My Polyrhachis Dives progress from Dec-April

[AntsJoshie]

The images are huge, so if you have low bandwidth I wouldn't advise viewing them, but here is the rest of the gallery

https://imgur.com/a/vkCexV6

Any criticism is fine, I am open to suggestions on changing how it is.

[JoeHostile1]

I’m not even sure what I’m lookint at, but looks amazing. Did they make that? I mean obviously they didn’t tie the sticks together, but they made that papery substance?

[AntsDakota]

I’m not even sure what I’m lookint at, but looks amazing. Did they make that? I mean obviously they didn’t tie the sticks together, but they made that papery substance?

Honestly I don't think that web-like material is store bought or hand made.

[AntsDakota]

And as long as the ants seem to be enjoying the setup, I have no words of critique.

[AntsJoshie]

The nest is made from the web from the 5th form of larvae, the final form just before they pupae. They use anything from sawdust, soil, sand, pine needles, even my hair (some must of fallen in) to weave their nest. They're called Golden Weaver Ants.

I've just given them an outhouse 2 days ago, and they're loving it, watching them go back and forth in the tube is so fun to watch. Hopefully they will start putting their dead and debris in there.

I've added some moss and about to add a UV light to keep the moss alive. The moss also acts as a humidifier for the formicarium because it's very wet and I keep it that way.

Also, I'm pretty sure my ants are happy because I noticed a massive hole in the outhouse and haven't seen a single ant escape. They don't even try to climb the glass... They know what's good for them haha

[JoeHostile1]

So you set up some sticks and then give them sawdust and then they just start making that? How old is this colony?

[AntsJoshie]

So you set up some sticks and then give them sawdust and then they just start making that? How old is this colony?

Yeah, there is a bonsai under that mass. I just added some scaffolding for them to build on to once it got bigger. They mainly used soil to begin with, then we decided to add pine needles and sawdust etc.

I purchased this colony in about November with 4 queens, 200-300 workers. Now I think i've got well over 1k workers and I've seen a few queens mating in and around the nest so I could have dozens of queens now.

I see about 10-20 ants a day wandering around with empty pupae, so they are very happy ants!

I have some messor valentinae on the way tomorrow, so I will be posting pictures of those once they are settled in to their new nest.

[AntsJoshie]

Also Joe, this is a very beginner species, they don't need much work. Just warmth, water, food and building supplies and they thrive. A super fun species to keep because they are always doing something. I keep mine at 28-32C, the hotter the better for them, they are scary active when it hits 31-32, I sometimes wonder if the mineral oil will hold up, but hasn't failed me yet

[JoeHostile1]

So the nest material is mostly soil? Then they started using saw dust? I don’t see any pine needles in it. Do they chew up the materials and then make like a paste to form the nest.do you know how old the colony is? And how old they have to be to start making a nest like that?