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Dspdrew's Myrmecocystus yuma Journal [197] (Discontinued 12-14-2021)

dspdrew journal myrmecocystus yuma

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63 replies to this topic

#21 Offline dspdrew - Posted December 20 2014 - 1:24 PM

dspdrew
  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 12-20-2014
 
The largest colony has eight workers now, and still has a huge pile of brood. The other one in the foraging container is down to one worker now for some reason. I also moved the other colony with one worker into a foraging container too now.



#22 Offline dspdrew - Posted February 6 2015 - 8:11 AM

dspdrew
  • LocationSanta Ana, CA
Update 2-6-2015
 
Just a little picture update on my largest colony. Other than the new cocoon in this colony, not much else has changed with any of them, except the size of their larvae.
 
med_gallery_2_243_70112.jpg
 
med_gallery_2_243_431490.jpg

#23 Offline Alza - Posted February 6 2015 - 3:07 PM

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why is the queens gaster red ?



#24 Offline dspdrew - Posted February 6 2015 - 3:43 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

She's been drinking lots of hummingbird nectar.



#25 Offline Vendayn - Posted February 6 2015 - 4:39 PM

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Actually looks pretty cool, her red gaster. Kind of would be a good Halloween look if it was Halloween. :P

#26 Offline InsideAntz - Posted February 6 2015 - 7:53 PM

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Man those are so good shots... can't wait for the weather to break!



#27 Offline dspdrew - Posted February 7 2015 - 7:45 PM

dspdrew
  • LocationSanta Ana, CA



#28 Offline dspdrew - Posted February 14 2015 - 9:10 AM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 2-14-2015
 
Just last week on 2-8-2015 I found two more of these queens out in the desert after they had a mating flight sometime the first week of February. I had no idea any Myrmecocystus species would fly in February, or possibly even January--pretty amazing! Both of these new queens have little piles of eggs already.

 

Edit: I think these were actually M. creightoni, but both of them died.


Edited by dspdrew, March 31 2015 - 7:41 PM.


#29 Offline Chromerust - Posted February 14 2015 - 11:49 AM

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Any eggs? One of mine that didn't lay eggs died a few days later. Need to update the journal myself....

PS the sounds in your apartment make me sleepy so relaxing

#30 Offline dspdrew - Posted February 14 2015 - 12:18 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Any eggs? One of mine that didn't lay eggs died a few days later. Need to update the journal myself....

 

Oh yeah, I guess they both have little piles of eggs now. I'll have to add that to the journal update.

 

 

PS the sounds in your apartment make me sleepy so relaxing

 

Haha, it's the sound of my HEPA air filter, trickling water in my paludarium, and the chillout music I usually have playing. Not sure what happened to the end of the video though; It sounded like I was suddenly murdered.



#31 Offline Chromerust - Posted February 14 2015 - 1:11 PM

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Remember how last years Yumas were throwing their eggs around all over the test tube? This year those same queens have a nice neat little pile.

#32 Offline dspdrew - Posted February 14 2015 - 1:55 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

I don't know... I've seen them start out really nice and neat and then end up a complete disaster, kind of like my apartment.



#33 Offline dspdrew - Posted March 31 2015 - 7:54 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 3-31-2015
 
The test tube flooded a while back and killed all of the brood, and a few workers. Since then all the rest of the workers have died off.

 

I moved the queen into one of my small ant farm boxes, but it wouldn't dig. It seems like Myrmecocystus queens get really lazy once they have workers, so I took this queen out and put another one in. So far the queen in there now still hasn't started digging either.



#34 Offline Miles - Posted March 31 2015 - 8:25 PM

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 It seems like Myrmecocystus queens get really lazy once they have workers, so I took this queen out and put another one in.

My Myrmecocystus mexicanus colony's queen is super lazy.  This colony is now deceased.


Edited by Miles, January 30 2018 - 9:33 AM.

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PhD Student & NSF Graduate Research Fellow | University of Florida Dept. of Entomology & Nematology - Lucky Ant Lab 

 

Founder & Director of The Ant Network. Ant keeper since 2009. Insect ecologist and science communicator. He/Him.


#35 Offline dspdrew - Posted April 8 2015 - 8:51 PM

dspdrew
  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 4-8-2015
 
The queen in the ant farm box died a few days ago. Today I put the remaining test tubed queen in to see how she does. The specific box I put her in had a little nest already dug in it by one of my recently deceased Myrmecocystus cf. placodops queens.



#36 Offline dspdrew - Posted April 30 2015 - 12:07 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 4-30-2015
 
I no longer saw any movement from the queen in the ant farm box so I assumed she was probably dead. Chromerust gave me the one M. yuma he had left, so I put that one and the one I had in the test tube/foraging container setup together in one of the ant farm boxes yesterday.



#37 Offline dspdrew - Posted May 7 2015 - 4:58 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 5-7-2015
 
Both remaining queens are now dead. That's it for this species.



#38 Offline dspdrew - Posted May 13 2015 - 5:48 AM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 5-13-2015
 
I just noticed that there actually is a queen still alive in that little ant farm box. I think she might even have some eggs too.


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#39 Offline dspdrew - Posted May 24 2015 - 8:39 PM

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  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Update 5-24-2015
 
I'm pretty sure that last queen is dead now.



#40 Offline Ants4fun - Posted May 24 2015 - 8:43 PM

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All your Myrmecocystus colonies/queens die! I wonder why...





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