ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

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martinnate

Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 7160Post martinnate
Wed Jun 08, 2016 8:11 am

Thats is so cool. I cant wait to make mine, it will hang on the wall. I bet I can find the answer to my question in the beginning of this post but Im going to ask anyway. Did u start her in a test tube? And if so about how many workers did u get before attaching her to the nest?

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ooper01
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Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 7629Post ooper01
Mon Jun 20, 2016 11:42 pm

martinnate wrote:Thats is so cool. I cant wait to make mine, it will hang on the wall. I bet I can find the answer to my question in the beginning of this post but Im going to ask anyway. Did u start her in a test tube? And if so about how many workers did u get before attaching her to the nest?
Yes, started her in a test tube in August 2014. I actually had around 50 queens just like her and hers is the only colony I have left. I gave away or sold around 10, the others died for various reasons, some due to my inexperience at the time. The first-year hibernation was brutal. Lost quite a few of them. She made it through with 2 workers I think. I moved her into a small formicarium after the first hibernation. She probably had less than 10 workers. I provided heat and plenty of food and they began to grow well. They outgrew the small formicarium, and I provided a small 10" x 12" soil nest. They outgrew that and are now in the 18" x 24". Guessing they are around 500 strong now :)
~ ooper

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martinnate

Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 7705Post martinnate
Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:30 am

WOW That is awesome, I hope I can find one. Just got back from Vacation #1, I hope I can find time to go look for more Queens b4 Vacation #2 in July.

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Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 17187Post ooper01
Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:50 pm

I finally was able to see the queen of this colony! It's been well over a year since I've seen her. Glad I finally did. The colony is doing well. They have slowed a little since I removed the heat source from the nest for the winter. I'll add it back in about a month or so and get them going again.

~ ooper

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UberDuber
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Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 22978Post UberDuber
Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:32 am

Hey Ooper,

Awesome log! So much great info.

You mention after the test tube hibernation, you moved this queen and her few workers into a small formicarium. What was that set up like for such a small colony?
Existing Colonies: Two P. Barbatus colonies with nanitics
Founding Stage: Twenty Three P. Barbatus Queens & Twenty Tetramorium Sp. Queens
Seeking Queens: P. Barbatus, P. Comanche

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ooper01
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Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 23004Post ooper01
Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:04 pm

UberDuber wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:32 am
Hey Ooper,

Awesome log! So much great info.

You mention after the test tube hibernation, you moved this queen and her few workers into a small formicarium. What was that set up like for such a small colony?
If I remember right, I had one of Tar Heel Ants' formicaria that I had purchased to test and compare to our formicaria here at AntsCanada. I don't see the one I had, or even one very similar to it, on his site now. It was essentially an outworld with the nesting space on one side of it. It had 3 or 4 chambers I believe. It worked out okay, but I moved the ants out after 5 or 6 months into a small soil formicarium.
~ ooper

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Cale3459

Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 24117Post Cale3459
Fri Jul 07, 2017 7:12 pm

ooper01 wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:04 pm
UberDuber wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:32 am
Hey Ooper,

Awesome log! So much great info.

You mention after the test tube hibernation, you moved this queen and her few workers into a small formicarium. What was that set up like for such a small colony?
If I remember right, I had one of Tar Heel Ants' formicaria that I had purchased to test and compare to our formicaria here at AntsCanada. I don't see the one I had, or even one very similar to it, on his site now. It was essentially an outworld with the nesting space on one side of it. It had 3 or 4 chambers I believe. It worked out okay, but I moved the ants out after 5 or 6 months into a small soil formicarium.
How did you like the Tar Heels one? I've been looking at them just to try out but mostly because I'm a hoarder of formicaria lol. I have AntsCanada gen1 Large and Small Camponotus and 2 gen2 Camponotus formicaria and then a few founding chambers that I made out of wood and plexi. Just wondering how they compared.

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Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 24145Post ooper01
Sat Jul 08, 2017 9:40 am

Cale3459 wrote:
Fri Jul 07, 2017 7:12 pm
How did you like the Tar Heels one? I've been looking at them just to try out but mostly because I'm a hoarder of formicaria lol. I have AntsCanada gen1 Large and Small Camponotus and 2 gen2 Camponotus formicaria and then a few founding chambers that I made out of wood and plexi. Just wondering how they compared.
Tar Heels does good work. I think his latest stuff nowadays is quite nice, though I haven't purchased anything for a couple of years now.
~ ooper

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CreeperUniverse
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Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 24159Post CreeperUniverse
Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:16 pm

ooper01 wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:32 pm
I have a Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony that is one year old. I will add posts here beginning at the test tube stage all the way through to its current state of about 100 workers.
I remember your YT! Great videos dude!
Check out my YouTube channel, Arman's Ants.
https://***/armansants
Also feel free to check out the Discord server, Ant-Keeping & Ethology:
https://discord.me/ants

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ooper01
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Re: ooper's Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony (#1)

Post: # 24214Post ooper01
Sat Jul 08, 2017 10:44 pm

CreeperUniverse wrote:
Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:16 pm
ooper01 wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:32 pm
I have a Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colony that is one year old. I will add posts here beginning at the test tube stage all the way through to its current state of about 100 workers.
I remember your YT! Great videos dude!
Thanks Creeper! :)
~ ooper

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