625 replies to this topic

[TennesseeAnts]

When do Formica pallidefulva fly?

[CatsnAnts]

When do Formica pallidefulva fly?

Formica pallidelfulva fly from the 15th of June to the 30th of June. That’s just the range that I found them to fly the most.

[CatsnAnts]

ALSO! I just caught another crematogaster queen! I have now positively identified my original one as Crematogaster lineolata because she is smaller and jet black. My new one is actually a Crematogaster cerasi because she is very large and has red on her! (These are the only two species of Crematogaster in my area, so I’m absolutely positive).

[CatsnAnts]

My Lasius queen has her first worker! It’s still a callow, so I’m waiting on a positive color for ID!

[CatsnAnts]

Long time no update! I promise to start updating more, it’s just I’ve had mountains of homework recently!

Topa // No colony name // Camponotus subbarbatus

She has four eggs now, and she seems to be doing steady.

No queen name // No colony name // Formica neogagates

Thy are doing much much much better! I have been feeding them and the queen is at around 9 or 10 eggs. There is still 2 workers left.

No queen name // No colony name // Lasius alienus

Yup! She’s Lasius alienus! This colony is doing great at around 10 workers!

No queen name // No colony name // Crematogaster lineolata

I have released my other crematogaster queens, (I caught another cerasi queen, and released her as well) and am now left with my lineolata colony, which is also at ten workers!

Edited by CatsnAnts, August 19 2018 - 2:56 PM.

[Major]

Mountains of homework? I thought most schools open up in September

[AntsAreUs]

Mountains of homework? I thought most schools open up in September

School here starts in August.

Edited by AntsAreUs, August 19 2018 - 5:22 PM.

[CatsnAnts]

We start on August 9th, it gets earlier every year. It used to start on like the 25th of August, but nooooo, they just had to take away summer.

[CatsnAnts]

Hey everyone, I’m not dead! It’s me from like, cough* last year! I currently have no ant colonies as they all escaped when my test tubes blew off the countertop under our shelter house and all shattered. I was devastated and didn’t post anymore, but now that queen ant season is rollin back around, I’m ready to give it a fresh start! I just caught a parasitic ant queen, but I don’t know if I am going to keep her yet.

[CatsnAnts]

Okay! So the queen that I found was a Lasius Umbratus, and so I immediately went and got 15 workers from a nearby Lasius alienus nest. I put them all in a test tube and then put the queen in there with them after 20 minutes. After she was in the test tube, I put them in the fridge for 10 minutes. When I took them out, three workers were clenching onto her, but I let them in her for a little while in an isolated area thinking their scent might rub off, and when I removed the three workers and put her back with the remaining twelve, they immediately huddled up and are now acting like a colony! I know it’s a little early to tell, but it’s lookin good. Also, if i find brood, can I add that at a later date?

[CatsnAnts]

ALRIGHT! Time to actually announce a new ant colony! All of my Lasius umbratus ants died, and so that left me with nothing, until a few days ago. I think on Wednesday of this week, I found a termite pair (eek! I’ve never found any before), and I also found a tapinoma sessile queen! So of course, I gave them each their respective setups, and before long, the termite went inside of the cardbiard I gave them and I haven’t seen them since! Now for he tapinoma sessile queen, she seemed to be infertile, so I was going to give up on tapinoma sessile (partially because I don’t really like them, but we’ll see how it goes with this next colony). Later today, her eggs were scattered everywhere, so I just released her. I had some chores to do, and one of them was fixing the mulch in our landscaping. While I was doing this, I knocked a clump of mulch off of a big rock in our landscaping. To my surprise, a HUGE tapinoma sessile colony swarmed our, it was at least 3000 in population. The moment I spotted a queen, I immediately ran inside and grabbed a test tube! I returned to find two queens sitting there, so I scooped them both up, as well as about 30 workers, and 25 brood! I was a real pain getting them to move into the new test tube (a fresh one compared to the one I just collected hem in, but eventually they moved in). In the short 6 hours that I’ve had them, the queens have already laid 8 eggs! I even saw them laying one! And when they were all settled down, I gave them some watered down honey, and THEY LOVED IT! So here’s some pics of the current status!

This is of the brood pile and a lot of the workers (sry, it’s not very bright out, and I don’t want to spook them yet with a bright light)

This one is of them devouring the honey!

Here is one of the two queens! It’s hard to see, I apologize, but I will get better photos later!

Finally! Here is the egg pile that was produced in a mere 5-6 hours!

[CatsnAnts]

Okay, wow, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am! So for the first time this year (and really the first time SERIOUSLY in my life), I picked up a rotting wood stick. So I put it in a bucket it and split it open! Inside was a colony of something (can’t remember species name), but there were no queens to be found! There were also termite and spiders and of course, pill bugs. So when I was examining the ants, I accidentally bumped the other half of the log (that I had already searched through) and out popped a Camponotus subbarbatus queen! I couldn’t believe my luck, but just then, another queen randomly showed up in the bucket! So now I have two Camponotus subbarbatus queens (and as you know, I found a queen of this species last year, and she didn’t make it). So here’s some pictures I guess. I’m probably going to leave them alone for a few weeks, but do you think that I should feed them???

[Acutus]

the common practice is not to feed queens until they have a couple workers. that said there is at least one keeper who who claims to feed their queens and keep them warm to boost brood production.

They are a very beautiful Camponotus Species. Good Luck!!

[CatsnAnts]

the common practice is not to feed queens until they have a couple workers. that said there is at least one keeper who who claims to feed their queens and keep them warm to boost brood production.
They are a very beautiful Camponotus Species. Good Luck!!

Thanks! I wouldn’t feed them normally, but since I found them already nested, I wondered if it would be necessary. I really hope that I can get them to workers unlike my last queen

[TennesseeAnts]

I am that keeper, and I would highly recommend some sugar water.

[CatsnAnts]

I am that keeper, and I would highly recommend some sugar water.

XD, alright! I’ll give them some!

[Acutus]

I am that keeper, and I would highly recommend some sugar water.

 

Yep! he is! LOL

[CatsnAnts]

Soo... I fed them both honey! One of them slurped it up until her gaster was fully distended, while the other took a few sips, but called it quits. Either way, these queens are ridiculously calm. When I tried getting them to move off of the honey soaked Cotten ball, they just kinda sluggishly moved away. Now off to the dark closet for two weeks! I rly need to be patient with these because I don’t want to screw this up!

[ANTdrew]

Good luck! Stay patient. I too fed my Crematogaster queens honey water droplets a few times before and after hibernating them.

[CatsnAnts]

Welp, quick update, I cracked open another log and got a Camponotus nearcticus queen as well as another Camponotus subbarbatus queen! I’m pretty sure they already had small colonies though because there were ants of both species crawling around will it be okay to raise them like a claustral queen (yes, I fed them a bunch of honey). I’m just worried they won’t survive without the rest of their small colony (if that was even their colony, because I found the Camponotus Subbarbatus alone, while the Nearcticus was with 5 other workers of whom I couldn’t catch).

Edited by CatsnAnts, May 15 2019 - 12:54 PM.