30 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Look closely for visible mites before making any diagnosis. The grain mites that would be in oats are not actually harmful to ants, and I doubt they’d harm leafcutter fungus. They are a repulsive annoyance that should be prevented at all costs. Ten minutes in the oven at 200 degrees would eliminate any hitchhikers on your oats.

[cutchins]

Look closely for visible mites before making any diagnosis. The grain mites that would be in oats are not actually harmful to ants, and I doubt they’d harm leafcutter fungus. They are a repulsive annoyance that should be prevented at all costs. Ten minutes in the oven at 200 degrees would eliminate any hitchhikers on your oats.

 

Copy, that makes sense. Looking to put together some kind of setup to get good photos asap!

[Virginian_ants]

I used a digital microscope for that photo. It can be annoying to watch moving ants but she was holding very still for me. This one I'm pretty sure Wireless Digital Microscope, Skybasic 50X-1000X Magnification WiFi Portable Handheld Microscopes with Adjustable Stand HD USB Microscope Camera Compatible with iPhone Android iPad Windows Mac Computer
Plastic

[cutchins]

I used a digital microscope for that photo. It can be annoying to watch moving ants but she was holding very still for me. This one I'm pretty sure Wireless Digital Microscope, Skybasic 50X-1000X Magnification WiFi Portable Handheld Microscopes with Adjustable Stand HD USB Microscope Camera Compatible with iPhone Android iPad Windows Mac Computer
Plastic

 

Thanks!

[AntidepressAnt]

Look closely for visible mites before making any diagnosis. The grain mites that would be in oats are not actually harmful to ants, and I doubt they’d harm leafcutter fungus. They are a repulsive annoyance that should be prevented at all costs. Ten minutes in the oven at 200 degrees would eliminate any hitchhikers on your oats.

I have no idea if grain mites could harm ants, but they are said to be dangerous to colonies of feeders like mealworms. However, I don't know if they are actually causing damage or if people are just freaking out after seeing mites crawling everywhere in their bins.

[Virginian_ants]

The colony has been very quiet lately when I first moved them in they always had 2-5 workers on the surface now I rarely see them. Could they be stick or did they just dig deeper chambers?

[AntsTopia]

Indeed I too have had experience with these types of mites. I tried giving my new founding tetra queen a naturalistic setup with moist sand and dirt that I purchased from Petco and not an hour went by before she was covered in head to abdomen with these retched mites. This happened years ago in the summer when I was first becoming an ant keeper. Beware of moist sand bought from pet stores. 

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

I got some dirt from petsmart and it was infested with mites

[Virginian_ants]

This soil was from my own compost mix.

[Mushu]

The mites looks very similar to this video from Ant Holleufer. I believe Antscanda also ran into similar mite issue.

https://youtu.be/-SX...qxsj_7mn-jfxIS5

Edited by Mushu, March 31 2024 - 8:38 PM.

[Virginian_ants]

Luckily I haven't seen any mites on workers since that one. I have seen some on trash but every time it seems like it's less everytime. I've seen a few mites in my other colonies but I've been much more thorough with cleaning and they are almost all gone.