150 replies to this topic

[rbarreto]

I know I may seem like I am accumulating way too many colonies but my game plan is to see how many survive hibernation, then keep my favorites. I’ll likely just donate, sell or trade the remaining ones.

 

Lasius umbratus

Larvae are still pretty small, they didn’t eat any of the chicken so maybe that’s why. I need to find a way to get some insect protein for them. Once I get my car back next weekend Ill be able to grab some mealworms and flightless fruit flies from a store.

 

 

Aphaenogaster picea

The workers are so aggressive, I can’t find a way to get these guys to take sugars.

 

 

Lasius claviger

Nothing new, just a really dirty test tube.

 

Lasius sp. (Black workers)

Even though these guys have a ton of workers they still have lots pupae waiting to eclose.

 

 

Formica pallidefulva (northern color form)

She has already laid eggs, excited for this queen. She is so skittish though.

 

 

Lasius sp. (Yellow/orange workers)

 These guys loved the chicken, the also complete demolish any honey I give them.

 

 

 

Prenolepis imparis

Still no “replete” but the queens gaster is very large.

 

 

Tetramorium immigrans

It seems the single queen has just as much brood and the two queens together.

 

Temnothorax cf. curvispinosus

Has a few eggs, hasn’t removed her wings yet.

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

These guys are going to be hard to contain hahaha.

 

 

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis

Definitely a front-runner for one of the three colonies I’m going to keep. Look at how cute the callow worker is.

 

 

Edited by rbarreto, July 16 2018 - 5:59 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Your Formica pallidefulva look more like Formica neorufibarbis. Nice colonies by the way!

[rbarreto]

Thanks, I'm thinking of ending this journal as I have way too many colonies now. I'm probably just going to make 2 or 3 journals for my favorite species which are probably the Formica integra queen I recently caught, Aphaenogaster picea, and Prenolepis imparis.

 

As for the the queen you are talking about I have an ID thread here. Let me know if you still think she looks more like Formica neorufibarbis.

[rbarreto]

Its been a while since my last update but I've come to the realization that this current journal format is unsustainable. I will continue to post in this journal but the updates are going to focus on larger events. 

 

For this update I'll just leave a nice picture of one of my favorite queens chilling with two callow workers:

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis

 

Edited by rbarreto, August 9 2018 - 7:51 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Thanks, I'm thinking of ending this journal as I have way too many colonies now. I'm probably just going to make 2 or 3 journals for my favorite species which are probably the Formica integra queen I recently caught, Aphaenogaster picea, and Prenolepis imparis.
 
As for the the queen you are talking about I have an ID thread here. Let me know if you still think she looks more like Formica neorufibarbis.

Yeah, she still looks like F. neorufibarbis to me.

[rbarreto]

 

Thanks, I'm thinking of ending this journal as I have way too many colonies now. I'm probably just going to make 2 or 3 journals for my favorite species which are probably the Formica integra queen I recently caught, Aphaenogaster picea, and Prenolepis imparis.
 
As for the the queen you are talking about I have an ID thread here. Let me know if you still think she looks more like Formica neorufibarbis.

Yeah, she still looks like F. neorufibarbis to me.

 

Well this queen got her first workers and they have very dark mesosoma similar to that of the northern F. pallidefulva. I think F. neorufibarbis have more of a red/orange mesosoma.

[TennesseeAnts]

Thanks, I'm thinking of ending this journal as I have way too many colonies now. I'm probably just going to make 2 or 3 journals for my favorite species which are probably the Formica integra queen I recently caught, Aphaenogaster picea, and Prenolepis imparis.
 
As for the the queen you are talking about I have an ID thread here. Let me know if you still think she looks more like Formica neorufibarbis.

Yeah, she still looks like F. neorufibarbis to me.

Well this queen got her first workers and they have very dark mesosoma similar to that of the northern F. pallidefulva. I think F. neorufibarbis have more of a red/orange mesosoma.

A clear picture from above will help.

[rbarreto]

Lasius sp.

I've been trying too get my Lasius sp. colony to move into a mini hearth but they are being really stubborn. They have been there for 2 days and show no interest in relocating. I guess the fact that they do not mind light is a good thing. I know I could manually dump them in the foraging area but I don't trust myself to move the brood. I may try cooling the test tube and heating the mini hearth.

 

My best guess for the species would be Lasius americanus but some things just don't add up. She measures 12 mm (maybe even 13 mm now with her distended gaster) which is much larger than my other L. americanus. I also found her in April under a rock with a small batch of eggs and no workers. I know L. americanus are the one north american Lasius sp. to get workers before winter. I'm probably going to have to wait for a worker to die to be sure about an ID.

