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Post by TenebrousNova on May 14, 2011 20:21:27 GMT
Last journal update for today. The Lasius Flavus are settling down, and beginning their first tunnels. The queen is constantly accompanied by at least five workers and seems calm enough. Tomorrow, I shall look into feeding them. They have about twelve larvae, which are either small or medium sized. There are about thirty or forty workers, some of them have slightly swollen gasters. Perhaps this explains why they have survived for so long while refusing food? In other news, the Lasius Niger have gained their sixteenth pupa and have completely dismembered their cricket. I shall report the L.Flavus's status tomorrow morning.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 18, 2011 21:19:45 GMT
L.Flavus have accepted a small fly last night. L.Niger have accepted two small flies last night, and now have 17 pupae. Larvae are growing at a fast rate.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 19, 2011 6:43:49 GMT
Two Lasius Niger workers hatched this morning, bringing the worker count to about 17 or 18. This species is a ferocious forager, as even in such small numbers they are constantly searching for food. The queen and colony remain in their test tube, which makes it easier to see them. They still keep the plug of dirt, with small holes which are used for access to get in and out. There's a maximum of four workers foraging at any time, but if they find something large like a cricket, they will call upon their sisters to help them shift the load.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 22, 2011 10:30:44 GMT
Lasius Niger colony now has 18 or 19 workers with the addition of a new callow, and a pupa count to match. They are eagerly taking in the flies and honey. I noticed that the new worker is marginally larger than her sisters, which supports my theory that food amount will affect the size of a larva's adult form. Even as I type this, today's fly is being carried into the test tube. I'm finding the brood count to be pretty surprising. I have also noticed the queen becoming more sensitive to light, and she will avoid it if she can. The larvae are usually kept near the cotton end of the wool in their own pile, and both eggs and pupae are kept together at the entrance end. The queen actually runs when moving between them. ;D The Lasius Flavus have not appeared on the surface for a few days, but they have been taking small flies during the night. I looked at the underside of their container and saw part of a chamber; there was a larva being moved by an unseen worker.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 25, 2011 19:01:40 GMT
Both L.Niger and L.Flavus have been eagerly watching over aphids that I placed in there with a leaf. I know that without a steady supply of sap the aphids will die, but it is interesting to see how they interact with the ants.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 26, 2011 6:41:00 GMT
The aphids in there are still alive and I saw a worker walking among them this morning. Guess what? Most of the workers have visibly swollen gasters, and I certainly didn't give them any syrup last night... ;D I also saw a L.Flavus worker carrying one around.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 28, 2011 13:10:17 GMT
I have spied a new callow among the L.Niger this morning. I don't know how many workers the queen has now, but at a guess I would say about 19 or 20. They are still readily accepting food. The L.Flavus have dug away part of the floor of their royal chamber, revealing some of the brood and a glimpse of her majesty. I also saw a aphid in that chamber, suggesting they are looking after them as a food source. I don't know how they intend to feed their aphids since there are no live plants in their container.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 2, 2011 14:30:49 GMT
I was overcome with glee this morning to find that the Lasius Flavus queen has laid a small cluster of eggs. ;D I suspect it had something to do with the aphids that I had given them. The aphids will be dead by now, as I never provided a food plant for them. However, I'm thinking of trying to culture aphids as my Lasius seem to react positively to them. The Lasius containers are too small to grow a plant in, so my plan is as follows: - Look for a kind of plant that aphids like, apparently they enjoy drinking from the roots as well.
- Grow this type of plant.
- Add a number of aphids, hopefully they should colonize the plant.
Well, that's my initial idea. I'm going to look up methods of culturing aphids anyway, they breed asexually so that shouldn't be a problem. The Lasius Niger workers are now out of the nanitic phase, not full size like you see in the garden but they are getting there. They love the new honey, and are feasting on a medium sized fly that I found. I also noticed that when the queen urinates, the workers seem to drink from it. I haven't been able to offer honey to the L.Flavus yet because they only come out in the early hours or in the evening. I know from previous experience that they enjoy it though.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 4, 2011 13:24:34 GMT
Pupa count is now 27. That fly must have done them some good! Colony is still inside the test tube, where its nice and snug for them. Workers do not come out foraging until I take their container outside of the cupboard, in which case one of them emerges after a few minutes to look for any food on offer. They seem to have learned where I put the honey and will usually angle for that area when foraging.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 6, 2011 9:57:10 GMT
Oh, wow! Pupa count is now above thirty, and rising. I believe that my little L.Niger are getting ready for what is termed a 'population explosion', because there will be fifty workers in total once they all hatch. ;D Might have something to do with the honey and flies that I give to them.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 9, 2011 19:27:25 GMT
It looks like my Lasius Niger's favourite time of the day is around the time when the sun is setting. When I put them on the windowsill at this time of day, the workers place all of their brood into the part of the test tube that the warmth from the setting sun reaches. The queen is shy and reluctant, but she does sometimes sit in the sunset for a few minutes as well. It must be doing the brood some good, because there are even more pupae and some of them are pretty close to hatching.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 11, 2011 14:42:53 GMT
I was pleasantly surprised to find no less than three new Lasius Niger callows. ;D One of them is already helping to move the egg piles around. Judging from the cocooned pupae, three more will hatch pretty soon. Queen likes staying at the back of the test tube these days, in order to snuggle against the cotton. She seems to be laying more eggs recently. I'm having a tough time choosing who should receive the single fly I find every few days- the Lasius Niger, Lasius Flavus, or the Pheidole Pallidula? I'll have to start looking for food more carefully.
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Post by lotsofants on Jun 11, 2011 17:03:32 GMT
I was pleasantly surprised to find no less than three new Lasius Niger callows. ;D One of them is already helping to move the egg piles around. Judging from the cocooned pupae, three more will hatch pretty soon. Queen likes staying at the back of the test tube these days, in order to snuggle against the cotton. She seems to be laying more eggs recently. I'm having a tough time choosing who should receive the single fly I find every few days- the Lasius Niger, Lasius Flavus, or the Pheidole Pallidula? I'll have to start looking for food more carefully. I am very happy hearing about your colony having a new callow, as it give you a sense of accomplishment seeing the colony progress.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 11, 2011 17:19:50 GMT
I was pleasantly surprised to find no less than three new Lasius Niger callows. ;D One of them is already helping to move the egg piles around. Judging from the cocooned pupae, three more will hatch pretty soon. Queen likes staying at the back of the test tube these days, in order to snuggle against the cotton. She seems to be laying more eggs recently. I'm having a tough time choosing who should receive the single fly I find every few days- the Lasius Niger, Lasius Flavus, or the Pheidole Pallidula? I'll have to start looking for food more carefully. I am very happy hearing about your colony having a new callow, as it give you a sense of accomplishment seeing the colony progress. It certainly does. It's even better when multiple callows hatch around the same time like they have now. I love seeing callow ants in my ant farm as it's a great sign that the colony is doing well and growing. They are so cute. This is true, this is very true. ;D
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 11, 2011 20:56:51 GMT
A fourth callow has hatched this evening. Busy day in the nursery. ;D
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