2121 replies to this topic

[noebl1]

This is a brutal time of year where I am constantly reading ant articles and posts, but bumming as everything is hibernating.  Very much living vicariously through all the Australians posting.  I finally broke down a couple weeks ago and put my P. imparis into hibernation.  They aren't in the cooler, but in the basement in the low 50s.  I wasn't going to hibernate them, but after reading Goldsystem's posts and having them re-lay post hibernation, it had me reconsider it.  Worst case I'll recollect somet this season hopefully and try again.

 

So far lost a couple Lasius as I expected with so many, but everything so far still alive (though a long ways to go.)  Happy to see my couple Aphaenogaster queens are still alive as I am very much looking forward to those this season, so hoping they continue to survive.  

 

My Camponotus Myrmemtoma sp. lost the last of her workers, not sure why.  They were feeding pre-hibernation, but lost all of them within a 2-3 week period just before and during hibernation, so not sure the deal.  The queen I noticed has moved around a bit, and still alive.  Once I lost all by one worker, I grabbed some larvae from the same species Camponotus that's hibernation in an enclosure outside (second year for them.)  So curious to see if she can make it long enough for them to hatch and reboot. If not, guess I'll be looking for more queens of these in May.

 

If all these Lasius and Crematogaster survive and found successfully, I'm going to have to start an adoption thread for sure.

[Connectimyrmex]

This is a brutal time of year where I am constantly reading ant articles and posts, but bumming as everything is hibernating.  Very much living vicariously through all the Australians posting.  I finally broke down a couple weeks ago and put my P. imparis into hibernation.  They aren't in the cooler, but in the basement in the low 50s.  I wasn't going to hibernate them, but after reading Goldsystem's posts and having them re-lay post hibernation, it had me reconsider it.  Worst case I'll recollect somet this season hopefully and try again.

 

So far lost a couple Lasius as I expected with so many, but everything so far still alive (though a long ways to go.)  Happy to see my couple Aphaenogaster queens are still alive as I am very much looking forward to those this season, so hoping they continue to survive.  

 

My Camponotus Myrmemtoma sp. lost the last of her workers, not sure why.  They were feeding pre-hibernation, but lost all of them within a 2-3 week period just before and during hibernation, so not sure the deal.  The queen I noticed has moved around a bit, and still alive.  Once I lost all by one worker, I grabbed some larvae from the same species Camponotus that's hibernation in an enclosure outside (second year for them.)  So curious to see if she can make it long enough for them to hatch and reboot. If not, guess I'll be looking for more queens of these in May.

 

If all these Lasius and Crematogaster survive and found successfully, I'm going to have to start an adoption thread for sure.

P. imparis forage over the winter, so make sure to give them food. If you don't, they'll starve to death.

I occasionally see some workers waddling on the snow covered rocks.

My Camponotus nearcticus colony lost all but one worker, so I'm in the same boat as you so far.

I like how we both posted at pretty much the same time (my previous post and your post)

I just put WAYYYY too much effort in my profile.

Edited by Connectimyrmex, December 19 2017 - 10:18 AM.

[noebl1]

@Connectimyrmex LOL, I love how this thread has been quiet for a month, and we both post within a few minutes

 

I'm curious about this as well.  I've had a really hard time with Myrmica, and have one or two hibernating right now.  I get them to the point of laying, they'll feed on Sunburst, but reject most insects I give them and the brood dies.  They wouldn't touch mealworms at all, but surprisingly would take mosquitos occasionally.

 

Keeping nectar stock piled for the P. imparis, and I see them forage once a month.  Right now no brood   , so no need to keep protein in there.

[Connectimyrmex]

LOL.

About the Myrmica, I find that mine only take termites and crickets. That's how I got my first pupa. She also hates ant nectars, for some reason (only Grade A clover honey for her). I want to have her hibernate so bad, but she keeps laying eggs and feeding her larvae. 

I think that P. imparis only drinks sugary things over the winter. I'm not sure what good protein sources there are over the winter, except for Snow Scorpionflies and Snowflies.

