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Post by UKantz on May 22, 2018 20:50:19 GMT
I'm due to receive a small colony of Formica Lemani from Deansyme tomorrow, including a nice little acrylic nest they're housed in. Hopefully they don't arrive from 9-11, since I'll be sat in an exam and will not be able to collect them that day :L. I will update tomorrow when they arrive.
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Post by UKantz on May 23, 2018 11:02:31 GMT
I just got back and the colony had arrived, they all came very well packaged (the box was huge), my housemates thought it was a minifridge!
Initially I was worried the queen was dead, as she was next to a dead worker that had mould growing on her, and wasn't moving. But now she's up and about and seems well. There are 5 workers currently who carry around 3 egg clusters (there is a lot of eggs) and 2 dead myrmica rubra workers, all housed in a nice little set up.
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Post by deansyme on May 23, 2018 13:23:21 GMT
The Myrmica were previous inhabitants that I couldnt get out. I thought the lemani would remove them into the foraging area. Glad they arrived safe!
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Post by UKantz on May 23, 2018 13:52:40 GMT
The Myrmica were previous inhabitants that I couldnt get out. I thought the lemani would remove them into the foraging area. Glad they arrived safe! I figured it was something along those lines, thanks for making the package so secure!
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 23, 2018 15:38:50 GMT
The very first ant I ever kept was Formica lemanii, a great species to keep. Even though they are polygyn in the wild they do fine with just 1 queen, especially if she has laid lots of eggs.
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Post by UKantz on May 28, 2018 9:43:52 GMT
This colony has been settling in just fine. They seem to only forage at night, though observing them in the nest is just fine for me right now; the workers seem to make a habbit of moving the piles of eggs from one side of the nest to the other fairly frequently which is amusing to see, they are quite inquisitive ants and a real character to watch
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Post by UKantz on Jun 5, 2018 8:31:57 GMT
All the eggs have hatched into little larvae, though there are less in number to the amount of eggs there were (I suspect the larvae ate a few?). However, there is still a sizeable number and they have taken a bluebottle, so this colony is well on its way to increasing in numbers.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 11, 2018 11:32:00 GMT
There are now two freshly made cocoons, about 7 larvae, and the queen has begun to lay a few more eggs.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 14, 2018 10:11:05 GMT
There are now 5 cocoons, 2 naked pupae and 2 larvae. Unfortunately the eggs seem to be gone however.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 20, 2018 8:57:37 GMT
Now 7 cocoons, 2 naked pupae, 3 small larvae and a new group of around 6 eggs have been laid
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Post by UKantz on Jun 28, 2018 9:07:52 GMT
The first worker eclosed yesterday, brining the worker count to 5.
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Post by UKantz on Jul 4, 2018 7:23:41 GMT
Unfortunately today the queen was found dead and being eaten by the workers . This is a huge shame since over the past few days all the pupae eclosed, making the worker count now 11. That sadly abruptly ends this journal.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 4, 2018 8:10:44 GMT
Sorry to hear that.
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Post by deansyme on Jul 4, 2018 8:53:59 GMT
PMed you..I will send another colony so if you can save the pupae and brood you can transfer them to the new one.
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