1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Winter 15th August 2020

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 2


Queen 10, former member of dual queen - simple tub and tubes
1000+? workers and some majors of all sizes - massive brood pile

These girls are doing very well in this setup, tons of brood, waiting to eclose come spring


Queen 5 - 20mm test tube sitting inside THA Inception nest
200+? workers and some mini majors - massive brood pile

Damn! I noticed a pile of dead ant bits outside.
Big population drop!
And why did the queen move from the nest into the water test tube outside with half the brood/
And what I thought was sand above her in the test tube, on the lid and in the nest cover was actually mites when viewed with a magnifying glass!
I kept the lid on the nest at all times, and that made it very humid, and I guess the mites like that...

I guess the best thing to do is move them to a tub and tubes setup as well...
it looks like the queen does not have mites on her. These could be just garbage mites

Edited by CoolColJ, August 14 2020 - 7:17 PM.

[TechAnt]

Sorry about the population drop, but I need to say how awesomely detailed and amazingly long this journal is. I believe I read it a while back when I was a guest but I’m going to read it again soon just because it is so fantastic!

Edited by TechAnt, August 14 2020 - 9:00 AM.

[Antkid12]

Pics?

[CoolColJ]

Pics?

I'll get some tomorrow when I have more time. That's when I'llf eed em

 

That colony used to have tons of workers come out when I put in the honey, but last night only 1-2

Not sure if it's because of the mites.

The workers are small enough to deal with the mites though, especially on the queen

[CoolColJ]

Winter 28th August 2020

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 2


Queen 10, former member of dual queen - simple tub and tubes
1000+? workers and some majors of all sizes - massive brood pile

Going well, will post pics soon


Queen 5 - 20mm test tube sitting inside THA Inception nest
<10 workers and 1 medium major - some brood pile

OK disaster has struck, now down to less than 10 workers with a small brood pile in a test tube, with what looks mites on the queen and some larger ones crawling on some dead larvae!

So the brood was moved into the water test tube, along with the queen previously, and down about 50% population.
I removed the lid to help get rid of the mites and make it less humid.
The ants felt the air flow and moved the brood back into the THA nest.
Then a few days later I noticed they moved some of the brood back into the test tube, with the queen still there.
A day later, I finally noticed that the rest of the workers/majors and brood in the nest were all dead!

So I took the test tube with the queen and surviving brood, and under 8 workers, plus one medium size major, and placed it in anotehr outworld.
But on closer look with lights and jeweller loupe there are white specks on the queen, of various sizes.
The surviving workers are clean, but there are larger hairy critter crawling on some of the dead larvae

Only thing I can do is dump the colony into a water and hold them under for a few minutes and hope the critters move off.
And put them into a new test tube and whatever clean brood there is

[ANTdrew]

Sorry to hear this! I had luck the past few weeks eliminating a grain mite infestaton with predatory mites. Perhaps it’s worth a shot, but I don’t know if they are readily available in Aus.

[CoolColJ]

Well I dumped the remains of the colony into a container of water, and pushed them down under waterwith a lid and the workers immediately went dormant, while the queen struggled for over 10 mins under water :0
Anyway the mites did leave and float around. I repeated it again for the queen to be sure.
 
I put them into a new bare tube and tubes setup, and the worker woke up after a bit, one found some brood that somehow fell into the outworld.
The queen took into the test tube as soon as I plooped her in front, then I herded the 4 workers into it, and the lone medium sized major.
I got rid of most of the brood, but there is a clump of eggs and some 4 larvae.
And so spring is next week and it warms up this weekend, so the colony begins again.... from around 1000 to < 10
Hopefully they pull through!

This is the largest major so far of the colonies I have
click

[Antkid12]

She looks awesome!

[CoolColJ]

Here is Pheidole antidodum colony 1 - they have started to explode a bit , even though spring is officially next week
should be over 1000 now
 
click

 
all that brood piled onto each other in the now empty water chamber... not sure how they reach the ones at the bottom

 

 

 
Look at that monstrocity of a test tube entrance!
It keeps getting larger
 

Edited by CoolColJ, August 28 2020 - 9:24 PM.

[TechAnt]

If I did not know any better, I would have thought they were fungus growing ants based on that entrance.

Edited by TechAnt, August 28 2020 - 9:28 PM.

[CoolColJ]

 

 

 

 

So my black and orange Melophorus queen died ages ago, but I kept the 1 major, 2 medial and 3 workers around in the same nest.
Only water and honey, but today I see a clump of eggs and some larvae! I haven't given them any protein so maybe I should... someone is laying the eggs

so 11 larvae, 1 cocoon, and probably a few eggs there.....coocon is quite big....