[noebl1]

LOL.

About the Myrmica, I find that mine only take termites and crickets. That's how I got my first pupa. She also hates ant nectars, for some reason (only Grade A clover honey for her). I want to have her hibernate so bad, but she keeps laying eggs and feeding her larvae. 

I think that P. imparis only drinks sugary things over the winter. I'm not sure what good protein sources there are over the winter, except for Snow Scorpionflies and Snowflies.

 

I got all the way to larvae, then they die (guessing of starvation).  I'll try termites and crickets this year, that's a good idea.  I did see them feeding on Sunburst, so I think they are ok with it.  I get really nervous about feeding honey as super easy for them to get stuck in it.  I also need to rethink my outworld for them. I was using a Test tube portal, but found they rarely left the test tube to forage.  This year going to change the technique and instead use a container with the test tube in it and see if that helps.

 

For my Camponotus nearcticus (99% certain on the ID), I found them ready to move for conditions more than any other ants I've ever had.  I added a new test tube as original one had dried out, and they moved within 24h on their own.  Also noticed they moved the brood around constantly.  When I added the brood I found outside, they collected them very quickly, and moved them with the rest of their brood.  They then have moved at least twice during hibernation *by the lone queen*, hence my hope she'll reboot them with this brood.  I found the queens of this species to be really sensitive. I found a bunch this May during flights, and literally just one survived.  They often died the same way as Nathan observed with a swollen gaster, so not sure if something parasitic occurred during their flights.

[Connectimyrmex]

If you disposed of them soon after death, there were probably some phorid flies. I hate those.

 

My C. nearcticus colony was founded in the light, so was a bit hardier from the get-go. I believe that the workers died from some sort of fungal infection, though

 

I use toothpicks to provide tiny amounts of honey for my Myrmica. I've never had any problems with drowning ants (except for S. molesta).

[noebl1]

I suspect fungus is a big issue with Camponotus in general.  Mine were also were founded in the light, but seemed to wait until dark (room lights were off) to move.  I used a Bondic on the container they were in for where the screen adheres to the container, so wondered if maybe it was toxic (it's that plastic that cures under UV light.)  Though not sure how much that theory holds up as the queen has had no problems at all.

[noebl1]

Well looks like I officially lost my Camponotus nearcticus queen; I kept her just in case in deep sleep as not all curled up, but don't have high hopes.  A bit disappointed, however this species has been really hard for me for some reason.  I will try again this season which is only a few months away.  I also know we're there is a freeloading colony of them inside the box outside I mentioned earlier, so may try brood boosting this season to see if I can get over the founding humping with a new queen.

 

Lost one of the Myrmica Sp. I caught in the Spring from the 2016 flights I assume, so down to just one Myrmica queen that I caught in September.  I also lost my Lasius Alienus queen from the summer, and exactly like last season where the first nanitic and larvae survive, but loose the queen.  I may try again for a parasitic colony with these before I give up.  

 

One of my two P. imparis colonies is on the verge of collapse, she had *one* worker all season, and it just died.  Guessing malnutrition as it's gaster was pretty small and wasn't feeding.  The other one, pretty much all the gasters are pretty plump as they've been feeding during hibernation. I may try to combine the two to increase chances, but guessing I'll also be starting over with P. imparis this season if I am lucky enough to find any queens.

[Connectimyrmex]

My Myrmica queen's pupa is darkening, I'm very excited

[Nathant2131]

I've been following this same Lasius claviger dealate that's been under a rock in my backyard ever since I found her in September. Surprised she's made it this far. Looks dead at this point but probably hibernating.

[noebl1]

I'm trying to find a way to post the spreadsheet neatly, but I'm planning on posting my anting log from last season which has dates, approx time, species found, and comments on quantities observed. 

