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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 18, 2018 21:02:55 GMT
On Friday I bought a 5 queen colony of Myrmica rubra, a species I haven't made a serious attempt at keeping before. I have tried keeping individual founding queens before but sadly, it didn't work out. This colony comes from Antsrus and was posted today, so I hope to receive it in a few days with any luck. I got them at a bargain price too, because Chris had a mishap when pricing them (They were cheaper than the 4 queen colony!). I think there's going to be 30-40 workers with brood included, I'm looking forward to their arrival! As always, feel free to comment, I like reading your feedback.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 18, 2018 21:08:03 GMT
I wish you luck with them, hopefully they'll do a bit better than mine currently! They're fairly easy to keep, just keep their nest moist and they should be fine. Feel free to pm if you have any questions
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 18, 2018 21:51:03 GMT
Myrmica like it damp, and I have often found them nesting under sphagnum moss, but mainly in damp soil under stones.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 18, 2018 22:50:04 GMT
Myrmica like it damp, and I have often found them nesting under sphagnum moss, but mainly in damp soil under stones. Then it's fortunate that I happened to buy a bag of sphagnum moss yesterday. Although I'd prefer to be able to watch the colony if possible, I'm fine with giving them a tank like the Messors and Carebara.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 18, 2018 22:58:50 GMT
The genus does well in acrylic nests too if you keep the oasis wet.
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Post by Jenny on Jun 19, 2018 5:00:06 GMT
Just to wet your apetite even more, here is the PHOTO LINK of rubras I took up Goodwood some years ago. They were everywhere at the time. I did take more but photobucket crashed on us.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 19, 2018 8:22:42 GMT
Lovely photos, Jen!
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shadowynne
Nurse Ant
Posts: 84
Country: UK
Pets: Many, many pets...
Favourite Ant: Lasius flavus
Likes: 63
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Post by shadowynne on Jun 19, 2018 8:36:01 GMT
Hey, cool.
I'm really getting into rubra, my clan of the red death are now my official 2nd favourites and I am thinking of getting another colony. I really enjoy these ants a lot, nice colour, good activity, beautiful structure, (they remind me of leaf cutters), and pretty easy to keep.
And Jen, wow, those pictures are great, I love the mix of flavus in there, my two favourites in one place!
I would love a mixed colony like that, but I don't think I could get over the fear of the rubra slaughtering the flavus outright!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 19, 2018 11:12:51 GMT
The colony has arrived! All five queens are there and quite a few workers, I'd estimate between 20 and 30. Just two eggs at the moment. The colony looked like it was getting close to outgrowing their test tube so I moved them into a larger boiling tube. They were not happy with me...I think one of them managed to sting the back of my hand but it's barely noticeable. Here's a few of the queens: And here's the angry workers trying to get out. Hopefully they'll calm down at some point and I can try feeding them.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 19, 2018 16:52:05 GMT
To my surprise, a few additional eggs have already been laid. During a peaceful lull I was able to slip a bluebottle into the test tube, but they don't seem particularly interested in it for now. Opening the test tube again was pretty much impossible without workers getting out, but then I remembered the syringe and disposable hypodermic needle I'd bought from Anthouse a while back (At the time I wasn't sure why I thought I'd need it, but it seemed useful). I was able to just push the needle through the cotton and give them a drop of sugar water that way, eliminating the risk of escapes. It'll be a useful trick for the future, so long as I don't poke myself by accident.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 21, 2018 11:28:48 GMT
I like the idea of using the syringe to feed them honey water, I will use it for ants in test tubes I keep in future as it saves removing the cotton wool except for solid food.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 24, 2018 23:12:20 GMT
This colony seems to be doing just fine. There's been several dead workers, but I'm assuming they were old ones. Just now I opened the test tube to scoop those out and put in a cricket, since they ate the last one I gave them (Wonder why they didn't like the fly?). I did have to catch several workers that ran out onto the floor and my hand, but they were returned without incident.
These ants love their sugar water and consume more of it than I thought they would. The five queens are settled at the back on the damp cotton and they have been busy, judging from the growing pile of eggs that now numbers at least fifteen. Having had very little experience with Myrmica, it took me a while to get used to spotting them since their appearance isn't drastically different from their workers as it is with most species.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 29, 2018 9:47:23 GMT
I'm surprised at how quickly eggs are being laid. There's about 40 now, I think.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 6, 2018 0:18:48 GMT
I've just seen the first newborn larva. There's going to be loads more to follow in short order, I expect! At the moment I estimate there's 50-60 eggs. The workers have been badly behaved, chewing their way through the cotton wool to escape three times now. I've replaced it with a new, thicker piece that should keep them busy for a while longer.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 16, 2018 20:39:45 GMT
Although about ten larvae have hatched and they're growing rapidly, this colony has eaten most of its eggs for some reason. There's only a small pile of them left...they're still eating plenty of regular food, however.
Unfortunately there's only about fifteen workers left at the moment.
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