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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 17, 2018 11:28:03 GMT
The new worker seems to be fine, apart from a small thread of pupa membrane still connecting her hindleg and midsection, causing her to walk a bit awkwardly. Hopefully it'll get removed? She really is tiny compared to her mother, I was quite surprised. I think the second worker will be here tomorrow or the day after.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 19, 2018 11:07:07 GMT
The second worker eclosed overnight.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 21, 2018 16:37:00 GMT
I can now count eleven eggs. The two larvae are slowly but steadily growing and one of the remaining two cocoons is beginning to darken. The queen accepted a small cricket I gave her, the workers don't quite know what to make of it and immediately rushed the brood away while the queen calmly tucked in. The workers are so small compared to their mother. The gold hairs on them aren't as obvious but you can just about see it.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 24, 2018 13:47:11 GMT
There's now three workers. Still the same amount of eggs and larvae. The eggs seem to be taking a while to hatch.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 1, 2018 18:43:13 GMT
The final cocoon is now getting quite dark. It'll be one or two more days before the fourth worker is ready to join us. I've also seen a few newly hatched larvae. The workers now drink sugar water although they will panic when they find a cricket. The queen has no such misgivings and will immediately seize her food.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 1, 2018 22:53:07 GMT
Here's the queen checking up on her eggs. Because she's still very plump, she sometimes has difficulty when turning around in the test tube. In this photo you can also see a bit of gold on the workers: On the right is the mangled remains of the cricket I gave her earlier.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 4, 2018 8:18:24 GMT
The fourth walker is now up and walking around.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 10, 2018 23:24:21 GMT
Unlike Wood's colony mine seems to be growing slowly. There's two large larvae that look like they'll pupate soon, however. The queen and four workers still look healthy and although the queen isn't as fat as she was, she's still quite bulky.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 14, 2019 16:52:38 GMT
How is this colony doing?
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 14, 2019 18:14:23 GMT
How is this colony doing? Unfortunately, they died a little while ago and I forgot to update the journal. They would eat regularly but they would also eat any eggs that the queen produced.
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