Pogonomyrmex badius fully-claustral?

Discussions about the care and keeping of ants

Moderator: ooper01

Post Reply
Allaric
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2017 8:33 am
Location: Tampa, FL USA

Pogonomyrmex badius fully-claustral?

Post: # 23242Post Allaric
Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:37 am

As the subject asks,

Are Pogonomyrmex badius (Florida Harvester Ant) queens fully-claustral? It seems that some Pogo's are and some aren't These guys have a full-sized head and mandibles which would make me think they were only semi. The only source I found says they are fully-claustral, but I don't know if I trust the source.

Can anyone provide some personal experience and let me know? I don't want to starve these ladies accidentally.

123LordOfAnts123
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat May 20, 2017 8:12 pm
Location: Orlando, Florida

Re: Pogonomyrmex badius fully-claustral?

Post: # 23247Post 123LordOfAnts123
Sun Jun 18, 2017 12:39 pm

They are fully claustral.

Allaric
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2017 8:33 am
Location: Tampa, FL USA

Re: Pogonomyrmex badius fully-claustral?

Post: # 23257Post Allaric
Sun Jun 18, 2017 2:42 pm

Is there a grass seed you would recommend for food? Haven't had much luck with variety pack bird seeds.

123LordOfAnts123
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat May 20, 2017 8:12 pm
Location: Orlando, Florida

Re: Pogonomyrmex badius fully-claustral?

Post: # 23271Post 123LordOfAnts123
Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:17 pm

Almost all the seeds in a bird food mix are too large. A recent studies reported this species is unable to crack open seed larger than 1.5mm is width. They utilize germination to feed upon larger seeds, but the window for feeding on such is apparently small.

Seed should always be available for colonies, and lone queens will utilize them too. I use a large variety as different colonies seem to have preferences. Protein should still make up nearly %50 of this species diet.

Protein items I feed my colonies and queens:

Desiccated insect parts (cricket, grasshopper, mealworm)
A variety of small insects such as flies, mosquitoes, earwigs, and crushed beetles
Roach nymphs
Fresh cricket legs
Solenopsis invicta queens (caught in mass and frozen)
Betta fish pellets

Seed species I've fed include:

Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover)
Nyjer thistle seed
Paspulum setaceum
Poppy seed
Flax seed
Panicum sp. (switchgrass)
Echinochloa walteri (Walter's barnyard grass)
Bluegrass seed
Sesame seed
Bahia grass seed

Allaric
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2017 8:33 am
Location: Tampa, FL USA

Re: Pogonomyrmex badius fully-claustral?

Post: # 23289Post Allaric
Sun Jun 18, 2017 10:17 pm

Thanks! That is very thorough.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests