96 replies to this topic

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Quite a few booklice in there from the looks of it? Started noticing them recently with some of my colonies as well. 

[ANTdrew]

Yeah. I don’t mind these things too much, though. Better than trash mites in any case.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

I noticed the ones I've got seem to target my seed eating colonies. Easy enough to keep the numbers down with regular cleaning. 

[antgallery]

I've noticed booklice in my Pogonomyrmex nest recently too.

[ANTdrew]

I've noticed booklice in my Pogonomyrmex nest recently too.

They don’t bother the ants at all and help clean up, so I don’t care about them. It’s better than having trash mites for sure.

[ANTdrew]

Update 8-12-2022

 

Things continue to go pretty well for this colony. They have been growing slow and steady, and they are sending out way more foragers than they used to, which is pretty cool. My brother looked over this colony for the past couple of weeks while I was away visiting my wife's family. He did a great job, I'd say.

 

You can appreciate the large size of these Aphaenogaster and some of the random decorations my son has added into their outworld.

[ANTdrew]

Just for the record, the whole thing about Aphaenogaster not taking liquid sugars is a myth. This colony goes nuts every time I top up their Sunburst.

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[ANTdrew]

Quite a few booklice in there from the looks of it? Started noticing them recently with some of my colonies as well.

Some species must kill and eat these book lice. None of the colonies right next to these have any. The Aphaenogaster may like having them around to clean up?

[ANTdrew]

Update 10-12-2022

 

This colony is doing quite well now. The worker count has finally surpassed 30, and they have tons of eggs and brood. One thing I'm realizing with these is that fresh nectar is important for them. They get very excited every time I refill their Sunburst. I'll probably keep them going another month before hibernating them in my parents' unheated basement like last year. They have really trashed the acrylic cover of their nest somehow, so nice photos of them are hard to come by. 

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[ANTdrew]

Update 11-11-2022

 

Jord and her Aphaenogaster treatae colony have been growing slowly but surely. I was pleasantly surprised to see their worker count has surpassed 40 after doing a quick count yesterday. Cooler house temps haven't really slowed these down, and lots of worker come out to forage especially in the evenings. I've continued sporadic feedings as a result. I still plan to put these in diapause very soon as temperatures are finally set to get cool enough in my area for the unheated basement I use to work. I look forward to see what this colony can accomplish next season. 

 

Their extra large Inception Chamber continues to work very well for them, but they have really dirtied up the petri dish cover that goes over the nest part, which makes observation and photos sub-optimal. I'll explore other options for their housing over the winter months. 

 

Here are some of the large workers handling a dubia roach butt piece. 

 

[Flu1d]

These are so cool, I have never had (or I don't know if I have ever even seen) Aphaenogaster ants before in the wild. These are so beautiful!

[ANTdrew]

These are so cool, I have never had (or I don't know if I have ever even seen) Aphaenogaster ants before in the wild. These are so beautiful!

Thanks! Aphaenogaster are very easy to find at blacklight traps set at dawn in the summer months well before the sun rises.

[Flu1d]

Thank you for the tips! I plan on having one set up for next year so I can collect my first colony of ants

[ANTdrew]

Update 12-2-2022

 

I had planned to put Jord into diapause a few weeks ago, but it turns out that she has tons of large pupae at the moment. I'm holding off on diapause until these can eclose. There are also tons of eggs and larvae in their now filthy Inception Chamber. I have not been feeding them protein anymore, however. I'm very pleased with how this colony is doing now! 

 

   

[T.C.]

Why is the glass so dirty? My Aphaenogaster sp. were always fairly clean. 

[ANTdrew]

Who knows, man? It not glass; it’s a petri dish cover. That nest housed a huge Monomorium colony before this one, so it’s kind of old now. I’ll figure out a new setup for them after diapause.

[T.C.]

Who knows, man? It not glass; it’s a petri dish cover. That nest housed a huge Monomorium colony before this one, so it’s kind of old now. I’ll figure out a new setup for them after diapause.

Are they all petri dish covers?

[antperson24]

 

Beginning 9-14-2021

 

This is the first year I've kept Aphaenogaster. I am starting this journal to log the progress of an A. fulva  treatae queen that is special to me because my five year old son found her while we were camping in Prince William National Forest. I've trained the lad well, apparently!

 

 She was found on an exceedingly hot and humid morning on July 12th. My son spotted her walking along the bottom of a slide on a playground at the park. She still had her wings when we collected her. She did end up shedding her wings a few days later. Since I've decided to keep her, I've officially named her Jord, which means soil or earth in Norse.

 

 

 Here's a look at some of her first nanitics. The colony is growing pretty quickly for such large ants.

 

 

I've been feeding them insect pieces every other day, along with some Sunburst and sugar grains, which I've heard these will eat. Feeding them in the tube was getting more difficult, so on 9/11 I moved them into a mini-hearth by simply shaking them into the outworld.

 

 

 

They quickly found the way down into the nest and settled in. Everything about these ants makes them seem very easy to keep compared to some of my other mischievous colonies. The best part is that my son is very excited about the colony. Hopefully he can find many more queens in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Is Sunburst some kind of Orange juice? If it is, I don't know if that is the greatest option, as I have heard that citrus fruits are poisonous to ants.  

[antsriondel]

 

 

Beginning 9-14-2021

 

This is the first year I've kept Aphaenogaster. I am starting this journal to log the progress of an A. fulva  treatae queen that is special to me because my five year old son found her while we were camping in Prince William National Forest. I've trained the lad well, apparently!

 

 She was found on an exceedingly hot and humid morning on July 12th. My son spotted her walking along the bottom of a slide on a playground at the park. She still had her wings when we collected her. She did end up shedding her wings a few days later. Since I've decided to keep her, I've officially named her Jord, which means soil or earth in Norse.

 

 

 Here's a look at some of her first nanitics. The colony is growing pretty quickly for such large ants.

 

 

I've been feeding them insect pieces every other day, along with some Sunburst and sugar grains, which I've heard these will eat. Feeding them in the tube was getting more difficult, so on 9/11 I moved them into a mini-hearth by simply shaking them into the outworld.

 

 

 

They quickly found the way down into the nest and settled in. Everything about these ants makes them seem very easy to keep compared to some of my other mischievous colonies. The best part is that my son is very excited about the colony. Hopefully he can find many more queens in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Is Sunburst some kind of Orange juice? If it is, I don't know if that is the greatest option, as I have heard that citrus fruits are poisonous to ants.  

 

It is the Ant version of nectar. Here is a link: https://canada-ant-c...60ml-ant-nectar

[ANTdrew]

Sunburst is an ant nectar made by byFormica. It is the only sugar source I give my ants.