25 replies to this topic

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

For sure queen larva there. Congrats!

I agree with that, as soon as it turns into a pupa, update the journal! I also find that the test tube formicarium array is actually really good, I have one myself and one of my colonies got big enough to fit in them and they really liked it.

 

Also don't ant colonies like that get alates because of overfeeding? just a question

[RushmoreAnts]

Also don't ant colonies like that get alates because of overfeeding? just a question

 

I've never heard that, it's just a sign that a colony is healthy and maturing. Considering the max size of these colonies is only 3,000 workers (in which case a colony would produce dozens of queen alates), it is conceivable a colony of 200 soon to be 500, if properly fed, could produce 1.

[AntBoi3030]

Congrats on the alate! My colony is somewhere in the 300-400 worker count. No alates from them quite yet. Excited to see more of your colony!

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 7

April 19, 2025

 

The BRIGADE

The BRIGADE has gone through some major (no pun intended) changes within the past couple weeks.

 

Firstly, the colony outgrew their nest, and over 100 workers and majors were forced to live outside under the test tube. As such, I bought a spare Por Amor Array Formicarium Ants_Dakota had lying around and yesterday I moved them in by plugging their current test tube into the Array. Now they have two full-sized culture tubes at their disposal. Each culture tube has significantly more space than a cryptic insert, so they were all able to fit into one of the tubes. I kept the second tube so I wouldn't have to worry about them running out of space for a decent while yet. Their outworld didn't have tubing holes, so I bought an outworld from Ants_Dakota as well. There are a few stragglers in their old outworld I need to tap into the new outworld, but most of the ~350 workers are in the new setup. I believe they have around 500 large larvae and pupae as well, so they may catch up to my Tetras soon.

 

Today I fed them two large crickets. They sent out a party of around 80 workers to process them. I've noticed this species is keen on forming distinct, organized trails, even when compared to other species. Of all the trails I've observed keeping ants, this colony's is the most succinct and visible. These ants are also extremely fast and nimble for small Myrmicinaes, and are quite aggressive. Their feeding response is rapid, as it took less than 10 minutes to fully assemble their hunting party I described earlier, which includes several large majors. When feeding, the majors often gorge themselves, becoming like mini repletes. Their gasters are most often translucent and swollen with food.

 

Finally, the alate larva pupated and has since eclosed! It actually turned out to be a male, however. I was a little disappointed, but still proud they got their first alate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't that centerpiece just stunning? I thought it would match well with the Pheidole's red majors and contrast well with their black workers. There are still several unique outworlds in stock on Ants_Dakota's shop. You should go check them out!

Edited by RushmoreAnts, May 21 2025 - 4:33 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Looking great and nice setup!

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 8

June 3, 2025

 

The BRIGADE

Growth continued steadily over the next 6 weeks. The colony now has at least 600 workers and are using both test tubes and the connecting port to store brood piles. It seems they had a large wave of die-offs from older generations, and the graveyard has also grown to 200-300. Over the past couple weeks their population seems to have stabilized at 600, with the brood mostly serving to replace the deceased. Once that occurs, they are due for another large growth spurt. Shortly after the move, the colony killed off the male for resources. I would too, as all they do is eat and not work. 

 

Their feeding response is unlike anything I have ever seen from a colony their size, as they will accept multiple insects per day. They have around 200 workers in the outworld at all times collecting food, consistent with the 1/3 population rule the colony typically abides by. They have almost as large of a feeding response of my Tetras, which are three times larger in numbers and twice as large in worker size. They are active, curious, and adventurous, and have since had ambitions to expand their territory. While the outworld suits them well and is still stunning as ever, the colony seems to think it to be too small. Every day workers engage in a ritual I call The Ascent, where dozens of workers scale the wall only to slip on the fluon barrier. They keep trying, though. They have overrun two fluon barriers now, and they can slip through the gaps of the outworld lid. I've had to clean up escapees multiple times now. I'm giving them all the resources, sugar, protein, seeds, heat, water, and shelter they could ask for. The only explanation, then, is they want more space. Sometime during the next few weeks, I will build them another larger outworld that they can possess alongside their current one. Hopefully that will satisfy their land ambitions for the time being.

 

As I mentioned in my Tetra journal, Ants_Dakota and I captured hundreds of queen alate pupae from a massive wild Tetra colony, and fed them to my ants. Since The BRIGADE has such a large appetite, they received a large portion of pupae, several dozen over the course of two days, which they ate almost instantly. A few workers accidentally fell in with the pupae, though as happened with my Tetra colony I was eager to see how The BRIGADE responded to this threat. 

 

Surprisingly, the minors were absolutely zero help, and panicked at the sight of the massive, mature, wild Tetra workers. The Tetras were aggressive, more aggressive than my captive Tetras, lunging at the minors and flaring their stingers. Instead of confronting the threat, the minors chose to run away and start eating the pupae instead. The majors, however, actually stepped up to the task. At this point there only a couple majors patrolling the outworld, though they made themselves useful. Unlike the minors, the majors attacked the Tetras, using their Phat Heads to lock on to the threat. Both invader and defender tried to sting each other, yet the majors, being shorter and stouter, had the advantage. Their bites were also noticeably stronger, and they were able to keep pace with the Tetras though they were twice their size. A few minutes later, The BRIGADE's lightning-fast coordination brought a response team of several majors, which teamed up on the Tetras. At this point the minors finally felt comfortable enough to grab the Tetras' limbs and pin them down. After struggling for a little while longer, the Tetras succumbed and were dismantled and consumed by The BRIGADE. Their initial response to the threat was more panicked and less organized than I would have hoped, and I know they are capable of better. I believe they are slow due to them being pampered in captivity. I may introduce a couple Tetra workers here and there to help build their immunity, in case STORM ever breaks out of their setup and decides to invade their phat neighbors, as I've had happen with an older Tetra colony and an old Pogonomyrmex colony.

 

 

Seeing how little space these small ants take up, it appears that The Array will hold them through maturity, as three (there's room for one more) test tubes plus the connector port will be more than enough to hold 3,000 workers. Each test tube can easily hold 1,000 workers at least. So needless to say, they will always be comfortable in their nest as long as I continue to water it and Tetras don't break in and destroy everything they've worked so hard to build.

 

The BRIGADE is now the FIRST colony featured in the ALL-NEW Wilderness Anting YouTube Channel! Go recap their entire story in a new, fun, creative way, and be sure to give us a like and subscribe while you're there.