Jump to content

  • Chat
  •  
  •  

Welcome to Formiculture.com!

This is a website for anyone interested in Myrmecology and all aspects of finding, keeping, and studying ants. The site and forum are free to use. Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation points to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!

Photo

Ants_Texas' Odontomachus haematodus Journal

odontomachus odontomachus brunneus trapjaw

  • Please log in to reply
19 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted March 4 2018 - 4:17 PM

Ants_Texas

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 389 posts
  • LocationTexas

Ants_Texas' Odontomachus brunneus Journal (Started 3/4/18)

 

 

About Odontomachus: Odontomachus is a native but extremely rare ant genus that happens to live in Texas. Texas has four species of Odontomachus, and three are native. The native speices are Odontomachus brunneus, Odontomachus desertorum, and Odontomachus clarus. Odontomachus haematodus is the only exotic trap-jaw species in Texas, and it originates from South America, The Caribbean, and Central America. 

 

The Backstory: I bought this colony from a local Texan, and they started with around 25 workers and 2 eggs. The reason for the lack of brood is because they were recently taken out of diapause. 

 

The Catch: Having a trapjaw colony in the first place in Texas is a great honor. Trapjaws are among the rarest ants in Texas. This colony has something even more special up its sleeve, though. This colony has two queens.  This isn't common among native Texas trap-jaws, but I'd assume that Odontomachus haematodus tolerates multiple queens. 

 

jsj4Vfr.jpg

AntsCanada Thumbnail Style

 

242d2m1.jpg

Without the Clickbait. (Sorry, Mikey) :P

 

Enjoy the Journal! I'll definitely be putting in lots of effort to this colony, especially due to its polygeny. 


Edited by Ants_Texas, March 8 2018 - 4:47 PM.

  • LC3, T.C., Spamdy and 4 others like this

#2 Offline AntsMaryland - Posted March 4 2018 - 4:26 PM

AntsMaryland

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 543 posts
  • LocationMaryland

This sounds like such a cool journal! Can't wait to get some more updates!


Aphaenogaster cf. rudis 

Tetramorium immigrans 

Tapinoma sessile

Formica subsericea

Pheidole sp.

Camponotus nearcticus


#3 Offline Jadeninja9 - Posted March 4 2018 - 5:44 PM

Jadeninja9

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 552 posts
  • LocationSan Francisco Bay Area, CA

Woah I am very excited about this journal. I saw your post about them yesterday on your Instagram


  • Ants_Texas likes this

#4 Offline Superant33 - Posted March 4 2018 - 7:42 PM

Superant33

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 184 posts
Very interesting. I will be reading this journal with great interest. Are you sure that haematodus is in Texas?

#5 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted March 5 2018 - 3:59 PM

Ants_Texas

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 389 posts
  • LocationTexas

Very interesting. I will be reading this journal with great interest. Are you sure that haematodus is in Texas?

Yes, definitely.



#6 Offline Superant33 - Posted March 7 2018 - 4:52 PM

Superant33

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 184 posts
Interesting, didn’t know that. I am assuming they are found in more coastal areas, like Corpus Christi? Regardless, I will be on the lookout. Thanks for the heads up.

#7 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted March 8 2018 - 4:45 PM

Ants_Texas

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 389 posts
  • LocationTexas

Update 3/8/18:

I actually mucked up this ID and it's actually Odontomachus haematodus. This most likely explains the two queens. Not as rare as I thought, but still an amazing colony nonetheless. The colony now has four eggs, which is double the brood they had earlier.



#8 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted March 25 2018 - 9:05 AM

Ants_Texas

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 389 posts
  • LocationTexas

Update 3/25/18:

This colony had about 9 workers die out. I moved them into a clean Mini-Hearth Type II to figure out why, and it was very apparent. There was a lot of spots of black mold inside/outside the nest. Neither of the queens died, and they now have seven eggs. Enjoy the gallery. These pictures were taken after the move. Any year now I'll get my macro working.

 

KjgZaSc.jpg

 

tyIOBz5.jpg

 

TTfueNj.jpg

 

5QgjpmM.jpg


  • FeedTheAnts and Mettcollsuss like this

#9 Offline Superant33 - Posted March 25 2018 - 12:05 PM

Superant33

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 184 posts
You should be required by law to make at least a weekly update. I haven’t found any odontomachus around the San Antonio area, so I must live vicariously through you! 😂

#10 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted March 25 2018 - 1:32 PM

Ants_Texas

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 389 posts
  • LocationTexas
Haha I wish. It would just get a bit boring every week saying, “They laid two more eggs”.

