12 replies to this topic

[Artimusclydeperez]

I just want to share my ants!

cephalotes texanus
Atta Texanna
camponotus floridanus
leptogenys elongata

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[futurebird]

Wow! What it's like to keep Cephalotes? What sort of things do they get up to?

 

Lovely ants!

[CamExcee]

The collection is insane quality>>>quantity

[Artimusclydeperez]

They are really cool to look at!
They have very thick armor so if one gets out u can pinch them very tight (not that you need to) and drop them back in and I have never seen even a bent leg they feel like pebbles that tough!
They are frustrating to feed they seem to like nothing and everything at the same time but do like honey water
They have tiny mandibles so they don’t attack like most ants instead then get low and belly crawl up to the enemy and head but them to scare them away if that dosnt work they bite at the legs
I haven’t seen them eat any protein other then drinking fluids from opened bugs I have them. They like tight areas so I made them that clear tube and it works pretty good so far! They like it really dry so I just put drops of water in on the foil every other day or so the ant feeders I have they can’t seem to get close to the water cuz the shape of their head so I
Thank you I made the clear set ups my self really easy takes about 10 minutes

[kiedeerk]

That is not Camponotus Floridanus. Looks to me like Camponotus discolor which will make more sense since all these ants are native to Texas which I assume you are from

It looks like you caught a wild colony of cephalotes. You should try to make them a wooden nests with tight corridors to emulate natural environment. They won’t do well in the set up you have.

Also atta queens are fully claustral so I would remove the leaves until workers arrive.

As for your set ups there is no way of adding humidity to your gypsum nests. For atta once they get enough workers and start processing leaves that will provide moisture but usually for these types of nest we add a layer or a corner of sand then pour the gypsum on top so we can add water to the set up.

Edited by kiedeerk, May 19 2024 - 10:23 AM.

[The_Gaming-gate]

Alright I knew those were discolor. Floridanus in Texas isn’t impossible but would be quite suspicious.

I’m loving those Atta, and the turtle ants even more! Maybe I can find some Trachymyrmex and Cephalotes and recreate these pictures.

[Artimusclydeperez]

That is not Camponotus Floridanus. Looks to me like Camponotus discolor which will make more sense since all these ants are native to Texas which I assume you are from
It looks like you caught a wild colony of cephalotes. You should try to make them a wooden nests with tight corridors to emulate natural environment. They won’t do well in the set up you have.
Also atta queens are fully claustral so I would remove the leaves until workers arrive.
As for your set ups there is no way of adding humidity to your gypsum nests. For atta once they get enough workers and start processing leaves that will provide moisture but usually for these types of nest we add a layer or a corner of sand then pour the gypsum on top so we can add water to the set up.

Awsome info thank you yeah I should totally do the sand thing I was scratching my head. How to hydrate for any length of time I have some micro spong and I was thinking of doing what u said but with a pillar of sponge that touches the bottom of the tank and goes 1/8” into the hydro stone that way it can get decent water contact even as the level lowers? As of right now I have little rubber plugs in the side I remove so not to suck all humidity out and I spray a bit of water in won’t work once we have workers that want out tho so any and all info would be great!
My cephalotes have been tricky. I kept them in the past for over a year and in the move I forgot to water them and they didn’t make it . I did make a very crappy wood nest at the time and they took a while to get their groove but once they did they did very well it was feeding that was hard. I couldn’t find any go I was 100% sure they where eating they seem to find a favorite for a week then hate it the next week as of now I am not 100% I have 2 queens if any they are the correct shape and dimensions but smaller then I recall and I did just get a male to wake and I have 2 queens a few days away from waking and they are larger then the ones currently walking around but look very dimensionally the same. Queens have smaller heads cto body size then workers and a very elongated oval gastor all other castes have short spade shape gastors
I’ll try and attach some pictures I put a dead isopod in and they literally hollowed it out over night. The large leptogeny colony dosnt eat that fast! They are 3 times the size and numbers! I put a small dead roach and they have picked at it but not really eaten it they do like honey they have been using the nest that I made them with a clear acrylic tube with a hole in it. But only a small part of the colony and all the brood stay in it I’ll work on making a wood nest I’ll need to get my band saw out and a dremmel I think I still have small magnets I used to sandwich both sides of the wood together on the glass

I have been having a rough time with my ant feeders I got them off Etsy I forget the store name but they either don’t tighten and leak water and flood or they don’t produce water and I’m constantly trying to adjust them cuz the ants seem dehydrated any one have any links to trusted feeders that hold at least a couple ml ?

[Artimusclydeperez]

Ok some pictures are better then others I am working hard on my photography skills which are pretty much worse then my grammar. So sorry
U can see the queen in the last picture and the second queen in the second picture but it’s blurry she is feeding a major
I have been getting a few die offs I think in the past 2 weeks sense I have had them I have lost 6 ants. That’s a large % and is upsetting to me I remember my last set up I had a fully screened top. So it is likely a humidity issue ? I feed only my own propagated meal worm, Dubai, dairy cow isopod, honey water, and I did put one flower pollen from a hibiscus cause I read they like pollen they where very interested in it but they tend to just move foods around. Not to the nest just like…. Around constantly protein they do not like they just drag all around. If they do like it they tear it apart where they find it

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[Artimusclydeperez]

Some more pictures I found these green metallic tiger Beatles they are pretty cool to watch and a mother pic of my leptogenys cause I really enjoy them
And Opiliones! I have found 2 types here in San Antonio this orange one and these really cool navy blue ones with orange and white legs! In the sun they are Pepsi can metallic color any one ever keep these? Mine love to eat Avacado

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[Artimusclydeperez]

Forgot the orange ones

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[Artimusclydeperez]

So by keeping my Atta colony in a spot the ac blows directly onto the fungus that was struggling day by day had grown in mass at least 5x from Sunday
I guess they really like it cold low 70 house is set at 74 and it’s much cooler right I front of the flow from the vent.

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[The_Gaming-gate]

Camponotus is discolor, head shape is way off to be Camponotus floridanus. Somebody should also move this to the Journaling sub forum, since there is no way this belongs in Anting.

Edited by The_Gaming-gate, May 23 2024 - 3:15 AM.

[Artimusclydeperez]

Updated atta photo the garden has really started to do well.

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