Caught this queen under a street light about 10:30pm last night:
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Tetramorium flew in Columbus, OH last night
Started By
Tspivey16
, Jun 16 2014 6:20 AM
8 replies to this topic
#1
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Posted June 16 2014 - 6:20 AM
Tspivey16
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Current Colonies:
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (50 Workers)
Formica subsericea (5+ Workers)
Tetramorium caespitum (50+ Workers)
Parastic Lasius (15 Accepted Host Workers)
Crematogaster cerasi (10 + Workers)
Temnothorax sp. (70 + workers)
#2
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Posted June 16 2014 - 7:43 AM
Mercutia
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I notice that whenever you have a flight, my flight comes like.... A month after. So saddddd.
Tetramorium sp.E are really easy to raise and fast growing.
Tetramorium sp.E are really easy to raise and fast growing.
#3
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Posted June 16 2014 - 7:49 AM
Tspivey16
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That is what I heard- really excited to see how they develop.
Current Colonies:
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (50 Workers)
Formica subsericea (5+ Workers)
Tetramorium caespitum (50+ Workers)
Parastic Lasius (15 Accepted Host Workers)
Crematogaster cerasi (10 + Workers)
Temnothorax sp. (70 + workers)
#4
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Posted June 25 2014 - 1:23 PM
Myrmicinae
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Try to use organic cotton if you can. In my experience, colonies of this species do not make it far in test tubes with normal cotton.
Edited by Myrmicinae, June 25 2014 - 1:24 PM.
#5
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Posted June 25 2014 - 2:27 PM
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I've never had a problem with raising them with regular cotton. They are pretty hardy and very stubborn.
#6
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Posted June 25 2014 - 3:12 PM
Myrmicinae
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I've never had a problem with raising them with regular cotton. They are pretty hardy and very stubborn.
It could have just been the particular brand I was using. When I switched to organic cotton, I stopped having problems (I have a colony approaching 1,000 now).
#7
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Posted June 25 2014 - 6:10 PM
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Did it mold or something? Perhaps it was coated in something... which sucks because if there is something toxic in those cotton balls i can't imagine putting them on my face. D:
#8
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Posted June 26 2014 - 5:39 PM
Myrmicinae
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Did it mold or something? Perhaps it was coated in something... which sucks because if there is something toxic in those cotton balls i can't imagine putting them on my face. D:
The normal cotton does seem to mold much more often than the organic type. I don't think that was the sole cause of the problems though. Regardless of whether mold was visible, the colonies with normal cotton would always die off before they surpassed a dozen or so workers. I remember reading somewhere that cotton is the most pesticide-intensive crop, so that seems to me to be the most likely cause.
Edited by Myrmicinae, June 26 2014 - 5:40 PM.
#9
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Posted June 26 2014 - 5:47 PM
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Based on how things played out with past colonies, my guess is that the residual pesticides present in normal cotton weaken the ants' immune systems and make them more susceptible to disease. This would explain the slow decline, as opposed to immediate death.
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