96 replies to this topic

[100lols]

That’s so awesome!!! Tbh sometimes have to appreciate the moments we have with our ants even without the camera. Just in the moment!

The queen is a G lol.

[ANTdrew]

She is an OG now, tbh.

[ANTdrew]

Video update:
https://drive.google...ew?usp=drivesdk
This colony continues to do very well. They will be going into diapause soon.

[ANTdrew]

Update 12-5-2023

 

 This colony is now in diapause in my parents' unheated basement. I'm very pleased with how they did this season, but I don't think they'll be hitting a massive size any time soon. Their colonies may just stay relatively small. My favorite things about these ants are how neat they are, their large size for observation, and the awesome feeding responses they mount. 

[Zzz]

Hey could we get an update. I keep a small aphaenogaster subterranea colony and I really love yours!!!

[ANTdrew]

Thank you. I will work on an update, but the colony has been kind of struggling in their fourth season for some reason.

[ANTdrew]

Update 10-16-2024

 It's been a challenging season for my Aphaenogaster treatae. Despite having lots of eggs and brood throughout the summer, the colony did not grow or even recover their size from last year. They also stopped being as clean in their nest and outworld and started leaving trash all around their outworld, instead of in the neat pile they used to. I decided to try moving them into a new nest to see if something about their old Fallen Fortress was negatively affecting the colony. The old Fallen Fortress also started cracking in a corner, which further inspired me to move them out. I had made a DIY formicarium back in August, so I hooked this up with tubing to the old nest and set it out in the sun on 10/14. The colony moved very quickly, and I was relieved to see lots of pupae ready to eclose. I'm hoping they can recover numbers finally. I'm also planning to forgo a full diapause with these, since I don't want them to go through the kind of winter die-off that happened last year. 

 

A view of the new nest: 

 

The cracked old Fallen Fortress. Unfortunately not the first time a THA nest has randomly cracked on me after a few years of use. 

 

 

[ANTdrew]

RIP Jord 2021- 2024

Sadly, this journal is coming to an end. Queen Jord was found dead yesterday in their nest. Her head had already been eaten. It was a great three years with this rarely kept species.

[AntsGodzilla]

Noooo... 

It's always sad when a colony's live comes to an end.

I hope to someday see this species again.

[Ants_Dakota]

Any hypothesis as to the death?

[ANTdrew]

Any hypothesis as to the death?

Not really, but something has been wrong with the colony all season. It’s really quite sad since my son found this queen, and I highly doubt I’ll ever find another of this species.

[Ants_Dakota]

 

Any hypothesis as to the death?

Not really, but something has been wrong with the colony all season. It’s really quite sad since my son found this queen, and I highly doubt I’ll ever find another of this species.

 

I completely understand the feeling of never getting another shot at a certain species. Best of luck next year, though!

[RushmoreAnts]

Rest in peace Jord, you will be missed. 

 

 

 

 

I completely understand the feeling of never getting another shot at a certain species. Best of luck next year, though!

 

*Ahem, Crematogaster pilosa...

[ANTdrew]

Rest in peace Jord, you will be missed.

I completely understand the feeling of never getting another shot at a certain species. Best of luck next year, though!

*Ahem, Crematogaster pilosa...

Thank you, brother. She was a special queen.

[Mushu]

RIP.  My buddies Myrmecocystus mexicanus queen also randomly died at the time with eggs/brood, so it was spontaneous. When you said you noticed something was wrong with the colony all season, was it due to low/inconsistent brood count? I feel one of my Myrmecocystus placodops colony may be doing the same.

[ANTdrew]

Mushu,
Basically, worker deaths outpaced colony growth. They got a few male alates at one point, and always had other brood at various stages. The brood just didn’t seem to develop as fast as it used to. They also went from being a very neat and fastidious colony to just leaving trash all over. A few days before she died, I saw the queen randomly walking around far from the workers in the nest. That’s when I got pretty worried. I found her headless a few days later. RIP, Jord.

[Mushu]

Mushu,
Basically, worker deaths outpaced colony growth. They got a few male alates at one point, and always had other brood at various stages. The brood just didn’t seem to develop as fast as it used to. They also went from being a very neat and fastidious colony to just leaving trash all over. A few days before she died, I saw the queen randomly walking around far from the workers in the nest. That’s when I got pretty worried. I found her headless a few days later. RIP, Jord.

 

The queen randomly walking far from the workers would  have been an indication she was most likely sick as you already know. The colony before she died is interesting, thanks for sharing.