Jump to content

  • Chat
  •  
  •  

Welcome to Formiculture.com!

This is a website for anyone interested in Myrmecology and all aspects of finding, keeping, and studying ants. The site and forum are free to use. Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation points to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!

Photo

Odontomachus Clarus Eating Brood!

odontomachus clarus brood

  • Please log in to reply
7 replies to this topic

#1 Offline LieutenAnt_Dan - Posted October 1 2024 - 4:04 AM

LieutenAnt_Dan

    Newbie

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 5 posts

Hi all,

 

I have a Odontomachus Clarus queen who recently decided to eat her brood. I appreciate this is typical stress related behavior so I'm looking at ways I can reduce her stress levels. Nest temp is currently 26c (78f) and humidity is 65%.

 

One thing I'm curious about is the size of her outworld that I use for offering food; it's 108mm x108mm square (approx. 4.25 inches) - is this too big for a semi claustral queen? She does enter the outworld to collect fruit flies but acts very skittish when there, as if threatened. I added some desert substrate to the outworld in the hope to calm things down; she has taken a number of sand grains into her nest but not a significant amount...

 

Thanks in advance,

Dan


Current species:

 

Messor ebeninus

Temnothorax luteus

Manica rubida

Lasius niger

Odontomachus clarus

Dorymyrmex bicolor

 

Using HighTechAnts 3D printed nests & outworlds - Ant Nests and Formicariums UK | Ant Farms | HighTechAnts


#2 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted October 1 2024 - 6:13 AM

RushmoreAnts

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 4,209 posts
  • LocationSioux Falls, South Dakota

How often do you check on her? The best way of reducing stress levels is simply leaving her alone.


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis


#3 Offline LieutenAnt_Dan - Posted October 1 2024 - 6:38 AM

LieutenAnt_Dan

    Newbie

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 5 posts

Thanks for the reply Adak. 

 

Currently, she is set up alongside my other species so although I avoid disturbing her directly, no doubt I do when tending to my established colonies on a daily basis. I plan to relocate my colonies to a quieter room in the house this evening - I'm thinking of creating a cover for her nest + outworld from cardboard or something...


Current species:

 

Messor ebeninus

Temnothorax luteus

Manica rubida

Lasius niger

Odontomachus clarus

Dorymyrmex bicolor

 

Using HighTechAnts 3D printed nests & outworlds - Ant Nests and Formicariums UK | Ant Farms | HighTechAnts


#4 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted October 1 2024 - 1:10 PM

RushmoreAnts

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 4,209 posts
  • LocationSioux Falls, South Dakota

I'm thinking of creating a cover for her nest + outworld from cardboard or something...

So she is currently exposed to light? That and checking your established colonies is likely the cause of her stress. She should be in a dark space with as little vibrations as possible.


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis


#5 Offline mbullock42086 - Posted October 1 2024 - 2:55 PM

mbullock42086

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 243 posts

Have you painted one side of the test tube with some sort of substrate?

  the queen needs to stick them to the wall of her burrow- they need this to molt out of the second instar.  the third instar no longer requires this as its about to pupate and will rest on the floor.
  She's probably eating them as they get trapped during the molt to i3 to recycle them.  the spines don't stick well to cotton, so you'll need to mix sand with eco earth and make a paste to paint the tube.


  if they're getting to I3 just fine, it could be underfeeding rather than stress, IMO.  these need looooots of protein, you can rear them entirely on smashed insects, or even egg yolk.  they do not require sugar at all, but it's still wise to offer something like a bottlecap of raw honey.


  one thing about this species- they often co-found with a sister or neighboring queen, and you'll often see them travelling in groups of 2-3 searching for a good rock to found under, so the queen will generally always have someone foraging for her, essentially.


Edited by mbullock42086, October 1 2024 - 3:01 PM.


#6 Offline LieutenAnt_Dan - Posted October 2 2024 - 3:52 AM

LieutenAnt_Dan

    Newbie

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 5 posts

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

She is in a 3D printed foundation nest with small outworld, the nest has a red Perspex cover whilst the outworld receives natural daylight. I'm now tempted to move her back into a test tube setup so I can do the sand paste trick. There is sand within her outworld which she has been moving into the nest but we're talking a few grains at best.

 

I feed her dead fruit flies every couple of days. Tried chopped mealworms but she tends to ignore those. Any other insects you'd recommend?


Current species:

 

Messor ebeninus

Temnothorax luteus

Manica rubida

Lasius niger

Odontomachus clarus

Dorymyrmex bicolor

 

Using HighTechAnts 3D printed nests & outworlds - Ant Nests and Formicariums UK | Ant Farms | HighTechAnts


#7 Offline mbullock42086 - Posted October 3 2024 - 12:01 PM

mbullock42086

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 243 posts

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

She is in a 3D printed foundation nest with small outworld, the nest has a red Perspex cover whilst the outworld receives natural daylight. I'm now tempted to move her back into a test tube setup so I can do the sand paste trick. There is sand within her outworld which she has been moving into the nest but we're talking a few grains at best.

 

I feed her dead fruit flies every couple of days. Tried chopped mealworms but she tends to ignore those. Any other insects you'd recommend?

 they prefer whole small insects- fruitflies are just fine. pinhead crickets and tiny roaches are good. large mealworms chunks are no bueno because the larva actually needs to hold a chunk of food on its belly to feed properly

    With the fruitflies, the queen will just give each larva a whole fruitfly.  mealworms are only good if they're tiny mini mealworms 1cm or less in length- those can be quartered and larvae can eat them.



#8 Offline kiedeerk - Posted October 4 2024 - 7:53 AM

kiedeerk

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 207 posts
I have raised multiple odontomachus queens and other semi claustral queens. They really don’t need an outworld. I usually use a longer or larger test tube with substrate like sand or cocofiber. I hand feed them inside their test tube like I would a regular claustral queen. I remove the trash when it accumulates. You can check my journal on O clarus. I got them to about 100 workers before queen randomly died. I raised O haematodus to close to 1000 workers.





Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: odontomachus clarus, brood

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users