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[ClaytonBaby]

With a year fast approaching I figure it’s a great time to start a journal up for these beasts!
Oct.17.2022 5:14 Pm - Nurbs sends out a message saying the girls have been sent over!


Oct.18.2022 6:45 Pm - I receive the package and rush to the room filled with the excitement of a small child ready to open it up.. I know you know the feeling. I prepared my phone to get some shots of the girls and was quickly knocked off of cloud 9. Baked, drowned, and tossed about the small colony of Rugosus was finished, or so it seemed.




With a stubborn and heavy heart I grabbed a Qtip and placed all the nanitics, the larvae, and the queen onto pieces of paper towel and began to blow on the queen gently for a few minutes. Eventually, I seen movement and my hopes shot right back up! I rushed to my phone and sent nurbs a clip of the queen twitching back to life. With a bit of experience under his belt he had to prepare me for the worst… I dried off her nanitics and larvae, put them all back into the tube, and waited..




Oct.24.2022 - By this time the queen, two nanitics, a handful of eggs, and a handful of larvae was all that remained of the young colony. A bit of protein was definitely necessary at this point so I threw in a small pre killed mealworm and they DEMOLISHED it.



Dec.29.2022 - By this time it’s been confirmed that Jema is indeed still fertile despite the trauma she endured (very curious how trauma does affect fertility in ants though if anyone has info) and the reapers are reaping! They have been moved into a THA XXL Mini Hearth and are showing good signs of growth.



May.29.2023 - A bit of time has passed and it was now time for a second THA XXL Mini Hearth to be attached. Colony development has been steadily increasing. Will be introducing much more protein into their diet.






Aug.19.23 - Jema and The Reapers are doing amazing and proving to be in it for the long haul. They have at this point been moved into a custom formicarium that I made, been real cooperative with helping me test it out and they’ve been utilizing all the new storage space to finally be able to store seeds next to their larvae rather then under their larvae. LOL











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Edited by ClaytonBaby, September 17 2023 - 11:16 PM.

[100lols]

Awesome setup! Jema has proven herself indeed following.

[ClaytonBaby]

Awesome setup! Jema has proven herself indeed following.

I'm beyond happy that she is. LOL.. Rugosus is my personal favorite sp. and though they are local this was my first queen, nurbs was nice enough to send me a replacement queen incase this queen was no longer fertile, but that queen has since passed. /: Going to be updating soon!


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[ANTdrew]

That formicarium looks awesome! How did you make it? A dramatic start to your journal!

[ClaytonBaby]

That formicarium looks awesome! How did you make it? A dramatic start to your journal!

thank you so much! It’s a carved hydrostone block and It’s a rough draft of what’s to come! I’ll be making large formicariums for senior colony’s of different species.


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[ANTdrew]

I really like the look. What did you carve with, and is that a wood frame around it?

[ClaytonBaby]

I really like the look. What did you carve with, and is that a wood frame around it?

Used a dremel for a bunch of hours it was honestly a hassle and a half! LOL
It’s 100% hydrostone with a sanded grout finish for the tunnels and a black waterproof seal on the outside. This is a bit smaller then the finished product will be so it only features a single water tower, but there will be options for more or less as needed! Can be made a couple different ways as well I’m super excited to start pushing them out!! Test phase is still in the works though LOL.


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I really like the look. What did you carve with, and is that a wood frame around it?

Used a dremel for a bunch of hours it was honestly a hassle and a half! LOL
It’s 100% hydrostone with a sanded grout finish for the tunnels and a black waterproof seal on the outside. This is a bit smaller then the finished product will be so it only features a single water tower, but there will be options for more or less as needed! Can be made a couple different ways as well I’m super excited to start pushing them out!! Test phase is still in the works though LOL.


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[Ernteameise]

Great story!

And some nice pictures.

Like the others, I also like the setup you made.

[ClaytonBaby]

Great story!
And some nice pictures.
Like the others, I also like the setup you made.

Thank you so much!!


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[ClaytonBaby]

These girls are being rehomed if anyone is interested! Gotta make room for my other colonies


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