8 replies to this topic

[ArcaneAnt]

Ant Update (01/31/22) [Day 79] :

 

Queen appears to be fine

 

There are about 12-14 eggs

Three of those eggs are quite large, 4-5 midsize and the rest incredibly small

One of the three large ones has a darker yellowy colouration compared to the lighter white colour of the others. 

 

This is my first log so heres a quick summary to bring us up to date:

I found this queen ant at my work in the Pacific Palisades California around 8pm mid november last year. Some lovely folks on Formiculture identified her as a Brachymyrmex Patagonicus, aka the Black Rover ant. I have been keeping her test tube setup wrapped in a shirt and in a cardboard box in my closet the whole time. I have not had to transfer her out of her test tube setup to replace the water yet has no mold has grown. She seems to have moved her and her eggs closer to the water cotton ball since my last check in (around two weeks ago).

If anyone reading this has any questions or suggestions, please let me know <|:]
(attached images are from when I first found her)

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Edited by ArcaneAnt, January 31 2022 - 2:39 PM.

[ANTdrew]

The queen needs heating for the eggs to develop.

[ArcaneAnt]

Ant Update (2/28/22) [Day 107]
 

Queen is doing fine as usual
 

There is a new batch of eggs it appears, bringing our total up to around 15-16?
 

Yesterday was a very exiting day, as it was the first day I saw our very first workers! One seemed to be fully grown, with a dak black colour. They were carrying around a bundle of three eggs all around the tube, maybe scared because this is the first time it had seen sunlight, and I had picked up the tube and carried it around. There was a second worker who I think had probably just hatched in the last few days because it was small and seemed to be more grey than black, almost translucent.

The queen has fully snuggled herself against the water end of the tube along with the smaller eggs which worries me slightly that there isn't enough moisture in their testube setup. In any case I will soon invest in a terrarium so the workers can go out and forage. If I do that, I can also  introduce a 2nd testube with fresh water and less of a cotton barrier so the water maybe be a bit more available.

In any case, Its very very exiting to see the first workers in action! I'll check in again soon if anything new happens

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Edited by ArcaneAnt, February 28 2022 - 8:25 AM.

[antsriondel]

 

Ant Update (2/28/22) [Day 107]
 

Queen is doing fine as usual
 

There is a new batch of eggs it appears, bringing our total up to around 15-16?
 

Yesterday was a very exiting day, as it was the first day I saw our very first workers! One seemed to be fully grown, with a dak black colour. They were carrying around a bundle of three eggs all around the tube, maybe scared because this is the first time it had seen sunlight, and I had picked up the tube and carried it around. There was a second worker who I think had probably just hatched in the last few days because it was small and seemed to be more grey than black, almost translucent.

The queen has fully snuggled herself against the water end of the tube along with the smaller eggs which worries me slightly that there isn't enough moisture in their testube setup. In any case I will soon invest in a terrarium so the workers can go out and forage. If I do that, I can also  introduce a 2nd testube with fresh water and less of a cotton barrier so the water maybe be a bit more available.

In any case, Its very very exiting to see the first workers in action! I'll check in again soon if anything new happens

 

congratulations!

[ArcaneAnt]

Ant Update (3/14/22) [Day 121]

Queen seems active and ok

Plenty of more eggs are around.

More worker ants have been born at a total of 6 now. Very exiting to see this growth, I even bough a small fish rank today to eventually house them once I they reach that point. Speaking of, I am not super certain at what point I should move them in there, as well what kind of substrate to use. I wanna make sure its wet/dry enough to suit their normal habitat, but they are considered invasive so its hard to find any info about them that isn't on how to exterminate a colony of them

In any case, I'll keep doing research to make the move into the tank go smooth. I bough two fish tank decorations that I think are pretty goofy, but are brightly coloured so it will be easy to see the ants crawling on them. Same goes for the substrate, I hope its a light enough color to be able to see these tiny ants on them.

Thankyou for reading along, and if you happen to know any good info on Black Rover Ants, please make sure to let me know! Thankyou, and see you soon :]

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[ANTdrew]

Fish tanks don’t make the best formicariums. A plastic container with rounded corners is best because you can evenly apply fluon.

[ArcaneAnt]

Fish tanks don’t make the best formicariums. A plastic container with rounded corners is best because you can evenly apply fluon.

It should still work though, right? I don't have to worry about the rubber lining stuff on the edges between the glass? Ill put fluon all around the top of course. Also side question, do you happen to know what kind of dirt/soul Brachymyrmex Patagonicus prefer? I can't quite seem to find any information on it. I know they are an invasive species so I'm sure they can get along in just about any kind of soil, but I'd at least wanna try to use something they would prefer.

.

[ANTdrew]

Best bet would be to find soil from areas where you find colonies. Bake it a bit first to kill undesirable pathogens.

[ArcaneAnt]

Very sad to inform you guys that after I had moved the ants into the terrarium, they disappeared. They were just in the tube for a few days, but then one day just disappeared. I assumed maybe they moved underground into the potting soil, but its been over a month and none of the provided food has been eaten, so they are probably escaped or dead. 
Ill continue looking for new queen ants and try to maybe give them more time in the test tube to start.
Thankyou for checking in.