New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
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New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
This colony is about a month and a half old an has about 20 workers. I have 8 queens and a pretty good size brood pile. They are currently in a bin filled with potting soil with a few rocks and succulents. The barrier is Coco Butter. I will post pictures later of the colony and their set up. Suggestions on food and what i should add to to the set up will be accepted.
Beginner ant keeper Currently has a RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) colony. I now have a Carpenter Ant queen.
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Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
Feed them honey or crushed mealworms? Im also currently keeping a RIFA colony in its beginning stages, with one worker.
Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
Well there is some interesting news my ant colony moved its location to the other side of the bin i was keeping them in. That was last week but now they seem to just be gone. I do not think they escaped because the barrier was still strong, but i have noticed some dead ants in the barrier so they have attempted to escape. Today i saw one queen and a worker but that was it. But good news is i captured a small colony today with three queens. They have eggs, larvae, pupae, and an eclosing worker and five mature workers. They are currently housed in a test tube set up. Interesting note when i captured this colony i noticed a small colony of black garden ants living under the same rock.
Beginner ant keeper Currently has a RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) colony. I now have a Carpenter Ant queen.
Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
Here are some pictures of the captured colony.
In this picture you can see two of the workers and some eggs under them.
This is their test tube. I have a heating pad under this it seems to help them with energy because the room i keep them in is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
In this picture you can see two of the workers and some eggs under them.
This is their test tube. I have a heating pad under this it seems to help them with energy because the room i keep them in is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beginner ant keeper Currently has a RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) colony. I now have a Carpenter Ant queen.
Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
I have some good news and bad news. The colony in the out world is most likely dead. The good news is not all of them are dead i noticed a worker roaming around probably looking for food.
Beginner ant keeper Currently has a RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) colony. I now have a Carpenter Ant queen.
Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
Yay a queen is till alive in the bin! the ants in the test tube are happy too. I will take a better pictures tomorrow.
Beginner ant keeper Currently has a RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) colony. I now have a Carpenter Ant queen.
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Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
That is really cool. You will have to keep updating this. I would love to have RIFA ants someday.
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-ArizonanAnts
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Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
I know this has only been a little but this is importatant. I FOUND THE MISSING ANTS!!! They were under a lid that I keep water in! They now have about thirty workers and tons of brood! When I post pictures i will show you where I found them.
Beginner ant keeper Currently has a RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) colony. I now have a Carpenter Ant queen.
Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
Here are some pictures of them. This is where i kept them. PS: Fire ants love goldfish.
This was what I found under the lid.
After that they moved just below where the lid was but I was happy to see them and their brood.
These two pictures are two different piles of brood.
This was what I found under the lid.
After that they moved just below where the lid was but I was happy to see them and their brood.
These two pictures are two different piles of brood.
Beginner ant keeper Currently has a RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) colony. I now have a Carpenter Ant queen.
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- Posts: 309
- Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2019 8:16 pm
- Location: Arizona
Re: New Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Colony
Wow! I think the reason that they were under the dish was because it was more humid than the rest of the areas.
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