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Post by TenebrousNova on May 17, 2019 11:03:59 GMT
Today, this lovely colony arrived from AntsHungary. One small but apparently very prolific queen and 100-150 tiny workers. And a very large brood pile! Solenopsis fugax is as far as I'm aware the only member of the fire ants to be native to the UK. They are nicknamed "thief ants" because they tend to make their nests within the walls of other ant nests and use their inconspicuous size to sneak out into the host ant's brood chambers and steal it for food. Fortunately however, they don't need a host colony to survive and will do perfectly well on the regular captive ant fare of sweet liquids and insects. Like all Solenopsis they possess a sting, but human skin is (Probably) too tough for it to have an effect on us. This will be my first attempt at keeping Solenopsis. The test tube is positively crammed full of ants so I likely will have to move them straight out into a proper nest if I'm to have any hope of feeding them without escapes. Here they are! Here is the queen. She's large in comparison to her tiny daughters but still a very small ant herself. She is also apparently still a dutiful mother, because I watched her take a pupa off a worker to start cleaning it and then started to fuss over some of the other brood in her vicinity. As always, comments and feedback are more than welcome.
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Post by 1moldavite on May 17, 2019 13:55:20 GMT
If these are the same species of red ants that are in my garden,the sting is quite painful with a burning sensation,the ones in my garden attack me for no apparent reason either,although the worst attacks is when I turn the grass strimmer on,they mustn't like the noise,good luck with your new ants,they will swarm around food and will sometimes consume human food,they also milk aphids on my rose bush in the garden.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 17, 2019 15:42:06 GMT
If these are the same species of red ants that are in my garden,the sting is quite painful with a burning sensation,the ones in my garden attack me for no apparent reason either,although the worst attacks is when I turn the grass strimmer on,they mustn't like the noise,good luck with your new ants,they will swarm around food and will sometimes consume human food,they also milk aphids on my rose bush in the garden. The workers are 2mm if that helps? I think it's more likely that you have Myrmica in your garden since S. fugax is fairly rare in the UK and mostly found in the south.
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 17, 2019 17:22:45 GMT
Very similar to the Solenopsis invicta I kept, but with a bit less painful sting I believe. Nice colony with masses of brood from the photos.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 17, 2019 18:48:05 GMT
I've recently appropriated and cleaned out the old formicarium my Camponotus mitis were living in, so that the Solenopsis can have it. As soon as I removed the cotton they started to emerge and explore their surroundings, not at a run like most ants but at a calm walk. Go forth and conquer, my little monsters! I took these photos with the lid off for the clearest shots and finished just as the workers began to march up the sides and towards freedom. They're already dragging a cricket leg into the test tube: The queen seems to know that something's going on. She's been walking busily around. I've offered some sugar water but they currently don't seem interested in it.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 17, 2019 23:34:43 GMT
The colony doesn't seem interested in exploring the nest yet, but they ARE interested in exploring the things outside of their formicarium! I've caught them several times now somehow getting out. I have no choice but to tape the lid shut when they're not being fed. I wish I could say for certain that it'll stop them from getting through some impossibly small overlooked gap, but I have my doubts.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 20, 2019 15:03:29 GMT
Today, most of the brood has been moved into the nest and it seems that they've finished eating that cricket (Making a big mess as they did so). What's left of the brood and the queen herself are still in the test tube. Maybe she'll move today? The colony has consistently thwarted my attempts to keep them contained, but I've narrowed it down to the connection port in the side of the nest. There's a slight gap between the connection piece and the rest of the formicarium, which the workers can effortlessly squeeze through. I'm using blue tack around the outside of it to try and stop them from coming out of the other side. I'm sure I'll find out within hours if it works. I can now fully appreciate how host ants must feel when brood is spirited away by Solenopsis fugax breaching the nest. They really wouldn't be able to stop them.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 21, 2019 12:36:48 GMT
Here they are trying (And failing!) to get past the blue tack. I'm glad it's working. Also, the queen is now safely in her new nest. I gave them several fruit flies yesterday which they've been eating.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 23, 2019 21:26:43 GMT
So far the colony is doing well. They've taken a new interest in sugar water and eagerly crowd around it when offered. They don't seem picky about what kind of insects they're given, either. The queen is definitely laying eggs. I just caught her with two stuck to the end of her gaster: It might be a coincidence but this is the pose I've seen ant queens usually take when they lay eggs.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 26, 2019 16:24:39 GMT
Not as sharp a photo as I'd like, but here's a closeup of the larvae.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 11, 2019 15:19:48 GMT
The colony is still eating well and I've spotted new eggs.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 18, 2019 8:19:46 GMT
The workers and brood have been doing fine but last night I found the queen has mysteriously died. So ends this journal, unfortunately.
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