AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36572Post AntsDakota
Wed May 30, 2018 8:11 pm

Batspiderfish wrote:
Sat May 26, 2018 2:55 pm
What are you feeding the Ponera?

Also, bright red head? That doesn't sound like C. herculeanus. Maybe you should do an ID request.
They are nesting in my garage wood so I'm pretty sure their Camponotus. And Camponotus herculeanus looks the most like my ants. Also, Camponotus herculeanus can have bright red thoraxes as well.
"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

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36574Post AntsDakota
Wed May 30, 2018 8:15 pm

Batspiderfish wrote:
Sat May 26, 2018 2:55 pm
What are you feeding the Ponera?

Also, bright red head? That doesn't sound like C. herculeanus. Maybe you should do an ID request.
I fed them a meal worm last week, since I heard they only eat soft bodied insects. I fed them honey before that, yet it was gone the next time I checked them. I think it probably is evaporated.
"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

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Batspiderfish
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Location: Maine

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36584Post Batspiderfish
Wed May 30, 2018 9:38 pm

Mealworms kind of have a hard carapace, and better suited to ants that can drag it back or who have good social stomachs. Drosophila flies are probably a better fit for them.

As for your Camponotus, C. herculeanus always has a dark head, so it might be Formica. Many ants nest in wood besides Camponotus.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36759Post AntsDakota
Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:53 pm

Batspiderfish wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 9:38 pm
Mealworms kind of have a hard carapace, and better suited to ants that can drag it back or who have good social stomachs. Drosophila flies are probably a better fit for them.

As for your Camponotus, C. herculeanus always has a dark head, so it might be Formica. Many ants nest in wood besides Camponotus.
I thought that too, yet I haven't found any Formica species in SD that have red heads and are polymorphic. Besides, that queen just had that "Camponotus" look.
"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

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36762Post AntsDakota
Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:00 pm

I found another queen while I was digging for brood to feed my Solenopsis molesta colony, The Royal Legion. Yet I found another Ponera queen instead, and placed her in the test tube with the Black Bullets, since Antwiki said that they are polygynous. The workers approached cautiously, and opened her jaws wide, and she in response. Yet they got used to her and became one big happy family. About the polygynous part; Bala Real must have been informed of the newcomer, yet she showed no interest in a one on one with the new queen, which I named Municion Real (Royal Ammo).
"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

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36763Post AntsDakota
Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:09 pm

Batspiderfish wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 9:38 pm
Mealworms kind of have a hard carapace, and better suited to ants that can drag it back or who have good social stomachs. Drosophila flies are probably a better fit for them.

As for your Camponotus, C. herculeanus always has a dark head, so it might be Formica. Many ants nest in wood besides Camponotus.
If it was Formica, I'd say it is most likely Formica ulkei, yet these ants just look too "oval" to be Formica. To me, Camponotus look more oval, and Formica look more circular.
"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

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36766Post AntsDakota
Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:14 pm

Batspiderfish wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 9:38 pm
Mealworms kind of have a hard carapace, and better suited to ants that can drag it back or who have good social stomachs. Drosophila flies are probably a better fit for them.

You're right. They didn't accept it. So I fed them a wax worm, which my Lasius niger colony seemed to enjoy, and hemolymph (if that's what wax worms have for blood) came spilling out when I cut it in half. Wax worms have a very soft exoskeleton compared to meal worms, so do you think they'll eat that?
"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

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Batspiderfish
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Location: Maine

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36768Post Batspiderfish
Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:24 pm

AntsDakota wrote:
Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:14 pm
You're right. They didn't accept it. So I fed them a wax worm, which my Lasius niger colony seemed to enjoy, and hemolymph (if that's what wax worms have for blood) came spilling out when I cut it in half. Wax worms have a very soft exoskeleton compared to meal worms, so do you think they'll eat that?
They might, but I really stand by offering small insects to small ants. Even though moth larvae have softer exoskeletons, they're still pretty tough and rubbery for a tiny Ponera. The natural food of Ponera are tiny springtails and the likes. I maintain that fruit flies are the best commercially available food for small ants and young colonies.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36771Post AntsDakota
Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:27 pm

Batspiderfish wrote:
Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:24 pm
AntsDakota wrote:
Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:14 pm
You're right. They didn't accept it. So I fed them a wax worm, which my Lasius niger colony seemed to enjoy, and hemolymph (if that's what wax worms have for blood) came spilling out when I cut it in half. Wax worms have a very soft exoskeleton compared to meal worms, so do you think they'll eat that?
They might, but I really stand by offering small insects to small ants. Even though moth larvae have softer exoskeletons, they're still pretty tough and rubbery for a tiny Ponera. The natural food of Ponera are tiny springtails and the likes. I maintain that fruit flies are the best commercially available food for small ants and young colonies.
I have plenty of springtails around, so could I feed them that? I don't have very many fruit flies on hand.
"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

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

Re: AntsDakota's Ponera pennsylvanica colony

Post: # 36772Post AntsDakota
Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:32 pm

Also, how long do you think I should leave them in the dark before the queens feel comfortable enough to lay eggs?
"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

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