7 replies to this topic

[AntsNewZealand]

These are my new Dracula ant queens. I've had them for about 2 months now and they started off with eggs. The strange thing is that there is 3 queens this is the first time I've seen them with multiple Queens. Their larvae haven't grown much since this is a slow species. They like to be kept pretty moist and I keep them at about 20 Celsius. They have a diet of Fruit Flies, Ear wigs, Grass hoppers, Thorn hoppers and other soft bodied insects. Their larvae take upto 8 months to develop which is the downside to keeping them. They are 14mm long and workers are generally 6mm to 8mm long. 

 

First couple of days after laying

 

Now

 

[CoolColJ]

Do you have substrate inside the nest?

[AntsNewZealand]

Do you have substrate inside the nest?

No I don't atm because the larvae aren't very big

[YsTheAnt]

Would they like higher temps? Might speed up development quite a bit...

[AntsNewZealand]

Would they like higher temps? Might speed up development quite a bit..

 

Yeah they will like higher temps but it is winter in New Zealand so I'm thinking about getting a heating cable for them

[CoolColJ]

 

Do you have substrate inside the nest?

No I don't atm because the larvae aren't very big

 

 

 

I thought they needed substrate to do well in test tubes

[AntsAreUs]

 

 

Do you have substrate inside the nest?

No I don't atm because the larvae aren't very big

 

 

 

I thought they needed substrate to do well in test tubes

 

Most Amblyoponerinae do, except these are quite big.

[AntsNewZealand]

I don't want them to have substrate atm until the larvae get bigger and need it for cocooning