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Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 10:06 am
by Austheboss
Hey guys!
Sorry about not posting more often, I've been busy with school.
So, over the past few weeks I have been giving them plenty of protein in the form of cat food, spiders, and mealworms. I had been shining a flashlight into their test tube to see them (I have a cover around the test tube), and I could see the queen and some workers around a pile of brood. Then they started to excavate the cotton in the back of the test tube and pile it at the front to stop me from seeing inside
I saw them foraging a lot, so I knew they had a lot of workers, but when I opened the test tube completely yesterday, I was totally surprised to see over 25 ants scrambling over a massive pile of brood!! They grew much more than I thought they did, and have a lot more workers on the way! Unfortunately, I didn't want to stress them out, so I didn't get any pics. Now I need to decide whether to give them access to a formicarium, or whether to let them spend their first winter in a test tube. I'm really happy with how this colony is growing, and I'll get pictures as soon as possible!
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 11:57 am
by idahoantgirl
If I were you I would make sure their tube has a good amount of water in it (or move them to a new one if it doesn't) and hibernate them in the tube. That way you don't have to sorry about humidity and they won't soil your nest over the winter.
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 2:42 pm
by Austheboss
idahoantgirl wrote: ↑Wed Sep 19, 2018 11:57 am
If I were you I would make sure their tube has a good amount of water in it (or move them to a new one if it doesn't) and hibernate them in the tube. That way you don't have to sorry about humidity and they won't soil your nest over the winter.
Good advice! Yeah, for now, I don't think it's really worth it to have to water their nest throughout hibernation, so I'm just gonna leave them.
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:28 am
by AntsDakota
Austheboss wrote: ↑Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:08 pm
Hey guys! I came back from vacation a few days ago and checked up on the ants. They seem to have gained a few workers! Their test tube was extremely moldy from a cricket leg, so I quickly moved them out with a strong led light. It took them an afternoon (and me connecting the two test tube in their outworlds with a little bit of pink sticky note so they'd find it right away lol) for them to move in, and I left them a few seeds and spider legs in the outworld, which they dragged in eagerly. You should be able to them in the photos. Fyi the toilet paper is just there to make it easier for them to climb out of their test tube, since the tinfoil cover creates a large gap between the ground which they are not able to scale.
The photos get older as you scroll down, the added ones are later. In the last video, you can see a worker and the queen performing trophallaxis.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MWoejKqSrL4jmsr89
They could be Pheidole, which are what mine probably were, explaining their polygyny.
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:21 pm
by TheRealAntMan
AntsDakota wrote: ↑Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:28 am
Austheboss wrote: ↑Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:08 pm
Hey guys! I came back from vacation a few days ago and checked up on the ants. They seem to have gained a few workers! Their test tube was extremely moldy from a cricket leg, so I quickly moved them out with a strong led light. It took them an afternoon (and me connecting the two test tube in their outworlds with a little bit of pink sticky note so they'd find it right away lol) for them to move in, and I left them a few seeds and spider legs in the outworld, which they dragged in eagerly. You should be able to them in the photos. Fyi the toilet paper is just there to make it easier for them to climb out of their test tube, since the tinfoil cover creates a large gap between the ground which they are not able to scale.
The photos get older as you scroll down, the added ones are later. In the last video, you can see a worker and the queen performing trophallaxis.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MWoejKqSrL4jmsr89
They could be Pheidole, which are what mine probably were, explaining their polygyny.
I agree with this but I'd need measurements to be sure course.
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:20 pm
by Austheboss
AntsDakota wrote: ↑Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:28 am
They could be Pheidole, which are what mine probably were, explaining their polygyny.
Did you mean they have multiple queens? (Sorry I'm not really familiar with the terminology). It's just one queen, and I'm almost certain it's tetramorium, you can check by clicking the link though, it's just a google photos folder.
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:34 am
by NYAnts11
Hey can you post some new pictures? I've got a tetramorium colony started around the same time as yours, but mines only at like 14-16 workers with some brood. I've only been feeding them organic local honey, also their original test tube is getting moldy so yesterday I shed some light on them and gave them 2 other tubes that are hid from the light to choose from. They've yet to move but ive seen the workers checking out the new spots. I'm concerned the queen will be too stubborn and not move and die.... which wont probably happen but still, im worried. I should probably feed them some protein at some point too...
I'm just trying to compare colony size vs mine to see how healthy and happy they are..
I'm using AC portal with test tubes at the moment.
I'll upload some pics to compare colonies, if you could do the same!
Best of luck!
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:13 am
by Austheboss
NYAnts11 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:34 am
Hey can you post some new pictures? I've got a tetramorium colony started around the same time as yours, but mines only at like 14-16 workers with some brood. I've only been feeding them organic local honey, also their original test tube is getting moldy so yesterday I shed some light on them and gave them 2 other tubes that are hid from the light to choose from. They've yet to move but ive seen the workers checking out the new spots. I'm concerned the queen will be too stubborn and not move and die.... which wont probably happen but still, im worried. I should probably feed them some protein at some point too...
I'm just trying to compare colony size vs mine to see how healthy and happy they are..
I'm using AC portal with test tubes at the moment.
I'll upload some pics to compare colonies, if you could do the same!
Best of luck!
Yeah sure! Sometime the queen is a little reluctant to move early, but if it gets moldy enough to threaten them they'll definitely move, it just takes some time. I think I'm going to change their outworld (some honey spilled on this one and I'm worried about them getting stuck), so when I do that I should be able to get some good shots.
Thanks! Good Luck!
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:14 am
by Austheboss
Austheboss wrote: ↑Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:13 am
NYAnts11 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:34 am
Hey can you post some new pictures? I've got a tetramorium colony started around the same time as yours, but mines only at like 14-16 workers with some brood. I've only been feeding them organic local honey, also their original test tube is getting moldy so yesterday I shed some light on them and gave them 2 other tubes that are hid from the light to choose from. They've yet to move but ive seen the workers checking out the new spots. I'm concerned the queen will be too stubborn and not move and die.... which wont probably happen but still, im worried. I should probably feed them some protein at some point too...
I'm just trying to compare colony size vs mine to see how healthy and happy they are..
I'm using AC portal with test tubes at the moment.
I'll upload some pics to compare colonies, if you could do the same!
Best of luck!
Yeah sure! Sometime the queen is a little reluctant to move early, but if it gets moldy enough to threaten them they'll definitely move, it just takes some time. I think I'm going to change their outworld (some honey spilled on this one and I'm worried about them getting stuck), so when I do that I should be able to get some good shots. Tell me when/where you post pics, I would love to see your colony as well.
Thanks! Good Luck!
Re: Tetramorium Journal
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 1:14 pm
by NYAnts11
Im going to add a cricket head in there today so when I do that I will get a vid or a few pics. I'll have them posted sometime in the next few hours!