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SolenopsisKeeper wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:10 am

Probably hibernation time. For both… how much brood for the other colony?

Both the Camponotus colonies only have around 3 or 4 brood left.

And one more detail I should mention is that the Formica colony only has two workers and no brood. Something happened in her test tube while the eggs were gestating, and some of the water spilled. I thought that the queen ate her eggs in response, but when I went to move her into a new tube, she pic...

Some ants(C. Penn and C. Lingnaperda) only lay so many eggs a year and can hibernate early as July! When your ants have full gasters and little to no brood then you may hibernate them. They've actually stopped eating any roaches or crickets I feed them. Is that a sign they will hibernate soon? Also...

I currently have three colonies. Two are Camponotus Pennsylvanicus colonies, one with five workers and one with three. The other colony is a Formica Subsericea colony with two workers. It's going to start getting cold in Wisconsin, where I live, and I'm wondering what signs I should watch for to kno...

Swirlby wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:33 am

Looking at local Myrmica species, my guess is that it's a punctiventris. I'm just going off the color with this. Their nuptial flights aren't supposed to start until August.

I meant September. My bad.

Looking at local Myrmica species, my guess is that it's a punctiventris. I'm just going off the color with this. Their nuptial flights aren't supposed to start until August.

Size: 7 mm When: August 14th, around 4:00 PM, nuptial flight was likely the night before or the morning of Where: Southern Wisconsin, in a gas station bathroom, small town Appearance: She is small, with a dark orangish-red color to her. She still has her wings, but they are a bit shredded, which mak...

Good news! The formica ant I caught most recently has not died, and has laid eggs! Looks like I will potentially have a non-Camponotus colony.

SolenopsisKeeper wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 26, 2022 10:32 am

Yes. Move them both into a new tube, starting from scratch. It is possible to raise a second gen of brood with just a queen

Not just a queen. One of the colonies still has a worker.

Try feeding them directly in the tube and removing all trash. Try anything they will eat from sugar water to eggs on a tinfoil dish. A quick update. My other colony of the same species that had one worker is now down to just the queen. She has no brood and is attempting to escape, even after I fed ...