68 replies to this topic

[Ernteameise]

An observation I made yesterday:

I had added some vermiculite to the arena (as you can see on the pictures) and I have seen that the girls carry small pieces into the different offered nest sides- so there is now a small pile in the walnuts and they even carries some into the wood nest!

I also saw a tandem run into the wood nest. They are indeed the cutest tandem runners.

Sadly, nothing has come out of it yet.

But might this be a good sign that they finally consider moving from their piece of bark into something bigger?

[Ernteameise]

I got some superworms today when I went to town.

I froze them, and will boil them shortly and then open them up so my girls have easy access.

They also got some for dinner tonight.

At first they ignored it, but after a couple of hours, there is some acceptance.

 

[Ernteameise]

Today is an exciting day for the Walnut empire!

The colony is sexually mature!

I just found several male alates in the enclosure. I did not see any females, however.

Sadly, the boys are a bit stupid and they basically get themselves stuck to the paraffin escape barrier.

 

Anyways, pretty cool.

 

These boys are also tiny, they are pretty much the same size as the tiny workers, they only have some added wings.

 

I will not release them to the outside because I have no idea if the colonies outside are swarming, too, and I also do not know if it might have an impact on the genetics of the natives. I assume there are no ant STDs?

Who knows.

 

 

 

 

Stuck to the paraffin:

 

[Ernteameise]

The girls enjoying some organic egg for breakfast (and as usual, make a real mess of it).

 

They still have not moved in any of the nests I provided (the Walnuts nor the wood nest) and stubbornly reside in the decorative bark in the outworld.

Oh well, at least this is an active species and you always see some of the girls running around.

 

[Ernteameise]

So today (finally!) my order from Tarheel Ants arrived.

I had also ordered some Fluon, since it came as recommended by members of this forum.

I thought I try the fluon out with the Acorn Ants first.

 

Well, this is how it worked, and what the ants thought.

 

 

If you look closely, you can actually see tiny little middle-fingers pointed in my direction.

 

 

So in conclusion:

At least for the Temnothorax, paraffin oil works MUCH better for me.

[Virginian_ants]

I have always wanted temnothorax they are so cute. Nice colony love the name. Didn't know they were escape artists though.

[Ernteameise]

I have always wanted temnothorax they are so cute. Nice colony love the name. Didn't know they were escape artists though.

Oh, it is not so much that they are escape artists.

They are just EXTREMELY curious. I do something in the enclosure, and they are like cats, between my feet so to speak, checking out exactly what is happening.

So I put the fluon on, and they were basically sitting right below, watching, and then immediately checking out what this new white stuff was about.

And then they walked all over it and also climbed outside since I was in the kitchen getting some fresh food for them (I was just away for 5 minutes, and they had climbed outside).

They have no fear, are not shy at all and just have this urge to check out everything, especially when something is new.

 

And yes, they are VERY cute.

[Virginian_ants]

Like my Pheidole Tysoni colony they love to explore and they can be in a formicarium for a month then find a easy way to escape and just walk around my desk exploring. I had them in a esthetic ant mini outworld for a month and a half before realizing they can slip under the glass lid.

[Ernteameise]

Not much new happening in the Walnut Empire...

they are still happily living in their piece of decorative bark in the outworld and still ignore the walnuts.

It is amazing that they are so happy with just such tiny spaces for their colony.

But then I knew from the beginning that they would never form large colonies and stay small.

 

They are active as ever, exploring and also like to check out the food options.

Since I am feeding them regularly, I do not get any feeding frenzies- only a handful of ants is into foraging at any given time.

I think to see more ants, I would have to feed them less.

 

Yes, I have read the scientific paper that these ants can survive in the lab during an experiment for 6 months (!!) without food.

But I am not sure if this might have to be regarded as borderline cruelty.

 

I think I stick with my feeding routine.

 

Today is Saturday, and this means FEAST DAY for all my girls, since I have time off work and can spend time watching the girls devouring their food.

I got some grasshoppers from the pet store, and tried them out with all my girls today.

I think they like it.

 

[Ernteameise]

Short update:

yes, these girls are still alive.

They just have not been very active while it was so hot around here.

But they still enjoy their food.

 

[Ernteameise]

These girls are now going into their hibernation winter rest period since the activity has died down nearly completely.

 

For the next 3-4 weeks, they will be in a box on my balcony (out of direct sunlight!) and when it is getting too cold (below 5-6 degrees centigrade at night), they will be transferred to an unheated store room in the attic.

Sadly, I do not have a cellar and I also do not have a big fridge for hibernation, so I will find out if this is going to work or not.

All ants have an ample supply of water and some sunburst nectar, if they feel the need for some sugar.

 

Edited by Ernteameise, October 15 2023 - 1:51 AM.

[Ernteameise]

Today, I got the Walnut Empire out of hibernation (they had been sitting on my balcony for the past weeks).

Sadly, I had to collect around 10 dead bodies of workers who did not survive the winter.

But I immediately saw that there were 2 live foragers active at the water supply (in a test tube).

Still, nobody had moved into the two walnut halves glued to the front.

So I offered them a variety of foods for an Easter dinner (fruit jelly, a small fly, a cricket leg and some fish food jelly). After just 30mins, there were 4 foragers taking an interest.

I placed the formicarium next to my mini hearths and the heat cable on the shelf. The heat cable goes past one of the walnuts, maybe this will entice them to move in.

I will have to see how this colony develops and if they will bounce back.

 

Easter dinner for my ants:

 

 

 

Foragers checking the food out:

 

 

 

Place for them on the shelf, with heat cable (maybe this will finally entice them to move into the walnut!) :

 

[Ernteameise]

Well, foragers are still out and about.

And they seem to REALLY have taken to the Tetra fresh delica gel fish food. They have licked up quite a bit of it.

I am pretty sure this colony will bounce back after the deaths they suffered during hibernation.

 

[100lols]

Fish food is surprisingly effective for my ants and isopods. Thanks for the update!

[Ernteameise]

Since I had been tasked by the UK supplier of Emeraid veterinary diet to try out their Carnivore formula with my ants, I did a little experiment.

 

 

 

These girls LOVED it!

They came out in force.

But this species is known to eat bird poop in the wild, so they are no indicator of good taste.

 

[Ernteameise]

Yeah, I think this was a success with the acorn ants.

Now it is late evening and 4 hours after feeding it.

 

[Ernteameise]

I fed them a cricket today, and the whole colony came out in force to take part in the feast.

I think this is a great sign that they came out of the winter diapause well.

 

 

[Ernteameise]

OMG OMG OMG,

VERY big news!

Guess who has finally moved into the Walnut? And who is now finally the WALNUT empire?

How awesome is that.

That heating cable totally was worth it.

It is just a pain to fiddle it off and to actually look at the colony, so I won't be doing this too often to not scare the girls away again.

 

 

 

 

As described at the beginning of this journal, I had glued two Walnut halves to the sides of this outworld and had hoped in vain they would move in.

So finally, they did!

I am proud of this colony.

They are doing well.

Edited by Ernteameise, April 7 2024 - 8:33 AM.

[Ernteameise]

I might be mistaken, but this HUGE larva at the back looks very much as if they are feeding up some future queens.

 

 

[ANTdrew]

Those definitely look like alate larvae.