shane
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Post by shane on Apr 24, 2018 19:54:49 GMT
First Log: 24,04.2018 ===============
Decided to try a colony of polyrhachis dives, Herd this species are easy to keep as long as they keep warm. I ordered online from British Ants on Saturday, And there come today in post.
There are about 30+ workers and 1 Queen no eggs or larvae, Sad news is about 11 workers had died in test tube but with it a bit cold. that could be normal and Queen seems fine.
I left them in a foraging set up and it don't take them long to find honey and to move out of test tube.
There seem to have a bad habit of dropping there dead in there drinking tubes on cotton wool or any where that's damp.
There also not shy if you taps on tank or floor vibrations but I found out there react to sound, If you hummm there will freeze motionless in a attack stance away from foraging or close with lid on, Then when silent there start exploring again.
anyhow let them settle for day. ======================== ========================
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shane
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Post by shane on Apr 25, 2018 22:13:43 GMT
Log: 25.04.2018 ============
Colony seems settled and spend 98% of time in nest grouped in a small pile with Queen. Heres some photos. Queen with all brood, No eggs yet. Workers.
Also a video, Enjoy.
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shane
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Post by shane on Apr 28, 2018 16:46:21 GMT
Log: 28.04.2018 ===========
I don't know what is it with polyrhachis and near there last days of living and have a problem with clubbing on glass and end up upside down like a tortoise with legs in air on there back trying to grip to anything with there legs to balance then self's back on there feet which only seems to be with rough servicers there can hock there legs in too like bits of kitchen roll I put in or there set up or to nest. But all ends up same in end with dyeing with in 2 or 3 days.
Anyhow even thought at some point the colony will explode and workers may not live as long, But till queen starts laying this colony will slowly decline.
Lets hope in next days she will start laying.
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shane
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Post by shane on May 4, 2018 19:32:06 GMT
Log: 04.05.2018 ============
Only 4 days ago there was no eggs and today there's 2 clusters of around 20+ . The main thing is that the Queen is laying eggs. What I don't expected is the amount she laid in a short time, I hope they changed fast from egg to larvae to ant. I know workers from this colony don't live that long and hope the colony gets started with its worker life cycle before which I hope is in time.
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shane
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Post by shane on May 7, 2018 21:48:27 GMT
Log: 07.05.2018 ===========
This colony is now slowly starting to function like a colony, A worker now is removing any dead insect bits or garbage out side of nest. There's 3 to 4 workers always around entrance or guarding entrance, There no longer seem to be drinking honey water but seem more interested in the strawberry protean pots with added water from a mist spray. At long as there happy with that and odd insect, I'll leave there diet as that.
As I feared also there workers are slowly dyeing off of old age there live very active life's and die young in my option in this colony. There maybe larvae already in this colony with workers feeding lots over today.
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shane
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Post by shane on May 15, 2018 19:40:43 GMT
Log: 15.05.2018 ===========
Some photos as there's larvae in nest.
Once lights on them it dint take them long before there moved everything leaving eggs till last
Colony seem to be happy with just honey water and odd fly. There spend 99% of time in nest with only 1 working going out. ========================================= =========================================
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shane
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Post by shane on May 20, 2018 15:50:00 GMT
Log: 20.05.2018 ===========
the larvae do grow really fast say about 7 to 10 days and a worker already has a larvae and making a silk nest with it. The colony is slowly losing workers but the leave boost will replace them soon I hope. ================================== ==================================
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shane
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Post by shane on May 24, 2018 21:32:20 GMT
Log: 24.05.2018 ===========
Seems to take less then 17 days for this colony from egg to larvae pupae or cocoon, really fast in development. There's already 4 cocoons I can see but maybe more hidden. Workers are still slowly dying off but with development been fast the number could jump back fast.
There love fly's and honey water on cotton, There still seem to be nest bound with odd working going out foraging.
When larvae is in silk making age a worker will use it for about a hour making a silk like chamber trail then after will leave it so it makes its own cocoon soon after. ========================= =========================
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shane
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Post by shane on May 25, 2018 22:00:26 GMT
Log: 25.05.2018 ===========
I had to look twice with what I was seeing in this nest today as most of big larvae now have cocooned, But what I seen was left as 2 or 3 larvae from the Tetraponera rufonigra which died out almost 2 weeks ago so I gave to Dives some of the remaining larvae, What I dint expected was the colony adopting them.
You can see the difference in larvae, The rufonigra larvae have a yellow back and more shiny looking, The Diver larvae are little hairier and just have dark belles.
Be interesting to see how there go
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shane
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Post by shane on Jun 6, 2018 15:25:25 GMT
Log: 06.06.2018 ============
No real change to this colony apart from numbers have dropped dangerously low as 16, But in them 16 there's 4 new workers and still 4 cocoons yet to be new ants, there's a small bundle of larvae under queen the 2 or 3 larvae from the colony that died out are still there and I think fully grown now as there not getting any bigger from last 4 days.
