4 replies to this topic

[endervale]

ps(i'm not a newbie to the hobby, i'm a fellow antkeeper from the italian forum of mirmecology)

hello everybody! as you may know i'm italian and a ant that has as tipical country italy is Messor minor, a Messor with red headed workers and black/brownish red headed queen

being a Messor i catched them in september 2016 and waited the hibernation process (only big colonies of Messor can jump hibernation) and surprise suprise.. with spring two of my queens had laid eggs, i named these queens F001 and F002 (F stands for fertile)

 

10/10/2016

i catch 11 Messor capitatus/wasmanni/minor queens while i'm in the middle of a nuptial flight

 

F001 when caught

F002 when caught, Messor minor queens heads become darker and darker as they age

 

20/11/2016

i put all my queens and small colonies in hibernation

 

18/02/2017 

i remove a part of my ants from hibernation

 

15/03/2017 

two of the queens i removed from hibernation layed eggs, so i layer them F001 and F002

 

20/03/2017

i remove the rest of my ants from hibernation

 

28/03/2017

F001 and F002 in the moment i write this post the orange circles mark the brood

F001

F002

Edited by endervale, March 28 2017 - 1:16 PM.

[Nathant2131]

Good luck with the queens!

 

I like these type of journals, where everything is dated, detailed, timelined and coded. Like me. 

Edited by Nathant2131, March 28 2017 - 11:04 AM.

[endervale]

thanks! i label all my formicariums and test tubes to have it all organized

[Nathant2131]

thanks! i label all my formicariums and test tubes to have it all organized

Same here. I really am a geek at all my personal ant logs. Great for looking back to.

[endervale]

07/04/2017
F-001 has 5 eggs and 1 larvae
F-002 has 9 eggs and 5 larvae

01/05/2017
F-001 has 10 eggs and 7 larvae
F-002 has 21 eggs, 10 larvae and 1 pupae (naked pupae because it's a Myrmicine ant)


here's a larvae

Edited by endervale, July 12 2017 - 4:12 PM.