On May 2nd I ordered a Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis Queen from THA. Now the waiting game begins. Already have a heated formicarium that I want to try out.

The formicarium I plan on using.

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, October 24 2021 - 1:05 PM.
On May 2nd I ordered a Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis Queen from THA. Now the waiting game begins. Already have a heated formicarium that I want to try out.

The formicarium I plan on using.

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, October 24 2021 - 1:05 PM.
Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
So I got the Pogonomyrmex a while back, but quickly learned something about them. They have quite strong mandibles, and were starting to dig in their nest!
So, I quickly ordered a ready to ship Fallen Fortress from THA. It arrived today and I began the moving process. (The Queen moved over very quickly after the first workers made sure the new nest was safe.) I started with a basic white light flashlight, and once the Queen moved over, I switched to my 2w UV black light.

After several hours of workers going back and forth, we are all moved in! (I did have to dump a lot of their seeds from their old nest in the out world, but still.)

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, May 22 2021 - 5:24 PM.
Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Uh oh, may I ask what material was that nest made out of?
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Uh oh, may I ask what material was that nest made out of?
I would guess it was Ytong.
Ants are Pets, not Pests.
-Camponotus sansabeanus
-Camponotus US-CA02
-Camponotus vicinus
-Formica podzolica
-Monomorium spp.
-Pogonomyrmex californicus
-Solenopsis spp.
Uh oh, may I ask what material was that nest made out of?
I would guess it was Ytong.
No, it was some sort of cast material with sand mixed in. I suspect grout, but not a high quality kind. The Pogonomyrmex are doing much better in their new Fallen Fortress. I counted 7 visible larvae, and at least 15 eggs last night. Their currently at about 30ish workers, hoping we'll get a nice boom in the colony soon.

Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Grout and sand....not a good combination lol
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It's hard to see, but they have 3 pupae that should hopefully enclose this week. Bunch of fat larvae, and two piles of eggs. (The queen is actually holding a pile in this photo.)

Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Not sure why, but the colony moved all their seeds into piles in the out world. The workers are still carrying seeds into the nest for use occasionally. Should I be worried? I gave them some more seeds and fish flakes in their out world and they carried the fish flakes in immediately.
Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
I'm guessing that the nest that they ae in is too humid or the seeds went bad/germinated . if they are still eating I think they will be okay
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I've been wanting one of these for a while. they look nice and healthy. They'll do very well in that fallen fortress
Currently Keeping:
Pogonomyrmex Californicus Bicolor & Concolor
Pogonomyrmex Subnitidius
Camponotus Sansabeanus
I'm guessing that the nest that they ae in is too humid or the seeds went bad/germinated . if they are still eating I think they will be okay
I gave them new seeds in their out world and they took them in. I think you are correct.
Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, June 2 2021 - 10:17 AM.
Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Checked on these gals last night. Looks like we should have six more workers enclosing soon.

Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Took a peak at the brood pile last night, we now have 8 pupae, 3 of which are starting to darken. I'm really hoping we'll get lucky and a few will enclose this weekend. Also still have quite a few larvae in various stages, and the Queen is laying plenty of eggs. ![]()

Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Took a peak at the brood pile last night, we now have 8 pupae, 3 of which are starting to darken. I'm really hoping we'll get lucky and a few will enclose this weekend. Also still have quite a few larvae in various stages, and the Queen is laying plenty of eggs.
Nylanderia parvula - 4 queen polygynous colony with larvae + devoloping workers
Camponotus pennsylvanicus - 1 queen with 2 cocoons, and a few larvae and eggs
Tetramorium immigrans - 3 colonies, first nanetics!
Formica pallidifulva - 1 queen, 8-10 eggs
Tetramorium atratulum - 1 queen with roughly 17 host workers
Pheidole pilifera - 1 queen! recently caught!
Solenopsis Molesta - 2 queens so far, polygenous set-up
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My T. Atratulum Journal - https://www.formicul...ontinued/page-2
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Nice! Pogonomyrmex callows are so cute
Agreed. Honestly I like this species so much now, that I may have to get a second colony of them. They are just so fun to watch.
Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Check out my new YouTube Video!
Well, I'd expect we'll have 2 new callow workers tomorrow or the next day. I was sure there was a 3rd one darkening, but I guess I was mistaken? The workers are constantly busy, and they often will hold a pupae up to the heat cable for long periods of time.

Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
I heard you guys and gals like callow workers. First one of the new batch of workers enclosed sometime last night.

Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, C. vicinus, T. immigrans, A. occidentalis, S. molesta, P. imparis, M. kennedyi, M semirufus, F. pacifica, P. californica, M. ergatogyna.
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus, B. depilis.
Looking for
Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Check out my new YouTube Video!
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