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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 28, 2020 16:20:08 GMT
This large colony has three queens, 200-300 workers and a mountain of brood. They arrived today from Ants HQ and have just been introduced to an acrylic nest.  I think it's safe to say that they might like sugar water.  Here they are attacking a cricket:  One of the queens came out and joined in the attack on the cricket. She fled when it kicked her.  I'll post more photos once they've moved out of the test tube. As always, comments are welcome. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 28, 2020 20:44:30 GMT
The colony is now inside the set up proper. There are no pupae, but there's loads of larvae and a few big clutches of eggs.  Here's the three queens:  |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 29, 2020 7:05:37 GMT
It's a bit early yet for pupae, but the biggest larvae should pupate by the middle of May. With luck they will be callow ants by the end of May or early June. I have my colony in the exact same nest as you.  |
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Post by Jenny on Apr 29, 2020 9:46:23 GMT
Watch those holes in the oasis mind, ours started to climb out through them and escape  this has happened before with another species, it wasn't until I stood over them and kept watch could we figure out where they were getting out from! You'd think it should be tight and escape proof, we have now put blue tack over those water inlet holes and it's stopped them so far. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 29, 2020 15:32:12 GMT
Watch those holes in the oasis mind, ours started to climb out through them and escape this has happened before with another species, it wasn't until I stood over them and kept watch could we figure out where they were getting out from! You'd think it should be tight and escape proof, we have now put blue tack over those water inlet holes and it's stopped them so far. Are you certain that the layers of the nest aren't loose at all? I think I had something similar happen with my old Camponotus herculeanus, because I'd previously taken the formicarium apart for cleaning and hadn't put in the screws properly. It also happened with my old Formica sanguinea and to this day, one of the sponges in their old nest is completely destroyed because of them. Today the colony is quite settled and they've already had more sugar water. The cricket I gave them yesterday has been almost completely annihilated. Looking through my magnifying glass, I see that the larvae of this species are ravenous little creatures. Their heads are constantly questing in search of more food. I left some loamy soil in the nest to help retain humidity and to make them feel more at home. They have excavated much of it, but have been digging in the deposit in the bottom right chamber. They took the eggs and some small larvae inside when I checked on them, but it's not as though they can hide much in it. I did actually get stung last night by an angry worker that I picked up after she escaped from the foraging area, but it barely registered.   |
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 1, 2020 16:03:36 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 5, 2020 21:15:11 GMT
All of the larvae are visibly getting bigger, but some of them are actually surpassing the workers in size. I wonder if they are alate larvae? I don't see any of those proportions in Wood~Ant 's videos.   |
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 6, 2020 10:15:42 GMT
I've got about 200 larvae, but the biggest are worker sized and not as big as those in the above photo.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 9, 2020 15:21:15 GMT
One of my favourite things about keeping this colony so far is that not only will they take everything they're offered, but they leave almost no waste behind. Practically everything is eaten. They are also rather well behaved. A few workers might try and escape at feeding time but most of them stick to the floor. The egg pile is getting visibly larger and so are the larvae. I'm beginning to suspect that a few of those larger larvae could be infant queens, because they are starting to approach the queens in length.  |
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 11, 2020 17:37:06 GMT
Today they are enjoying a bit of my mum's birthday cake.  |
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ryand
Ant Larva 
Posts: 8
Likes: 7
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Post by ryand on May 11, 2020 20:36:41 GMT
I'm due to receive a Ruginodis colony from AntsHQ also, I actually won mine in a competition hosted by a gentleman who goes by "The Colonialist". I think its a 1 queen colony and I'm now even more excited after reading through this thread. Keep us posted TenebrousNova, and I'll do the same once mine arrive!
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 12, 2020 3:54:44 GMT
I'm due to receive a Ruginodis colony from AntsHQ also, I actually won mine in a competition hosted by a gentleman who goes by "The Colonialist". I think its a 1 queen colony and I'm now even more excited after reading through this thread. Keep us posted TenebrousNova, and I'll do the same once mine arrive! Brilliant! I'm looking forward to seeing your journal. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 12, 2020 15:44:06 GMT
There are not yet any pupae in this colony, but several larvae including some of the larger ones have turned opaque white in preparation for pupating. Here is the egg pile today:  |
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 12, 2020 16:33:13 GMT
I have to admit that we got value for money when you and I bought this species from Ants HQ. I'm very happy with the way our colonies are growing, and it makes me wonder how big they will get with 3 queens. Good thing I didn't order a colony with 6 queens, as I would need a bigger nest.  |
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 12, 2020 16:34:17 GMT
I have to admit that we got value for money when you and I bought this species from Ants HQ. I'm very happy with the way our colonies are growing, and it makes me wonder how big they will get with 3 queens. Good thing I didn't order a colony with 6 queens, as I would need a bigger nest. Agreed. I think in a few more generations I might need to attach another nest! |
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