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Post by TenebrousNova on May 31, 2019 12:51:09 GMT
I've long been interested in the look of these rare bicoloured Messor barbarus queens sold by Antsrus. I finally bit the bullet and this gorgeous lady arrived today. While she isn't quite as fully red as shane 's queen, I think she's close! She has lots of brood in all stages of development although none of the pupae have yet started to darken. The queen was visibly uncomfortable when I removed the foil from the test tube to inspect her, so I will only be checking on her once a week since founding Messor queens stress so easily. Here she is! And here's some of her brood: As always, comments and feedback are more than welcome.
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shane
Ant Photographer
Ant Species Image Gatherer
Posts: 1,738
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Post by shane on May 31, 2019 18:31:09 GMT
Grats on your queen . My red queens now around 10 year old already how time fly's, And still doing fine. I don't know how you do it with so many different ant species you look after. I've found it a bit hard with all changers and dog constantly under my feet, How many colony's do you have.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 31, 2019 19:40:37 GMT
Most of my colonies are very small so it isn't too bad so far.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 7, 2019 14:53:42 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 11, 2019 15:21:02 GMT
I decided just this once to break the "once a week" rule to see if any of the pupae have eclosed. One of them has! Say hello to the first worker. The second one won't be far behind.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 14, 2019 10:01:59 GMT
The second worker has eclosed and a few more pupae are beginning to change colour. The queen is very protective over them and hurries around trying to move them to safety when she's disturbed. I've put in several small seeds in case she's hungry.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 15, 2019 18:49:57 GMT
I haven't checked the fledgling colony today to avoid causing undue stress to them, but I'm really not sure what I'd like to keep them in when there's enough workers. I've had bad luck keeping them in acrylic nests, but they've almost always done well in soil setups. I was thinking of a cereal storage container half filled with soil like Wood~Ant used to keep his colonies in, but I'd also prefer to be able to watch the colony's activities in the nest. Antsrus suggested getting a block of ytong, carving it out and attaching it to the side of a small tank. It could work but DIY really isn't my strong point... I'm open to suggestions!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 15, 2019 23:45:48 GMT
I haven't checked the fledgling colony today to avoid causing undue stress to them, but I'm really not sure what I'd like to keep them in when there's enough workers. I've had bad luck keeping them in acrylic nests, but they've almost always done well in soil setups. I was thinking of a cereal storage container half filled with soil like Wood~Ant used to keep his colonies in, but I'd also prefer to be able to watch the colony's activities in the nest. Antsrus suggested getting a block of ytong, carving it out and attaching it to the side of a small tank. It could work but DIY really isn't my strong point... I'm open to suggestions! Have you considered a converted worm world, as my last Messor barb colony did really well in one half full of soil? queenant.proboards.com/thread/9222/worm-world-conversion
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 16, 2019 1:02:59 GMT
I haven't checked the fledgling colony today to avoid causing undue stress to them, but I'm really not sure what I'd like to keep them in when there's enough workers. I've had bad luck keeping them in acrylic nests, but they've almost always done well in soil setups. I was thinking of a cereal storage container half filled with soil like Wood~Ant used to keep his colonies in, but I'd also prefer to be able to watch the colony's activities in the nest. Antsrus suggested getting a block of ytong, carving it out and attaching it to the side of a small tank. It could work but DIY really isn't my strong point... I'm open to suggestions! Have you considered a converted worm world, as my last Messor barb colony did really well in one half full of soil? queenant.proboards.com/thread/9222/worm-world-conversionInteresting idea. Something like that or the vertical nest that shane used would work well, I think. That would allow the ants to dig but most of their activity would still be visible. It should be a while before the colony gets big enough to move out, so that gives me plenty of time to look into it.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 16, 2019 8:04:26 GMT
This video shows how well my own colony did in a Worm World.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 16, 2019 13:57:12 GMT
You've convinced me. I've bought a Worm World and some of the same metal mesh you linked to in that thread. Hopefully I don't manage to mess it up!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 16, 2019 17:47:21 GMT
You've convinced me. I've bought a Worm World and some of the same metal mesh you linked to in that thread. Hopefully I don't manage to mess it up! To connect tubing for an external foraging arena, don't drill a hole as the brittle plastic will shatter. Use a hot screwdriver to burn a hole and a round metal file to remove any excess plastic, then fit the tubing tight so no ants can get out. As long as the metal mesh is fine the biggest workers won't chew holes in it, but you can glue on a second layer to make it stronger over the big air holes in the lid. Any advice you need just ask TenebrousNova
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 18, 2019 18:59:37 GMT
I've placed the test tube in the converted Worm World and opened it up. The queen was agitated by her "claustral chamber" being opened and quickly came out to investigate. The workers have not yet left the test tube. After throwing out the seeds I gave them (That's gratitude for you) she found the starter tunnel I made with a pencil and started to furiously haul great lumps of soil out and put them in the test tube. I'm not sure if she's intending to expand the tunnel for her own use or simply using it like a mine and barricading the test tube again. In other news, the third and fourth workers will eclose before long.
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Post by jeoff82 on Jun 18, 2019 20:28:49 GMT
Interesting that the workers are not doing nest plugging, never seen that before.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 18, 2019 20:45:50 GMT
Interesting that the workers are not doing nest plugging, never seen that before. One worker came out to explore for a few minutes but has since joined her sister in looking after the brood whilst the queen works. She's definitely digging a tunnel of her own because it's taking her longer each time to emerge from it with a piece of soil. I'm guessing it's quicker and easier for her to do it since she's much bigger and stronger than her daughters.
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