoi3030]

looks like a healthy colony! there is going to be a big boom in population soon

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Remember how everyone says Lasius neonigers can grow fast? They are right. This is the brood pile after I just gave them some fruit flies. (These pictures aren't even all of the brood, just most of it.)

 

 

 

 

[AntBoi3030]

Quite the amount of brood.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

This colony continues to grow, with seemingly no signs of stopping. Really glad I opted for putting them in a XL Mini hearth.

 

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Snapped a photo last night to try and get a good idea on population. After talking with some people in the Tarheel group, I think I'm going to order them a Casita soon. Since I know it'll take about a month to arrive, I feel like the timing will be about perfect. My guess is they are somewhere around the 200 worker mark. It's kinda hard to tell with how fast they move around. 

 

 

[AntBoi3030]

You can also try a buckeye myrmecology meduim rock nest check it out it cost 45$ And has free shipping https://buckeyemyrme...ck-nest-medium/

Edited by AntBoi3030, June 30 2021 - 7:26 AM.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

You can also try a buckeye myrmecology meduim rock nest check it out it cost 45$ And has free shipping https://buckeyemyrme...ck-nest-medium/

 

Not really a fan of acrylic nests, and I prefer THA's all in one design. I don't mind the price point, since the quality is so nice. 

[AntBoi3030]

Alright

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Not the greatest photo, but I checked closer on this colony last night. They seem to be growing still, although we don't have a ton of pupae at the moment. There's a bunch of larvae and eggs. So I think they must have had a batch of workers enclose recently. 

 

 

[AntBoi3030]

I caught some what I think are lasius americanus queens last night (blacklight) so I’m exited to see how they do!

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Seems like the colony is slowing down a touch. I think they'll be okay a while longer in their XL mini hearth. 

 

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

This colony is still growing, but the rate of growth has reduced. Not sure why. But there's a rather large pile of eggs and new larvae. They don't quite seem like they will outgrow the XL mini hearth as quickly as I thought. However I may order them something new soon to see if space is why they have slowed their growth. 

 

 

[AntBoi3030]

The queen needed a break!

[Mettcollsuss]

I would guess they're slowing down because we're approaching the end of the growth season. It's normal for colonies to slow down or even stop brood production before hibernation, and since brood can take a month or two to develop, ants often start to slow down well before winter hits. Formica, for example, take this pretty far and will often stop laying eggs halfway through the year.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

This colony has slowed growth for sure. I imagine they'll be ready for diapause in October. In the meantime, I'm going to feed them very well so they have plenty of food in their social stomachs.  

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Well, I think maybe the colony slowed a bit due to a few 100+ degree days we had here. I had a hard time keeping the house cool and I think it affected them. 

 

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, August 18 2021 - 7:16 AM.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Still got some brood, pupae, larvae, and eggs. Saw a few new workers too. The whole ceiling of the nest near the water tower is covered with workers.

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

No major changes, a few new workers here and there. I think this colony is slowing down for diapause. I'll likely start prepping them for such the first week of October.