___ New Queen Ant Blog

[TalANTFlame]

Thanks to the help of SYUTEO and Antloverhuman, I have narrowed it down to either;
Technomyrmex albipes (Here's the gathered information)

Workers are about 4mm and queens are about 5mm (no joking), T. albipes is monomorphic, they run quite fast (not as fast as P. longicornis) and in a straight line, in where I live, they are often found on fruit trees.

or

Paratrechina longicornis

Paratrechina longicornis colonies are usually found under rocks, leaves, a crack in a wall etc. They would eat anything they find. The queens can clone themselves and mate with males in the nest so that means they live forever. They also run extremely fast and are escape artists (at least in my opinion).

They are also very nomadic meaning they will go different places very quickly so you need to keep track of the colony if you are gonna collect them from wild

Workers | 2.3-3mm

[TalANTFlame]

Yesterday, I fed them a mealwrom and less than an hour later, I took it out. I think they ate some because when I checked on them, their abdomens seemed a little more inflated. I hope that protein will give me new workers soon.

[TalANTFlame]

I noticed that their water supply has gotten low, so I added a new covered test tube, and uncovered the old one. They appeared a bit startled at first, but they seem settled now, hopefully, they'll move on their own. Does anyone know if Technomyrmex albipes or Paratrechina longicornis are or aren't sensitive to light? Thx in advance.

[TalANTFlame]

Oh also, I added some soil to the new test tube to make it more suitable for them.

[TalANTFlame]

Day two and they haven't moved.

[TalANTFlame]

I've decided to make their setup smaller, so now it's just a T connector and the two test tubes. Also, I fed them some maple syrup and mealworm, which were both accepted. Now I have I think seven workers, and it looks like they've explored the new test tube. Hopefully they'll move soon. Also, I am almost 100% certain that they are Paratrechina longicornis, due to their lighter feet.

[TalANTFlame]

Okay, strangely, the workers had moved the pupae to the other test tube, but strangely left the queen. I think the queen is just more attached to the old one. Anyways, I decided I'd take the test tube the queen was in and reattach it, hoping she'll retreat to the workers, and she did. However, the dirt and pupae got pushed over. Luckily, they've now got everything settled. Can't wait to update you guys.

[AntsNW]

This is great!
I can't wait to hear more. How many workers does she have again?

[TalANTFlame]

With the dirt, it's hard to keep an exact count, but I believe she has 7-9 workers. And thanks for the support! It really means a lot

[TalANTFlame]

It just occurred to me that I haven't told yall how I caught her! I was at school, and notice the little beauty scuttering around. I didn't have any test tubes on me at the time, so I told my friend to find something to temporarily hold her. In the meantime, I kept her from retreating into the sidewalk crack with my pencil. My friend came over with a piece of paper, and I got her on it then went into the building. Eventually, I got a small little "cup" and lid, and walked home with her, doing my best to keep her steady. Eventually, I got a test tube and put her in. The feeling of that was exhilarating and I loved it!