So I gave them a roach head and they dragged it onto the larvae and pile all the larvae onto it. The larvae seem to feed themselves much like Myrmecia and Rhytidoponera

 

click

 

could the major be the one laying the eggs...? I mean she is almost the same size as the queen, and has ocelli

 

 

 

So the cocoons have eclsoed and I see a few winged drones in the nest

 

The ya re still pumping out the eggs and larvae though

 

 

new batch of brood is up, lots of cocoons. All of different sizes.... so 1 looks like major sized, a few medium and a few small...possibly some minor workers here

The drones are still alive and well, about 5 of them

 

 

 

I need to take a photo of them now that it is winter and they are all clustered together motionless

 

population is at 13. There appears to be different sized drones

 

 

 

So it looks like the drones are looking to fly?

Since they re all gathered outside the nest entrance, on this first warm day of Spring in Sydney....
 

[CoolColJ]

Spring 19th September 2020

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 2


Queen 10, former member of dual queen - simple tub and tubes
1000+? workers and some majors of all sizes - massive brood pile

A noticeable explosion in population since the weather has warmed up
Nothing much to say as they are going well


Queen 5 - 20mm test tube - heat cable
4 donated workers and 1 medium major - a few eggs

All the surviving workers died off, from old age I think, leaving just the medium sized major.
The major doesn't seem to be much of a help and the queen and her started to eat the decent sized pile of eggs, so now down to only a few...

It seems this colony, that used to have over 500 workers, looks to be doomed without any minor workers to feed/clean the queen...

So I popped in 2 minor workers from the other colony into the test tube last night.
They wandered around a lot, but there was no hostility, only the major grabbing the head of one briefly.
Then one of the workers did a bit of cleaning up, dumping a dead body.

This morning things still looked ok.
I dropped in 2 more workers, and after a few hours one of them appears to be cleaning the queen
I will add more

Edited by CoolColJ, September 18 2020 - 11:16 PM.

[ponerinecat]

Ah man those anti majors are amazing.

[CoolColJ]

Ah man those anti majors are amazing.

yeah they are quite different from most Pheidole majors.

I don't have any of the really large ones yet

Edited by CoolColJ, September 23 2020 - 7:53 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Found what looked like an ant queen during the week - about 1+cm long, with a gold bum, blue-ish black thorax chunky with a blocky head.

It moved erratic like a strobe ant, and I thought it may have been a wingless wasp, but it also was armoured with a backpack and smooth like a queen ant.

And had bent antenna.

Very exotic looking.

 

I let it go thinking it was a wasp, but it may have been a queen of some ant species....

 

ARghh

[ponerinecat]

[CoolColJ]

In other news

 

An Iridomyrmex queen, probably bicknelli species or similar, that I found a few months ago has exploded into a small colony of 20+ workers already.

I haven't logged about her as I likely won't keep them around for long, but I want to test them in a  clay nest I bought a long time ago from Ali express

Damn they grow fast!

 

Also found 2 Myrmecia nigrocinta queens a 2 weeks back. One has laid 4 eggs the other one died. This one will be sent out as a free replacement for a queen I sold last year that died due to a bungle on the other end....

 

Found 2 red species Pheidole queens under bricks in my yard... same species as ones I've had in my log before.

Put them both in my incubator

Edited by CoolColJ, October 5 2020 - 12:23 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Came across a Melophorus species ant nest today, on a hot day, when they are usually most active. Only the second time I have seen an active colony around here.
Note the diffeeret sizes of the majors and minor workers, highly polymorphic species.

 

https://www.instagra.../p/CF9GKeaATao/

 

I think the queen I had before was of this species, and now currently queenless colony

[CoolColJ]

Found what looked like an ant queen during the week - about 1+cm long, with a gold bum, blue-ish black thorax chunky with a blocky head.
It moved erratic like a strobe ant, and I thought it may have been a wingless wasp, but it also was armoured with a backpack and smooth like a queen ant.
And had bent antenna.
Very exotic looking.
 
I let it go thinking it was a wasp, but it may have been a queen of some ant species....
 
ARghh

 


Had a similar shaped head as these large Melophorus queens - spewing!

except with colours that look like a Myrmecia fulvipes/Dolichoderus clarki
Damn, just a super rare find like the Lioponera queen I found here last year

Edited by CoolColJ, October 5 2020 - 8:04 PM.

[CoolColJ]

The Iridomyrmex queen I caught just before winter exploded into a colony of around 30 workers now... all in 3 months, damn fast!
 
Anyway their test tube was running low on water and it was time to feed them today, so i decided to test them in a gypsum nest I bought from Aliexpress last year.
It's a simple and cheap nest with a water space at the bottom that can hold enough water to last months.
And from testing, even without any vents or any contact with the nest itself, humidifies the whole nest to around 80% RH
 
The ants moved in within 15 mins of me tipping their test tube upside down into the nest top. And all moved in within 30 mins!
 
Seems more fun and interesting watching the ants interact to this 3D type nest than the usual flat vertical or horizontal style
 
I find it interesting that the queen prefers to stay in that narrow corridor at the top. She did explore around a bit
 
video
https://www.instagra.../p/CGKMty3A1AO/