Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

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Bierschneeman
Posts: 153
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:11 pm
Location: louisiana

Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 48507Post Bierschneeman
Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:55 pm

I will keep this up because of the large amount of ups and downs I am experiencing. I will also keep up with the wild super colony out front, as when ever I lose my colony/queen, they are likely where new ones will come from.



BACKLOG.
Last year (2017) In August I saw a small ant crater show up in a small patch of grass between house, sidewalk, driveway, and porch. These ants instantly attracted my attention because they were very active and I immediately noticed the fire ants were less populous on my porch.

That crater is still there.
Image

May/June 2018, I noticed there are two new craters that showed up. and the fire ants have disappeared completely from my porch. These guys are super cute, make eye catching nests, and are erratic, crazy, and very active. I have then decided that I might get into ant keeping.
Image

July 25, I caught my first queen. Its a Solenopsis invicta. I am plunging headlong into this hobby, and beginning to massively study Taxonomy.

August 13, I saw my first queen that was not Solenopsis invicta. ITS FORELIUS. she was hanging on my flower pots with a MASSIVE gaster. They aren't supposed to be flying, so I suggested she was either forced to leave her founding chamber or she budded from the super colony. I went outside and found they are up to four colonies, MAN they grow fast. The Fire ant nests are now pushed out to 50 feet from my door. I love these guys.

Image

She laid eggs in less than 6 hours. Yeah not just flown. after pictures I let her be.

August 20, The super colony outside is now up to 8 nests. I helped them a little. I found the closest Fire ant nest, and removed it.

August 25. This is the end of my first attempt at founding Forelius. I checked on my queens today. She was dead. Her gaster was thin, and skinny, the eggs look fine. I Found online just the night before that a budded Forelius takes workers with them to help them out. So despite being fully claustral, I think I needed to treat her like a semi claustral. I should have taken in a few workers, and kept her in a testtube/outworld setup. This is just speculation, and I was going to try and set this up today. I hope I can have success in the future.

Why would I start a journal on a queen who has already died?
I started this because I endeavor this to be the beginning. There is a super colony right outside my door, that have pushed the Fire ants back to 100ft away. This IS my dream species. I WILL start another colony. This is just a mistep, I know more now than I did before and I will not let this tragedy stand in my way. This journal will help steel my resolve, and not abandon my mission.

Next post will be observations of the wild super colony.
Founding:
3 Solenopsis I/X
5 Tapinoma sessile
1 Nylanderia terricola/vivulda

Colonies:
1 Brachymyrmex patagonicus
1 Pheidole soritis
1 Tapinoma sessile

The difference between a hobby and a scientific pursuit, is detailed notes.

Bierschneeman
Posts: 153
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:11 pm
Location: louisiana

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 48590Post Bierschneeman
Sun Aug 26, 2018 6:29 pm

I spent five hours watching the wild super colony today.

When I go out there I am not sure what was going one, there was a Solenopsis invicta queen being dragged by a brace of (same) workers, not two inches away was a decapitated legless male Solenopsis, But it hasn't rained in 14 days. So is she a freshly mated queen being taken into a nest recently deprived of a queen? Or did this colony just move, and she didn't want to and she lost an attatched corpse while they dragged her? As soon as I got close with tweezers the workers bolted, and she took advantage to run the opposite way from where she was being dragged, I placed a test tube down and she went right in.

either way thats one less competitor for the super colony.

speaking of, they are constuctors of beautiful structures. Today they broke into a new layer of substrate, red southern clay.
Image
Image

I love how they clear cut the immediate area, and then take the leafy fragments and add it to the crater to keep the area clear.

They are now up to 9 Holes. each 5-10 feet from the other. all on the parched area in the center of the dirt/concrete driveway... thing.

they have two competitors nearby . both queenless Solenopsis colonies that should be starting to die off soon.

These long legged beautiful girls are deadset at being in my house again. They are the reason I started looking into ant keeping. And they continue to facinate me with such beautiful displays, fast construction EVERY TIME it rains. and erratic fast movements.

If I get my hands on a colony again I plan on getting a large prebuilt formicarium. filling most of the chambers with redclay, or red sand/dirt. and putting the outworld higher, with multiple entrances and a light brown dry dirt. I WANT them to build these striking craters again. And I will probably give them access to multiple formicariums from one large outworld.

but if wishes were fishes.
Founding:
3 Solenopsis I/X
5 Tapinoma sessile
1 Nylanderia terricola/vivulda

Colonies:
1 Brachymyrmex patagonicus
1 Pheidole soritis
1 Tapinoma sessile

The difference between a hobby and a scientific pursuit, is detailed notes.