 

 

 

[sirjordanncurtis]

Reading your journal makes me hungry!

[rbarreto]

Not sure what that means but good

[rbarreto]

I tried to edit some of these images to give them a little bit more color/make them clearer since my photography skills are lacking, I can't get good lighting, and the tubes are a little bit blurry. Let me know if I overdid it.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis

These guys are always hungry! Their gasters are constantly distended, yet they always accept food. They seem to prefer mealworms over fruit flies.

 

 

Tetramorium immigrans

I sold the single queen colony so I only have this one left. I know they may still choose one queen over the other but so far they don't have a problem with one another. This colony is also growing like crazy. I've had them for a little over a month and they have +40 workers and a large brood pile.

 

Edited by rbarreto, August 20 2018 - 6:09 AM.

[rbarreto]

 

 

 

Thanks, I'm thinking of ending this journal as I have way too many colonies now. I'm probably just going to make 2 or 3 journals for my favorite species which are probably the Formica integra queen I recently caught, Aphaenogaster picea, and Prenolepis imparis.
 
As for the the queen you are talking about I have an ID thread here. Let me know if you still think she looks more like Formica neorufibarbis.

Yeah, she still looks like F. neorufibarbis to me.
 

Well this queen got her first workers and they have very dark mesosoma similar to that of the northern F. pallidefulva. I think F. neorufibarbis have more of a red/orange mesosoma.

A clear picture from above will help.

 

I'm fairly confident this isn't Formica neorufibarbis, but I now realize this is probably Formica incerta due to denser/longer pubescence and a broader head.

 

Here's a few extra horrible pics of them:

 

 

These guys just hold the larvae like this 24/7. Quite the interesting behavior.

Edited by rbarreto, August 21 2018 - 2:43 PM.

[AntsBC]

Your "black" Lasius sp is Lasius americanus. The coloration of the antennae and legs give it away. They can vary in size depending on region, so that doesn't really matter that much.
Here's some pics of Lasius alienus to back it up:

 

 

Your "yellow" Lasius sp also appears to be Lasius brevicornis.

Edited by AntsBC, August 21 2018 - 8:53 AM.

[rbarreto]

Your "black" Lasius sp is Lasius americanus. The coloration of the antennae and legs give it away. 
Here's some pics of Lasius alienus to back it up:

 

 

Your "yellow" Lasius sp also appears to be Lasius brevicornis.

I also think its Lasius americanus, but without pictures of the mandibles I can't 100% say its not a dark Lasius pallitarsis. 

 

There's also no way of telling brevicornis and nearcticus apart without a microscope. I also sold that colony a few weeks ago.

Buuuuut I did manage to find five similar queens and I placed them all together! Here's some pictures:

 

 

Edited by rbarreto, August 21 2018 - 8:57 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Thanks, I'm thinking of ending this journal as I have way too many colonies now. I'm probably just going to make 2 or 3 journals for my favorite species which are probably the Formica integra queen I recently caught, Aphaenogaster picea, and Prenolepis imparis.
 
As for the the queen you are talking about I have an ID thread here. Let me know if you still think she looks more like Formica neorufibarbis.

Yeah, she still looks like F. neorufibarbis to me.

Well this queen got her first workers and they have very dark mesosoma similar to that of the northern F. pallidefulva. I think F. neorufibarbis have more of a red/orange mesosoma.

A clear picture from above will help.

I'm fairly confident this isn't Formica neorufibarbis, but I now realize this is probably Formica incerta due to denser/longer pubescence and a broader head.
 
Here's a few extra horrible pics of them:

 

 
These guys just hold the larvae like this 24/7. Quite the interesting behavior.

Thanks, I'm thinking of ending this journal as I have way too many colonies now. I'm probably just going to make 2 or 3 journals for my favorite species which are probably the Formica integra queen I recently caught, Aphaenogaster picea, and Prenolepis imparis.
 
As for the the queen you are talking about I have an ID thread here. Let me know if you still think she looks more like Formica neorufibarbis.

Yeah, she still looks like F. neorufibarbis to me.

Well this queen got her first workers and they have very dark mesosoma similar to that of the northern F. pallidefulva. I think F. neorufibarbis have more of a red/orange mesosoma.

A clear picture from above will help.

I'm fairly confident this isn't Formica neorufibarbis, but I now realize this is probably Formica incerta due to denser/longer pubescence and a broader head.
 
Here's a few extra horrible pics of them:

 

 
These guys just hold the larvae like this 24/7. Quite the interesting behavior.

Yeah, I have to agree on F. incerta.

[Kaelwizard]

Huuuuuge update. Lots of new workers, new queens, and my first successful protein feeding.
 
