26 replies to this topic

[BleepingBleepers]

BTW: Don't forget to check out my other pictures here, lots of closeup pictures I posted awhile back

https://www.formicul...tutus/?p=235073

 

 

SO

 

This is what I had in

 

12 / 12 / 2023

 

11 workers + Queen, 20~ larvae, 16 cocoons, 16+ eggs

 

 

 

This is what I have now, a little less than a month and a half later!

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------

01 / 24 / 2024

 

 

Queen + 45 Workers + 30~ eggs, 25~ larvae, 30 cocoons 

 

Can you spot the Queen in the bunch?    (lol not trying to make it hard either)

 

 

 

 

 

------------------YOUTUBE VIDEOS BELOW (LIVE FEEDING!)-----------------------

 

And here's the feeding videos I've worked on! Made 3!

Please check them out, thanks!

All videos available in 4K Quality from my new camera!

 

Nom Noming on some 'STUFF'

(Update: This is a REupload. Improved on a few things)

 

 

 

Ecto Ants feeding on live red runners roaches!

(Update: Just went back and edit it again. Improved video brightness and redid some clips. So this is a REupload)

 

 

 

 

Catching them Fruit Flies! 

 

 

 

 

Finally got some nice closeup shots of

 

QUEEN 

 

I did say I would try to get a better close up shot of her 3 'eyes' on her head and I finally got the chance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

and WORKER

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workers chowing down, the video is about this:

 

 

 

 

And lastly, a still image of the current colony. I remember when they were right down to 2 works and the Queen, that was some sketchy stuff / dark times, but things are looking better!

 

 

 

 

 

I'm about to give them an expansion, either tomorrow or the next day since these are bigger ants and they roam more than carpenter ants, the same amount of space cannot handle the same amount of ants it's time for an expansion!

It almost feels like these ants are trying to catch up to the carpenter ants! But the carpenter ants have also increased in colony size as well, which I'll update in a few more days!

Edited by BleepingBleepers, February 2 2024 - 4:00 PM.

[dspdrew]

That photography is amazing.

[ChenZ]

Superb! I've heard Ponerinae ants are messy but your colony looks so clean! Definitely way much better than my Pogonomyrmex and honeypot 

[100lols]

I’m just blown away!! Can’t wait to watch more of your videos when I get off work. They are growing nicely!

[BleepingBleepers]

That photography is amazing.

 

Ha, thanks man. Appreciate you and the staff for maintaining this forum and giving us a place to enjoy our hobby.

 

Keep up the great work

 

Superb! I've heard Ponerinae ants are messy but your colony looks so clean! Definitely way much better than my Pogonomyrmex and honeypot 

 

Welllllllllll, to be honest, they aren't all that great as I want it. It was one of my concerns when I started these as the rumors / comments I go through kinda mentioned it along with picture proof of how dirty 'meat ants' can be as opposed to the more tidy ants that keep seeds or even carpenter ants.

 

I'm a bit of a OCD "gotta have it my way" kinda person and so a lot of the times, I'm trying to get these ants to poop in a spot that I want. I have come up with something which I'll post later, but with ants, they tend to like doing the opposite and there's nothing fool-proof, at least in the long run.

 

Anyhow, on the left side of the nest where they keep some of their larvae now, they've been kinda pooping there and in the small mini hearth outworld. It smells a bit and I'm not too fond of smells. Whoever says ants don't smell (besides Attas), I think they're just not as sensitive as me and I definitely can smell both the CA02 and these guys, these guys most of all. I'm considering just blocking off the outworld completely and opening another outworld in which I can literally scoop up any excrement of theirs. I can only handle so much smells as I have them right in front of me. They're my 'lava lamp' observation piece for enjoyment and stress reducing. I'll make a post in the near future about the expansion and also what I mentioned above about finding ways to keeping it clean.

 

You saying it's way better than your ants but I think it's like kids, everyone thinks their friend's / neighbor's etc kids are better, but they don't know the hidden sides haha

Like "You see little Joe over there, why can't you be as well behaved as him??" but Joe's parents are secretly think "if only they knew     "

 

 

I’m just blown away!! Can’t wait to watch more of your videos when I get off work. They are growing nicely!

Thanks man, glad to hear someone's checking out those videos. I made a fun CA02 video too about my first Major, it's just a fun, mess around, multi tone video. I've been told that it's a bit immature and has too many tones to it but I'm thinking "sorry, it's immature because I'm immature and I like having fun with my videos, we can't all be making the same kinda videos or else it'd be boring" though I do understand some issues with it and will improve in the upcoming videos hopefully. I'm learning how to use Premiere Pro and am aiming to improve.

 

Hope you do check it out and tell me what'cha think and thank you for being a friend and commenting on our posts and journals, you're one of the joyful folks that I love seeing in this forum, there's really only a handful of you guys that talk / respond much. Hope to see you around for months / years to come

[Voidley]

Don’t feel pressured to tailor your videos to other people’s tastes! At the end of the day, they are YOUR videos and they’re just a cool way to document the progress of your ant colonies. I for one really enjoyed the videos and found them plenty informative and entertaining. My only gripe with them is that they were too short!

[BleepingBleepers]

Don’t feel pressured to tailor your videos to other people’s tastes! At the end of the day, they are YOUR videos and they’re just a cool way to document the progress of your ant colonies. I for one really enjoyed the videos and found them plenty informative and entertaining. My only gripe with them is that they were too short!

Aw thanks man! Glad you checked it out. I'm pretty critical and my own worst critic (sometimes brutally so). I'm also quite open minded and all for constructive criticism and I asked around for some critique on my videos, always wanting to improve. Like if anyone tells me "your video sucks!" I'd be like "wait, don't leave, tell me what you don't like about it and tell me what you'd like improved?" and I usually try to compromise. And yeah, I also want to keep true to myself, while there will be some changes, some will remain the same, it'll be my own personal signature to the way I make videos.

 

Appreciate you watching them, thank you for the kind words and being around.

 

On the side: My plans is that while that channel has some videos about ants, I think I'm going to do storytelling videos on there mostly. Got some stories I've always wanted to write up, gonna act it out and tell them. Imma sound so bad tho haha, but we'll see