59 replies to this topic

[Mathiacus]

Completed lids. Wire mesh for security.

shiny!

chambers deepened and tunnels widened. The new ants are big! Went with the white on black for good contrast. Paint is non toxic kids poster paint.

[Mathiacus]

looks horrid at the moment but I'm about to sow it with grass seed then pul a layer of soil over it.

[Mathiacus]

lance is nuts.

[Mathiacus]

Is a bit sparse at the moment. Ill clutter it up later, I NEEDED to get these guys housed asap.

[dspdrew]

Nice. The lighting in some of the pictures make it kind of hard to see. I'd like to see once you put the grass and plants in there.

[Mathiacus]

the grass is in there, just needs to grow, starting with seeds. plants will come once they seem like they will survive.

[Gregory2455]

You don't talk much about your Myrmecia nigrocincta anymore. What happened with them?

[Mathiacus]

I think I updated two days ago. This thread needs renaming to myrmecia tarsata. The nigrocincta have been outclassed.
Yeah. The "I found some myrmecia" thread is all about the nigrocincta.

[Gregory2455]

Wait what?

[Mathiacus]

I have 3 myrmecia species now. 3 colonies of nigrocincta, all doing well and 1 each of tarsata and brevinoda.
I caught the tarsata just after I got the tank and changed plans. The tank was going to be for the nigrocincta but seeing how much larger and more entertaining the tarsata were, I decided to give it to them instead.

[Mathiacus]

I raised the humidity inside the nest by soaking the mound of dirt with about 1 litre of water. There is minor condensation on the glass now and I have found one egg. It seems that they do not lay in dry conditions. Will check again tomorrow to confirm.

[Mathiacus]

I have spotted a few eggs on occasion but they do not seem to hang around long 😡.


Upon extended observation I have noticed a very aggressive ant in this nest. It is always grabbing others and trying to kill them. I pulled it out and painted its head pink as punishment. When I put it back it resumed attacking. I may have to remove this ant from the colony, it does not play well with others.

[Gregory2455]

Can we have a photo of "Pinkie"?

Edited by Gregory2455, December 11 2014 - 5:18 PM.

[drtrmiller]

lmao hilarious.

 

"Painted its head pink as punishment."

[Mathiacus]

here is pink head and pink bum. Oh god! As I write this pinky is assassinating another ant!

[Mathiacus]

Here is yellow bum. I will be tracking pink and yellow bums progress through the nest and seeing what their roles are.

Pink bum was hanging out on the lid when caught and is now foraging.

Yellow bum was a nest entrance guard. She is now digging.

[Gregory2455]

This is too funny!

[Mathiacus]

Pink butt is hanging out with one of her sisters on the back wall. And yellow butt is part of a 7 ant guard unit stationed at the nest entrance. It is funny that they are both in roughly the same positions that they were in when I vandalized them.

Edited by Mathiacus, December 12 2014 - 10:42 PM.

[Mathiacus]

I jave found the egg stash. There are only about 5 at the moment but it is a start.

[Mathiacus]

I came home from work to find one of my lids loose. There was an ant exploring the gap, trying to get out! This is not good. If my wife finds one out of the nest the whole lot will be sprayed. 😯