 
Lasius umbratus
Tons of tiny larvae, gave them some chicken I think they like it.
 


 
Aphaenogaster picea
So after weeks of not moving, I drop some chicken in there they go mad! Even the queens came all the way out to bring the chicken closer to the brood.
 

 

 
Lasius claviger
Trying to give them some chicken. Hopefully they eat it and the queen lays a new batch of eggs.
 
 
Lasius sp. (Black workers)
So this queen has really confused me. She is very large at 11mm, the consensus was that she couldn’t be L. alienus because she was too large. But now the workers come out and they are almost black! I think this is either L. alienus or maybe even L. niger.
 

 

 
Lasius sp. (Yellow/orange workers)
Nothing new, still a huge brood pile. I have a tiny little outworld set up for them which I think I may give to the rest of my colonies. Ill post about it in a future update.
 
 
Prenolepis imparis
God, I love these workers. I can’t wait to give them some colourful food for them to feed to a replete.
 

 
Tetramorium immigrans
New queens here, I have three total. Two of them where placed together and they are getting along just Fine. They have nice amount of eggs too. The third I placed by herself (she is more of a backup in case the other two kill each other when workers arrive).
 

 
Temnothorax cf. curvispinosus
This queen was literally walking on my monitor at work. She is tiny, measuring about 4mm. AntsAreUs pointed out that she may be Temnothorax curvispinosus so that’s what I’m going with. She hasn't laid yet but is currently in the process of cutting her wings off.
 

 

 
Camponotus pennsylvanicus
Nothing new, all still doing well.
 
 
Camponotus novaeboracensis
Got a second one of these! Found her in the middle of the day which I thought was a bit odd but she laid eggs immediately.
 

Lasius Niger are European. It is probably lasius neoniger.

[rbarreto]

There is a population of Lasius Niger in Quebec (which I am really close too) and there were quite a few things about this queen that didn't line up with Lasius americanus. The two main things were:
1. She was found in the spring with brood and no workers. L. americanus normally get to the worker stage before hibernation.
2. She is very large at 11-12mm which is much larger than any L. americanus I've seen.
This made me consider L. niger as a possibility. Upon forther examination I found a lack of hair on the scapes and came to the conclusion that she is likely just a larger form of L. americanus who flew late.

[rbarreto]

I’ve been away on vacation for about a week and everything seems to have gone just fine.

I have decided to do one large update before I head back to university. I probably won’t be able to update much once school kicks in.

 

Lasius umbratus

I decided to give these guys some more nearcticus brood which they immediately accepted. This caused the queen to lay another batch of eggs. I really hope the larvae develop more, they have been growing very slowly.

 

Aphaenogaster picea

Sold one of these queens. The other is doing just fine and they have decent sized patch of eggs. They seem to be in a slow period right now. I hope activity picks up at least one more time before hibernation.

 

Lasius claviger

I also decided to give this queen some more host brood in the hopes that she will lay once more. Lo and behold she did just that. I may need to constantly provide them with more brood to stop them from eating these eggs.

 

 

Lasius americanus

These buggers just flat out refuse to move, I guess ill have to just keep waiting. Other than that they have a sizable brood pile.

 

 

Formica pallidefulva

Will they move in or won't they? Find out Next week!

Also, these guys are great hunters! Feeding them live food is really fun to watch.

 

 

Prenolepis imparis

Hoping this period of inactivity finally comes to an end and they lay for a second time. I may move one of these two queens into one of Drews starter formicaria.

 

Tetramorium immigrans

The two queens seem to be getting along just fine. I hope it stays this way. They are growing so damn fast though. They also eat 100% of anything I give them which makes cleaning very easy.

 

Temnothorax cf. curvispinosus

The worker is so small! Hopefully this means I can start adding some queens.

 

 

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

My favorite pennsylvanicus colony is doing great! I have them in a tubs and tubes set up. The interesting thing about this colony is that they got a regular sized worker in their first batch. Hopefully this colony pumps out majors quick

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis

This colony had some very gross test tube water so I decided it was time to force them into a mini hearth. The queen moved right in and the workers followed her shortly after. I'm going to try to keep this set up a little bit dryer than my other ones as they seem to dislike too much humidity.

[rbarreto]

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

I was going to sell of all of these colonies, but damn this specific colony has won over my heart. They don't mind light, vibrations, test tube movement, they eat like crazy, are very aggressive, managed to have one regular sized worker in their first batch, already have 16 workers, and still have a ton of brood left. 

 

 

[rbarreto]

Prenolepis imparis

Look who's feeding again! Both queens got a new test tubes (I had to force move them) and I'm hoping this encourages them to lay some eggs