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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 24, 2018 17:58:36 GMT
A single queen of this unusual species was put up on Antsrus earlier, so I thought I'd go for it! They are referred to as the "golden gaster ant" for reasons that soon become apparent when you look at them. They come from South America, specifically Chile (And also Argentina), hence their species name. I'll be sure to try and get nice photos of the queen when she arrives. As always, feel free to comment. This is my last species for now, I swear!
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Post by UKantz on Jun 24, 2018 18:23:54 GMT
You swear, but I do not believe you for a second !
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 24, 2018 20:03:07 GMT
You swear, but I do not believe you for a second ! You wound me, sir.
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Post by Jenny on Jun 25, 2018 4:50:19 GMT
Yes we have one of these on order for when we get back from hols (currently in Wales) next week
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 26, 2018 10:17:11 GMT
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 26, 2018 11:31:31 GMT
She looks good, how big is she? I also fancied the discolor from the USA, but couldn't afford both so as Jenny likes the Chilensis and this species semi hibernate during cold winter months, I ordered a queen which Chris is kindly holding for me until I return from holiday.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 26, 2018 11:40:32 GMT
She looks good, how big is she? I also fancied the discolor from the USA, but couldn't afford both so as Jenny likes the Chilensis and this species semi hibernate during cold winter months, I ordered a queen which Chris is kindly holding for me until I return from holiday. She's slightly smaller than my xiangban queen. I loved the look of the discolor as well. There's actually three eggs, the third must've been hidden somewhere. The queen has just had a sip of sugar water.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 26, 2018 14:45:06 GMT
I imagined her bigger than the xiangban, but forgot that you used a strong magnifying lens to take photos. Lovely photo by the way, she looks charcoal black with golden hairs from what I can see.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 2, 2018 17:05:10 GMT
The queen has grown very fat lately! She's also got five eggs at the moment.
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Post by tatufmetuf on Jul 2, 2018 19:09:40 GMT
What do you use to take the pictures ? they are very nice !
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 2, 2018 19:44:01 GMT
What do you use to take the pictures ? they are very nice ! Nikon D5200, Sigma 105mm macro lens and a lot of luck. Then cropping and adjusting things like exposure and clarity so it looks a little better. Most of my ant photos don't turn out how I'd like them to, but thanks for the compliment. I still don't understand half the camera functions.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 7, 2018 12:52:28 GMT
So far this queen has seven eggs. She's still very calm, but regardless I'm not checking on her very often, just in case she gets freaked out and starts cannibalising them.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 8, 2018 22:58:13 GMT
She's now laid an additional two eggs, one of which has somehow found itself on her back. I'm sure she'll remove it eventually.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 12, 2018 20:52:51 GMT
Forgot to update this journal for the discovery I made when checking the queen this morning! At least one of her eggs has now hatched.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 16, 2018 15:26:08 GMT
I can count four larvae now and four or five eggs that have yet to hatch. The queen is still very calm so far. Apart from when I gave her some sugar water the day she arrived, I haven't attempted to feed this queen again. Considering how fat she is, I don't think she needs it.
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