I had to start removing some dead fly's and other foods from there nest as they was starting to rot, When numbers seem low, Colony don't seem to take out trash or dead and just leave them about 5cm from main brood.
There like there nest dry but at times I do have to spray the out side of nest to be on safe side but it does make anything that's dead more of a rot risk as there don't dry out right.
Colony: Fine Number of workers: Poor 16 Brood: Fine Queen: Fine ======================================= =======================================
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shane
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Post by shane on Jul 2, 2018 0:03:21 GMT
Log: 01.07.2018 ===========
Colony's still around 18 workers, the larvae are down a bit this month but there food in take seems same.
The workers live around 1 to 2 months with this species so you will find a worker or 2 dead every 2 to 3 days just dropped off in a random place.
There are about 4 to 7 workers always scouting around for food or looking for scraps for nest, I put more bits of dry grass in to foraging arena for them to rout around in all grass I used from garden has been boiled with kettle water first in case of bugs on them.
Every 3 to 4 days I have to go in nest with tweezers to remove cricket or lotuses parts to stop them rotting in nest and upsetting the small colony as they start to scatter around it nest then been in a like hugging ball with queen.
Colony's fine but keeping around 18 once a leavers cocooned and a new cowl ants born... already some of the old workers start to die off.
I do wonder if this colony will keep small as I know in wild "polyrhachis dives " can have more then 1 queen.
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shane
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Post by shane on Jul 28, 2018 15:40:23 GMT
Log: 28.07.2018 ===========
Colony numbers are down to 9, Over past month queens on her egg laying rest as dive queens do have rests weeks or month when they stop laying, This is reason why you need more queens for a colony to work though out year as when a queen rests the other lays.
If you ever think of getting a colony of dives, Always get more queens !! as there do rest in laying eggs.
Colony so fare look fine but queens in her rest mode in sleeping but I hope soon that she will lay a small pile of eggs.
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shane
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Post by shane on Jul 31, 2018 17:42:21 GMT
Log: 31.07.2018 ===========
Now the cooler months are starting to come by and all of sudden colony went in a nest building mode,
First I gave them a fat fly from out side there was feasting on for a bit and I seen some working trying to rip up some kitchen paper with no luck, So I gave them some chopped up moss and right away there was tacking it back to nest.
Here's a video of them.
I had to speed up video of them sorting out bits to take in to nest as it seems cooler weather seem to trigger works to look for nest building stuff.
Queens fine but she's not laying and also this colony will soon be boosted to not just 1 queen but an extra 2 to make it a 3 queen colony.
I just hope there don't waver on the glass when the other colony comes in post that should be tomorrow.
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shane
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Post by shane on Aug 2, 2018 14:29:02 GMT
Log: 02.08.2018 ============
I decided to try and boost this colony with added another colony with 2 queens, This colony I got from Ants Rus Chris.
I know its 50/50 if there will accept the old queen,
The new colony came today with a healthy 19 works and 8 larvae and a ball of eggs,
Old colony has around 13 works and some eggs and 2 larvae.
At first when I let the new colony free in foraging tank well lets say as soon I pulled cotton off there was all coming out like a flood, It didn't take them long to find my old colonys nest and at start it was looking promising as there was moving in almost as soon as there found nest, But then I seen some workers pulling out the old colony and one even throw out the queen, As she tried to get back in her old nest she was throw out again as in a worker carried her out as she was in a ball then just dropped her out. There did not attack her which I was surprised.
Her eggs and larvae the new colony kept and with looks of it her new workers there accepted, Her old works was dragged out and pinned down some died and I had to try and save most of other as it seems there won't accept the older workers.
I decided to save the old queen that was thrown out and most of her old workers that's around 7 and put them in a test tube.
Was impossible now to try and get some larvae for her as other colony seem very aggressive and more so the old colony, This maybe cos of having more brood and queens.
==================================== ==================================== PS. New colony's numbers are at 26 as new works that was in nest the new colony has accepted them in to colony.
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shane
Ant Photographer
Ant Species Image Gatherer
Posts: 1,738
Likes: 819
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Post by shane on Aug 7, 2018 21:01:41 GMT
Log: 07.08.2018 ============
This colony today has taken in not just 1 but 3 green bottle fly's in to nest. I for one hope they disgard the empty shells when there done as I don't want them to end up rotting in nest but colony seens fine.
The old queen and small colony in test tube seem fine to with queen laying eggs again of 5, The works don't seem to be doing much till eggs hatch.
Not much elce to report apart from new colony can be aggressive at times to already dead fly's, chewing there legs and wings off before dragging them back to nest.
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