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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 17, 2017 13:38:43 GMT
Kevin e-mailed me back, saying that maybe they are Meranoplus bicolor after all.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 18, 2017 7:12:36 GMT
Kevin e-mailed me back, saying that maybe they are Meranoplus bicolor after all. Yes, I thought they were as they are not all red. Not to worry, I am sure this species will be just as cool to keep? |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 18, 2017 8:31:20 GMT
Absolutely! Personally, I'd love this yellow and black species but I can't find them anywhere:  The colony took a small moth last night. They're still good as gold and I haven't had any escape attempts during feeding. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 18, 2017 17:09:02 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 26, 2017 17:53:32 GMT
Things are still going well! Today the Meranoplus took their first cricket. They certainly aren't fussy.  The queen was sitting in the open so I took a few photos of her. She's so fuzzy that even her jaws have thick hairs on them.  "Who're you looking at?"   Some of the larvae look very close to the pupa stage. On the left, you should be able to make out a few newborn larvae on the egg pile.   I've only seen one dead worker so far, which was presumably caused by old age. I'd love to see somebody else try and keep Meranoplus at some point, as they are mild mannered ants that seem to eat anything I put in front of them. I'm not using any heating, but I guess the thick hair helps trap heat? |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 2, 2017 8:34:24 GMT
This colony seems to eat crickets very quickly. So far I've been giving them a small one every day and they don't waste time in bringing it over to the others. There's more larvae now (Which are growing quickly) but despite that, the egg pile still seems to be getting bigger.  Two larvae have pupated! Looks like several others aren't far off that stage themselves.  |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 2, 2017 8:44:30 GMT
TenebrousNova, what have you got the colony living in? Nice to see the queen laying so many eggs. 
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 2, 2017 8:46:16 GMT
TenebrousNova , what have you got the colony living in? Nice to see the queen laying so many eggs. They're living in the test tube that they came in. I'd like to move them into the Pheidole pallidula's old acrylic nest (Once the remaining workers have died off and I've cleaned it out). |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 11, 2017 13:19:17 GMT
Just ordered a medium sized acrylic formicarium from Anthouse.es for this colony to live in. They're still doing great! |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 11, 2017 21:45:24 GMT
Took a few photos of the colony just now. Here they are feeding the larvae with a cricket leg.  The smaller egg pile:  The larger egg pile, with hatching larvae:   I don't imagine it would be too difficult to move them into their new nest when it eventually turns up. The pupa count is now at four and will hopefully continue to rise. |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 11, 2017 21:52:21 GMT
Really looking forward to seeing this colony in the acrylic nest. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 14, 2017 18:00:30 GMT
A large parcel containing the many ant things I ordered (I may have gone overboard because the bill was £100) arrived today, much earlier than expected. This included the formicarium designated to the Meranoplus colony. It was very easy, they were gently tipped from the test tube (And all the brood stayed in one clump) and within minutes moved everything into their new nest, at the usual sedate pace.  They have explored the entire nest but the queen and brood remain in the entrance chamber for now. I've also covered the nest with red cellophane, which will hopefully make them feel more comfortable. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 19, 2017 14:29:19 GMT
They're settling in well!  Here's the queen, you can see under her that a few pupae are getting quite dark now.  She spends a lot of her time roosting on the ceiling.   And here's a naughty worker trying her hardest to pull at the cotton blocking the access hole at the side. It's there for a reason, madam!  |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 24, 2017 14:45:21 GMT
Here's the first Meranoplus worker to be born under my care, getting fussed over by her older sisters.  You can see the pupa membrane peeling off.  They've also brought in a newly dead fly.  Also, the queen and half of the brood has been moved to the deepest chamber.  |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 14, 2017 12:42:19 GMT
At the moment the Meranoplus are bringing a locust into their nest. They're very active and there's always at least five workers out foraging. The queen has laid a new ball of eggs, which surprised me. Do Asian species lay eggs all year round? You can see that the larvae are beginning to mostly fill one of the chambers now. When disturbed the colony is still quite calm, but some workers do start to move a lot faster. The queen is active and doesn't stick to one chamber, preferring to walk around the nest to check up on things.  |
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