User avatar
antnest8
Posts: 1438
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:11 pm
Location: Detroit, MI

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 48704Post antnest8
Tue Aug 28, 2018 4:00 pm

wow awesome story so far, but do you know that the pictures are not working? their is a video on how to do so that i think you can find at the top of the AntsCanada forum sub forum or the ant ID sub forum
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
  • Ant Care Sheets
    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

Bierschneeman
Posts: 153
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:11 pm
Location: louisiana

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 48722Post Bierschneeman
Tue Aug 28, 2018 5:05 pm

antnest8 wrote:
Tue Aug 28, 2018 4:00 pm
wow awesome story so far, but do you know that the pictures are not working? their is a video on how to do so that i think you can find at the top of the AntsCanada forum sub forum or the ant ID sub forum
Thats weird, I am not sure why it would not work for you, I am very familiar with this Forum website Format, but watched the video anyway before I registered. followed it. I am viewing the pictures now, and managed to view them at the library, my work, and a friends house.

I know at least some people have been able to view the images (at least on other threads, done the same way). Like Batfishspider, and Therealantman. who helped in Identification.

Makes me wonder why they aren't working for you.

Thanks for the feedback, and the alert on potential issue. I will continue to check on it.
Are you able to view other embedded pictures on this forum?
Founding:
3 Solenopsis I/X
5 Tapinoma sessile
1 Nylanderia terricola/vivulda

Colonies:
1 Brachymyrmex patagonicus
1 Pheidole soritis
1 Tapinoma sessile

The difference between a hobby and a scientific pursuit, is detailed notes.

MorbidBugg
Posts: 284
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2018 10:11 pm
Location: Orangeville

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 48794Post MorbidBugg
Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:05 pm

Hey sorry for the loss but as I see it you have pretty much made you're yard into a fully functioning giant out world. So I mean ya got that going for you still. I'm not sure why ant nest can't see the pictures they work for me. Anyway I'm gonna keep watching this thread because it fascinates me. Good luck on finding another Forelius queen!
Ants are life's most successful invaders. Understand and respect that power.

User avatar
antnest8
Posts: 1438
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:11 pm
Location: Detroit, MI

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 48796Post antnest8
Wed Aug 29, 2018 3:14 pm

Bierschneeman wrote:
Tue Aug 28, 2018 5:05 pm
antnest8 wrote:
Tue Aug 28, 2018 4:00 pm
wow awesome story so far, but do you know that the pictures are not working? their is a video on how to do so that i think you can find at the top of the AntsCanada forum sub forum or the ant ID sub forum
Thats weird, I am not sure why it would not work for you, I am very familiar with this Forum website Format, but watched the video anyway before I registered. followed it. I am viewing the pictures now, and managed to view them at the library, my work, and a friends house.

I know at least some people have been able to view the images (at least on other threads, done the same way). Like Batfishspider, and Therealantman. who helped in Identification.

Makes me wonder why they aren't working for you.

Thanks for the feedback, and the alert on potential issue. I will continue to check on it.
Are you able to view other embedded pictures on this forum?
now it's working so i have on idea why it wasn't. any way really cool pictures!
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
  • Ant Care Sheets
    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

Bierschneeman
Posts: 153
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:11 pm
Location: louisiana

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 48890Post Bierschneeman
Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:12 pm

antnest8 wrote:
Wed Aug 29, 2018 3:14 pm
Bierschneeman wrote:
Tue Aug 28, 2018 5:05 pm
antnest8 wrote:
Tue Aug 28, 2018 4:00 pm
wow awesome story so far, but do you know that the pictures are not working? their is a video on how to do so that i think you can find at the top of the AntsCanada forum sub forum or the ant ID sub forum
Thats weird, I am not sure why it would not work for you, I am very familiar with this Forum website Format, but watched the video anyway before I registered. followed it. I am viewing the pictures now, and managed to view them at the library, my work, and a friends house.

I know at least some people have been able to view the images (at least on other threads, done the same way). Like Batfishspider, and Therealantman. who helped in Identification.

Makes me wonder why they aren't working for you.

