130 replies to this topic

[kiedeerk]

Castaneus brood progressing quickly.

Lasius neoniger out of diapause

Formica queens all started laying eggs

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[kiedeerk]

Formica queen continues to lay eggs

S molesta brood pile

T curvispinosus

C castaneus pupae pile growing

P Rhea room full of majors/super majors

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[kiedeerk]

Formica colonies developing well. larvae and pupae already

Camponotus castaneus now has a large pile of pupae

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[BleepingBleepers]

Awesome job dealing with so many different species of ants!

 

I don't know how some of you guys do it, I think my hands are full with just the two I have. I also love taking pictures and videos, so I enjoy the pictures you take too. Pictures are worth a thousand words like they say. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

P.S. Part of me does wish that you have some comments that I can read along with all your pictures, to give insight on what your thoughts on for each picture posted, guess to kinda read on what's going through your mind. Though that is a lot of species to cover and we each have our own way of going about it.

[kiedeerk]

Moved my odontomachus clarus into a different set up.
The problem with odontomachus species is that they require quite high humidity and constant supply of substrate to help their larva pupate. They also have a tendency to move substrate out of their nest causing their larva to fail to pupate.

I have a colony of Odontomachus haematodus that had 1000 workers at one point but I am seeing the same problem with workers not covering the larva with substrate to help them pupate. I believe for Odontomachus naturalistic set up is probably best for them. It will limit your observation of them. They also require very high insect feeders and will require daily feeds.

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Edited by kiedeerk, February 11 2024 - 6:22 PM.

[kiedeerk]

Moved my Novomessor albisetosus colony into a horizontal nest for better pictures

Pheidole rhea restarting their exponential growth phase

Formica colony went from 4 to 15 workers

Camponotus castaneus eclosed many new workers

Bonus pictures of Odontomachus haematodus workers sharing food
Odontomachus clarus workers

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[kiedeerk]

Monthly update. Weather is still cold where I live. On one warmer afternoon, I found a small colony of temnothorax pergandei in a sandy area. Queen has laid a good batch of queens and eggs since capture.

Otherwise my colonies are doing well. Except for the loss of my odontomachus clarus queen. Unsure the reason but she died randomly one day. Still have 50+ clarus workers that will live out their lives. Odontomachus are quite difficult in my experience. I still have a large haematodus colony but they are quite specific in terms of humidity and availability of substrate to pupate and the constant requirement of large protein source.

Below are some pictures of my other colonies.
1-3. Temnothorax pergandei
4. Solenopsis molesta huge brood pile
5. Polymorphism of pogonomyrmex badius
6. Camponotus castaneus queen has been busy with egg production
7. Camponotus chromaoides walking up from diapause
8. Formica subsericea
9. Formica pallidefulva
10. Pheidole rhea majors working on seeds
11. Novomessor albisetosus queen and her brood

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[kiedeerk]

Haven’t updated my Myrmecocystus placadops 01 colony in a long time. Main reason was it was very hard to take pictures in their old set up. Today, I decided to move them into a new nest that I made years ago that was just sitting there. It is a two level nest with two sided viewing for better lighting and easier time to take pictures.

They have being doing well. Worker count probably 200+.They can be quite picky in terms of proteins. The biggest repletes are size of small grapes.

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[GOCAMPONOTUS]

Wow that is a big replete!

Edited by GOCAMPONOTUS, March 27 2024 - 6:56 PM.

[Ernteameise]

Oh wow.

I just absolutely adore honeypot ants.

This is a dream species.

[kiedeerk]

1. M placadops 01 is settled in their new nest. They are very picky eaters in terms of protein source and would refuse many insects I have given them. They currently just take termites

2. Temnothorax pergandei colony doing well after capture. Large brood pile.

3. Massive brood pile of solenopsis molesta

4. Novomessor albisetosus queen in detail surrounded by her brood and workers

5. New addition to my colonies. Yellow morph Camponotus nearcticus

6. Along with nearcticus, Camponotus subbarbatus colony also found by accident recently. Both queens started to lay eggs immediately

7. Camponotus chromaoides progressing well

8. Camponotus castaneus in their full set up

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