 

I ended up introducing my now workerless P. imparis queen to the one with a dozen or so workers.  They've been sharing the same container for a few months, but separate test tubes.  She went into to the test tube with the small colony, and initially no problems.  I later found her on the cotton with the original queen, and saw one dead worker.  For several days, she was in with the other queen.  At one point I saw her all the way at the end of the test tube with workers on her, so assumed she was about to be no more.  But that was over a week ago, and she's back in with the original queen again and shows no sign of injury.  I'm unsure if long term she's going to survive, but figured nothing to loose at this point.  I did notice the existing queen's gaster is noticeably more swollen than her's, so I'm wondering if they are tolerating her but not tending to her.  Since neither queen relayed the 2nd time, I'm not convinced this colony is going to succeed, so decided to risk it.

[Connectimyrmex]

For some reason, my Myrmica queen just shot out another batch of eggs. No hibernation for her soon

Also, her first callow just isn't darkening! Hope she fully darkens soon.

[noebl1]

So I was hoping I could embed this on the site, but not working (needs to be enabled on the board.)  However here's my spread sheet of ant flights/nuptials journal from 2017.  All of these were observed in Massachusetts in a couple different towns, removed for privacy.

 

2017 Noebl1 Ant Nuptials Journal

 

The quantity field is either how many I caught or observed.  If it says N/A, check the notes field as may have been too large of a flight to count what I observed.  This may be used for personal non-commercial use.

 

EDIT: I have the locations stored in a second copy of this spreadsheet, so ping me if the location is imperative for some reason...

Edited by noebl1, January 18 2018 - 4:12 PM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Nice! This could help me a lot

 

My Myrmica queen and her worker ate a cricket, and then she laid five more eggs. She can barely keep her brood underneath her now. Her egg pile is huge! The crazy thing is that she DID go into hibernation, but she was in for only a day. I wonder if she even needs hibernation. 

My Tetramorium immigrans colony ate their first live meal (a springtail)!

[noebl1]

I hope it does help. If you look, there's definitely clusters.   For example 9/5 and 9/11 were crazy with flights of several different species.  Temperature and humidity are huge

 

I checked on them in hibernation, and my lone Myrmica alate is still alive. So hoping she makes it thru hibernation.

Edited by noebl1, January 19 2018 - 8:12 AM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Try taking her out of hibernation and giving her a quick snack (termite or honey).

[noebl1]

Try taking her out of hibernation and giving her a quick snack (termite or honey).

Not a bad idea, termite would be tough at the moment, but could do some sugary foods for sure.  

[Connectimyrmex]

I'd consider buying some dampwood termites from ward's science. They are easy to feed (damp cardboard), can live in test tubes, and my Myrmica just loves them. Mine are from a termitat, though.

[noebl1]

It looks pretty pricey for Ward's science for termites as looks like ~$1 per termite (plus s/h) unless I am reading it wrong? I'll wait until the Spring and find some outside.  We live in the woods, so finding termites isn't a problem, hehe

 

One of the mistakes I did last season was to try to keep the Myrmica with a test tube portal...  Just poured some hydrostone, and waiting for it to dry using the design from this thread:

http://www.formicult...m-and-outworld/

 

The Myrmica queen's test tube is pretty moldy, and last I looked she was hibernating on the cotton on the opening side.  I may take this opportunity to move her to a nice clean tube (I don't believe she has any brood), feed her some nectar, and put her into one of those setups I posted above before heading back to hibernation.  The basement is still sitting around 50F, so should be able to put her back down there to gradually cool her off, and then back into the cooler.  May do a larger out world based one for her this Spring, but for now should work.

 

For my P. imparis news; that second queen in the experiment was eventually killed this week, and dragged to the end of the tube.  

[Connectimyrmex]

Zootermopsis is absolutely HUGE, and I've found that one small nymph can feed them for a few days. They're worth it, and trust me a termitat is way more expensive. The nymphs are larger than Reticulitermes soldiers, and the older nymphs/secondary reproductives are the size of a Formica subseriscea queen.

 

Try keeping her without an outworld, mine did fine without one. Just use a toothpick to remove the waste occasionally. When her second or third worker arrives, you should probably then add an outworld.

That sucks that your Preno queen died, sorry