Thanks for the feedback, and the alert on potential issue. I will continue to check on it.
Are you able to view other embedded pictures on this forum?
now it's working so i have on idea why it wasn't. any way really cool pictures!
My image server may have been down, I tried earlier that day, and couldn't log on. I may have been able to view it because I had already previously downloaded the content.
Founding:
3 Solenopsis I/X
5 Tapinoma sessile
1 Nylanderia terricola/vivulda

Colonies:
1 Brachymyrmex patagonicus
1 Pheidole soritis
1 Tapinoma sessile

The difference between a hobby and a scientific pursuit, is detailed notes.

AntsDakota
Posts: 1283
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 49535Post AntsDakota
Wed Sep 05, 2018 5:22 pm

Cool. Maybe I could find some of those. They're the only Forelius species in South Dakota. So they're polygynous?
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25

Hunter36o
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:57 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 49577Post Hunter36o
Thu Sep 06, 2018 5:06 am

When do they fly? I do not have these in Ireland at least to my understanding anyway so journals like this one are kinda important for me to learn more on ant species I will not get my hands on.

Since your last updated was a few days ago, how is the wild colony out your front getting on? Also do you have any key notes on their behavioural habits? Are the curious or aggressive by nature?

For example my M. Rubra queen is very curious when not tending her eggs where as my M. Ruginodis is quiet and aggressive by nature. She has practically attacked everything in her enclosure (nothing but herself and her brood is living so why she is stabbing all the cotton and food before even investigating it is beyond me.
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

Bierschneeman
Posts: 153
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:11 pm
Location: louisiana

Re: Forelius pruinosis Journal(my dream species)

Post: # 49689Post Bierschneeman
Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:25 am

Hunter36o wrote:
Thu Sep 06, 2018 5:06 am
What I have read online is that they fly from April to June. Sometimes I see a site claim April to July. In addition they apparently colonize in August in a process called budding, where a fertilized queen leaves an established colony and gathers a group of workers to help her form a new colony nearby. This is likely why I see so many super colonies around the area. I never see just one nest.

They are definitely a weird species. With a lot of species, Crematogaster Solenopsis Brachymyrmex Monomorium et cetera, You can easily find the nest by placing down some food and watching the long road of ants as they march forward in lines. THIS SPECIES you can't do that, from the nest you see the ants scatter in every direction. In the wilderness you see ants going in every direction with no seeming rhyme or reason to their travel ways. Even if I put down food, you will see them crowding around the food, but take dozens of irregular routes back to the nest.
Image
With the recent rain I have seen a few brand new nests, but I am not sure if these are budded colonies, or if this is merely them moving from a drenched area to a nicer area. (I am annoyed I keep missing the moves)
These two pictures are of the most impressive nest craters I have seen, both brand new nests.
Image
Image

They are incredibly fast, when I think I have a good bead on one I can easily lose track just because of how fast and irregular its path.

After a rain the first thing they do is rebuild their nest as fast as they can, but if a car smooshes their construstion, they put it off seemingly indefinitely. So I think they don't care about the crater, it is likely just a byproduct of digging.

When I watered my lawn before the recent rain (at 14 days dry) most of the colonies did exactly that, but TWO of them were pouring out of the nest and attempting to drink as much of the water beaded up on the grass leaves as they could. It was really fun to watch

Here is an image of a watered nest, you can see they hide their garbage under the dirt inside the craters much like our buried trash hills. interesting.
Image

The watering, and the rain have gutted the opening of this nest open, but they don't seem to mind, they still act like the old crack is the entryway, so I get a better view of their tunnels.
Image

So a topic that has been on my mind for a while, why are they pushing the fire ants back, but they seem as uninterested in eachother like the hundreds of Brachymyrmex colonies I find right next to Solenopsis nests? The nearest fire ant nest has a trail over the pavement cracks that makes a 90 at a Forelius nest. These fire ants walk right over the entry hole, as Forelius ants clamber out. They are completely uninterested in eachother....why then?

I found out. This last rainstorm I saw a 2 dozen mated queens on the driveway. I collected a few, but what I really noticed, is that the Forelius ants were actively killing off the drones and queens and dragging them back to their nests.

So I think a fire ant nest already in place might be too much for them to deal with, but a queen, ready to found. IS A THREAT. just a theory but I found it intriguing.
Founding:
3 Solenopsis I/X
5 Tapinoma sessile
1 Nylanderia terricola/vivulda

Colonies:
1 Brachymyrmex patagonicus
1 Pheidole soritis
1 Tapinoma sessile

The difference between a hobby and a scientific pursuit, is detailed notes.

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