|
Post by formica on Dec 8, 2009 20:27:06 GMT
I have placed an order for two Myrmica rubra queens with up to fifty workers on ebay. Unfortunately, the item is still processing on ebay as there is loads of people buying Christmas presents of ebay so it is taking a long time to process all payments. Also, the item will not be shipped out till Monday for some strange reason. I will keep a journal of them here. I am keeping this colony in a small pet playpen plastic tank or whatever it is called. I have had a lot of trouble keeping rubra in the past but I think I have cracked it now. I have figured out they do not like formicariums that sit upright and they prefer a habitat that is on a vertical base. I ordered ants from watzopia on ebay who I have ordered off before and the service was very good but the ants all escaped out of the plaster nest and went exploring.
|
|
|
Post by formica on Dec 13, 2009 18:18:55 GMT
I have built them a habitat for when they arrive now. It is the small plastic playpen which I used for my Lasius flavus queen that was injured in the post. I have a three rocks in the habitat which I found in my back garden. I have dug out a little hole underneath the rock which is extremely visible to me as the rock is shaped a bit like a toblerone. The rock is situated on the side of the tank. I will cellotape a piece of paper over the bit of the nest I can see as the ants will be disturbed too much if I don't cover it. I hope I am able to keep them successfully this time.
|
|
|
Post by formica on Dec 19, 2009 13:32:12 GMT
A very unfortunate event has occured. My ants arrived today but the water in the back of the test tube has all leaked out and killed half the ants. Both the queens were unharmed but half the colony has died. Now, Watzopia(Wayne Ryan) has been helpful as he asked me if I had received them because I had not left feedback. I replied, and told him about the case. I also went to paypal and got it refunded. The ants are in their habitat, so I am hoping for a good outcome. Fingers crossed!
|
|
|
Post by formica on Dec 20, 2009 13:33:22 GMT
My ants seem to be alright now, with the queens laying eggs and nest expansion taking place. Last night I made a stupid mistake and assumed the ants were all under one stone. I lifted the stone I thought they were not under and guess what: the two quens and about 30 workers were under there! I quickly put the stone back down and everything returned to normal. I also discovered there were more ants alive than I thought so in the first place and only ten died. The colony has foragers out in numbers of about 10 so they forage regularly. There are about ten ants that have not found the queens but they are safe under a different stone. The good news is that more and more ants are finding the queen. I will tell watzopia I do not need a refund now.
|
|
|
Post by formica on Apr 18, 2010 10:40:04 GMT
Haven't updated this in ages, sorry. The colony has perished during hibernation, but the good news is that I have collected a very large colony of Myrmica rubra at the beach. I have about 200 workers and 10 queens, and I collected this many as the colony was vast! They have excavated a very large nest which I can see a lot of.
|
|