#11 Offline Aaron567 - Posted March 25 2018 - 2:05 PM

Aaron567

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,005 posts
  • LocationPensacola, FL

Wow.. I didn't know they were tolerant of multiple queens. I'm gonna have to combine some of the haematodus queens I catch this summer.. haven't ever had much success with them..



#12 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted March 25 2018 - 2:35 PM

Ants_Texas

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 389 posts
  • LocationTexas

Wow.. I didn't know they were tolerant of multiple queens. I'm gonna have to combine some of the haematodus queens I catch this summer.. haven't ever had much success with them..

Yeah definitely do that! Even with two queens they seem to lay eggs slowly, but then again every egg counts. I wouldn't put more than two together though.


Edited by Ants_Texas, March 25 2018 - 2:36 PM.

  • Aaron567 likes this

#13 Offline Superant33 - Posted March 29 2018 - 5:57 PM

Superant33

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 184 posts
Aaron, didn’t you have a journal too? Anyway, please update with anytime you have new info. Odontomachus are fascinating. During my time in Texas, I have only come across two queens. It ended badly for both of them. May have baked one to death under a heat lamp. Allegedly. So any info you provide will be much appreciated. Just hope it doesn’t take me another two decades to catch two more queens. San Antonio is an anting hell.

#14 Offline Aaron567 - Posted March 29 2018 - 6:00 PM

Aaron567

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,005 posts
  • LocationPensacola, FL

Aaron, didn’t you have a journal too?

 

Yes, I have my Odontomachus journal, but they have not died nor made any progress so there hasn't been anything to update.



#15 Offline 123LordOfAnts123 - Posted March 29 2018 - 8:14 PM

123LordOfAnts123

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 328 posts
  • LocationOrlando, Florida
I’m far less familiar with O. haematodus, but I’ve had 2 Odontomachus (brunneus and ruginodis) colonies with double queens. Both colonies were captured with several dozen workers. It was apparent that only one queen ever contributed to the brood pool; the other queen would lay occasionally but the more dominant queen would seek them out and eat them or the workers would quickly feed them to the larvae.

#16 Offline Ants_Texas - Posted April 4 2018 - 4:40 PM

Ants_Texas

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 389 posts
  • LocationTexas

Both queens have died as of 4/4/18. Workers will die out quickly, these ants are very good at dying. I'm not even going to try to keep these ants again, but any other species of Odontomachus would be great. Sadly, yes, this means the journal is ending.



#17 Offline Superant33 - Posted April 4 2018 - 7:14 PM

Superant33

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 184 posts
Sad news. Mine stayed alive until I baked them to death (allegedly) under a heat lamp. They laid eggs, but I never saw larvae. Based upon your pics, I think I had the same species. Has anyone had success with haematodus?
I have only heard of colonies dying slowly or at best not growing.

#18 Offline Dnail - Posted April 5 2018 - 1:05 AM

Dnail

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 137 posts
  • LocationBandung, Indonesia

Both queens have died as of 4/4/18. Workers will die out quickly, these ants are very good at dying. I'm not even going to try to keep these ants again, but any other species of Odontomachus would be great. Sadly, yes, this means the journal is ending.

:(

is this genus hard to keep?


Colony:

2 Odontomachus aciculatus 

2 Polyrachis Dives

3 Camponotus sp


#19 Offline Nonamebuticey - Posted June 16 2018 - 11:08 PM

Nonamebuticey

    Newbie

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 3 posts

Aaron, didn’t you have a journal too? Anyway, please update with anytime you have new info. Odontomachus are fascinating. During my time in Texas, I have only come across two queens. It ended badly for both of them. May have baked one to death under a heat lamp. Allegedly. So any info you provide will be much appreciated. Just hope it doesn’t take me another two decades to catch two more queens. San Antonio is an anting hell.


I am also in this area! Are you having better luck then me?

#20 Offline Superant33 - Posted June 17 2018 - 5:43 PM

Superant33

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 184 posts
No. And my honey hole for Pogonomyrmex and honey pots has been developed. Luckily I have established colonies of honey pots that are thriving.





Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: odontomachus, odontomachus brunneus, trapjaw

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users