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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 15, 2012 10:29:47 GMT
I see that the latest generation of worker pupae are even bigger than the previous ones. Indeed, I have been seeing some larger workers foraging on the surface.  I have also noticed that the younger workers often come foraging with their darker sisters. Perhaps they feel that it is safe? There was a brief moment of horror earlier when I found what I thought to be a piece of the queen, but it turned out to be a severed cricket head. ;D Their diet mostly consists of crickets, honey and any flies I find, perhaps I ought to start experimenting a little with different foods. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 28, 2012 10:33:14 GMT
It's been about a week since I last disturbed this colony, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the changes there are. For example, the latest generation of pupae are more or less the size of wild ones.  There's also newly constructed chambers against the sides. Most of them are empty, but I expect that they will be filled with brood as the colony gets bigger. The only brood visible in the chambers are masses of pupae and a few larvae, the majority of which are probably somewhere deeper in the nest.  |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 11, 2012 8:35:27 GMT
Two filled brood chambers.  There's still a great deal of foragers on the surface, and they like to make a dash for freedom almost immediately.  I'm hoping to hibernate this colony, but the central heating is now on in my room and it gets stuffy. I'm not sure where I should put them when the time comes, if I do go through with it. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 25, 2012 15:57:25 GMT
There's still some cocooned pupae in the nest, although the number is dwindling as the colony slows down. Workers are still actively foraging on the surface and readily accepting any food. The queen and colony are getting ready for their Winter break, although the workers are just as inclined to escape as ever.  |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Dec 16, 2012 12:47:22 GMT
Apart from a few cocooned pupae that I glimpsed momentarily, I can't see any more brood in the nest. I would imagine that most brood in there at the moment consists of larvae. The workers were especially enthusiastic just now when I fed them- three of them were running on the windowsill within ten seconds of my opening the lid. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 3, 2013 11:34:54 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 12, 2013 11:52:48 GMT
This colony is still doing fantastically, but feeding is becoming a big problem for me. They eat everything I give them, but it's impossible to open the lid without at least ten of them swarming up the sides and out of the container. Putting them back in is futile, because they cling to my fingers and by the time I replace them, many more are mobilizing to charge up and out. Last time this happened, I had to cull the several escapees. Right now I'm watching the surface of the nest, which is heaving with activity as the workers know that my moving the container means I'll feed them soon. I need an airtight plan to open the lid, apply several blobs of honey to the sides and drop in a cricket without my windowsill getting invaded.  I have yet to see any brood in any of the tunnels or chambers, but there must be plenty for the colony to be so ravenous at the moment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, just fed them successfully. For the first time, I decided to allow my colony to hunt down live food and dropped in a cricket in the hopes that the workers would be distracted enough. The cricket did well at first, flicking off the angry workers with kicks of its hind legs- until it landed in a nest entrance and was quickly overwhelmed. There must've been at least ninety workers on the surface, I hadn't seen them in such a wrathful mood since the time I moved them into their current nest. There was a tiny window of opportunity for me to smear some blobs of honey onto the sides without any escapees. Interestingly, the workers seemed to forget all about the cricket once they noticed the honey, and left the hapless thing lying there in shock. I'll admit that it was very interesting to watch them take down a live cricket, but I doubt I'll do it often- I just felt so sorry for it. |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 16, 2013 6:20:14 GMT
Apologies for not updating in a while. None of my ants have been foraging this week. I blame the cold weather we've been having...what a change from the sweltering heat we had just a week before!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 23:45:41 GMT
Is this colony still alive because it has been nearly a year since your last update.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 30, 2014 23:56:01 GMT
Is this colony still alive because it has been nearly a year since your last update. They were fine last summer but then they suddenly began to decline until there were none remaining. It's a shame because it was my first and greatest colony... Next time I intend to be fully prepared. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2014 11:37:14 GMT
That's a shame because they were doing so well.
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