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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 22, 2012 12:40:14 GMT
I concur, you do have a Messor barb major
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 22, 2012 13:17:07 GMT
Two, actually. A second major came running out to help tackle a cricket that I put in, confirming Smudge's suspicions on this last page regarding the two big larvae. ;D They can easily fit their jaws around most of the seeds, and don't seem to struggle with taking them to the nest. They also have a stouter appearance to them than their smaller brethren. I count a major as a milestone to the colony's development, so I'll just have to wait to see if a super-major is born sometime next year. The workers in general have been very active today, at least four on the surface at all times to look for food.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 23, 2012 20:28:34 GMT
As I type this, about nine workers are looking for food. It seems that they prefer to forage during the night. This morning I gave them some cheese, ham and fishflake, and the former two were accepted. However, one of the majors came out and immediately tugged the fish flake away from the nest. When I recovered it and put it back next to the nest entrance, the minor workers pulled it inside. I've noticed before that some workers will accept food, whilst others will take it away to be discarded. I'm a little concerned about the dryness at the moment, as the heat mat has caused some parts of the soil to dry up completely and become crumbly. I'm mostly concerned for the integrity of any tunnels or chambers underneath, I gave it a light misting much to the Messor's disgust. Rehydrating dried out soil seems to be easier said than done as it doesn't absorb that well. The mound of soil around the nest entrance always seems to be damp. I have no idea of what's taking place in the colony, but I think there must be about fifty workers by now.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 23, 2012 23:09:46 GMT
They don't need a heat mat, as although many people who keep this species think it is from hot countries like Spain, even there they get wet and cold winters; and Messor barbs tend to nest in clay which doesn't fall apart even when baked bone dry, as the composition of such soil holds moisture even in a drought. I have never placed any of my Messors near a heat source, not even my M. structor who like it hot. Dry soil is not easy to dampen, so just keep up with daily spraying of water and keep the set up off the heat mat, as these girls are a lot hardier than you might think.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 25, 2012 9:40:06 GMT
They don't need a heat mat, as although many people who keep this species think it is from hot countries like Spain, even there they get wet and cold winters; and Messor barbs tend to nest in clay which doesn't fall apart even when baked bone dry, as the composition of such soil holds moisture even in a drought. I have never placed any of my Messors near a heat source, not even my M. structor who like it hot. Dry soil is not easy to dampen, so just keep up with daily spraying of water and keep the set up off the heat mat, as these girls are a lot hardier than you might think. I have been keeping the heat mat off since reading your post yesterday, and it doesn't appear to have affected their activity. In fact, the nest entrance has been widened quite a bit and at the moment they are excavating more soil. It's impressive to watch them work like that, the larger workers in particular. There was some condensation yesterday and I found a worker submerged in a droplet. I dried her out and put her next to the nest entrance, I am not yet sure if she revived or the body was moved. On the brighter side, I have only seen one dead worker in this colony before. They took a black cricket yesterday.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 1, 2012 18:55:09 GMT
No less than ten workers were out last night, and there's still plenty out today. The nest entrance has been widened quite a bit and there's always a flickering of antennae within it. There's also a long tunnel against the side which leads to the surface. I was able to watch them dig it. There was one incident a few days ago when I accidentally trapped a worker under the lid. She was alive when I picked her up, and I haven't seen any evidence of a body. I'm not sure if she is alive or not. That said, they often seem to come up to the lid and try and escape. The workers, majors in particular, are still shy but they're not nearly as afraid of insect food or foraging as they used to be.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 19, 2012 10:07:13 GMT
I may be getting a small marine aquarium soon (Lots of research ongoing at the moment!), so the Messors will have to be moved to the top of the wardrobe with the L.niger and M.rubida. They won't be moved until I buy the tank, so I lifted their set up briefly to see if they'd be okay. I saw a big new chamber at the bottom, and I saw workers carrying indistinct objects around in there. I put the set up down again, not wanting to discourage them from building a visible chamber. Speaking of which, the tunnel running against the side is now twice as wide and branches off towards the middle to form another tunnel to the surface. They don't seem to be eating as much as they normally do, and I often have to remove seeds that are going moldy or germinating. I think I'll look for a bottle or something that the seeds go in next time. I haven't seen the majors out for quite some time, they must be staying indoors or only coming out at night. Perhaps it's the time of year. --------------- Talk of the Devil, just seen a major on the surface now. This one is almost twice as big as the others I've seen so far, so I guess she must be a new addition to the colony. She disappeared down a hole leading to a very long tunnel running the length of the side of the container usually against the wall- I never knew it was there. I took one last peek at the chamber for about three seconds, and saw something big and white being moved around inside- most likely a larva. I'll have another look tomorrow.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 19, 2012 12:40:10 GMT
I let a major climb onto my fingers earlier, and she boldly began to explore. She showed no signs of aggression and remained calm whilst I took these photos of her. I haven't got the biggest hands in the world, here's a size comparison anyway (And yes, I am a compulsive fingernail biter ).
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 20, 2012 12:50:07 GMT
Had another look at the new chamber this morning, and saw a number of pupae being held by workers hanging from the ceiling. There are at least two major pupae in the nest which I saw, one of them looks as though it will eclose soon. I also briefly saw the queen. ;D I'm surprised at the rate at which majors are being born. I assumed that there would be just a few this year. Workers of all sizes seem keen on trying to escape, as there's usually one or two of them on the underside of the lid.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 22, 2012 11:07:43 GMT
I have seen two pleasant surprises in the brood chamber today. Firstly, a large batch of young larvae that look about a few weeks old. That is proof that the queen is still laying eggs. Secondly, there are two callows in the chamber. One of them was the major pupa that I mentioned a few days ago, and she's quite lively looking. ;D There's plenty of minor and media pupae in the nest. The brood is moved around often so I end up seeing something new every day. I also saw Her Majesty resting in the middle of a group of workers when I held them up to the light. She was quite calm (Any established ant queen seems to become quite serene after a while) and slowly climbed up to a "shelf" set high in the chamber wall from where the pupae were being held by hanging workers. She left via a tunnel on the shelf, followed by several workers and a major. Was very interesting to watch, given that I had given up hope of seeing Queen Autumn in her built nest.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 28, 2012 10:46:05 GMT
They are still doing great, although I have seen a single dead worker on the surface. I'm worried about the set up they're in. The soil gets dry and crumbly quickly, and the bottom of the container is the sort of flimsy one that moves up when pressed and down with the weight of the soil, if you know what I mean. This caused a few cave-ins, and I'm considering whether or not this colony is safe in this container. I regret putting them in this container in the first place, they would be safer in a smaller but firm and sturdy lunchbox.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 28, 2012 12:33:07 GMT
They do like the soil damp and sturdy, and you definitely need to get them into a more solid plastic tank to avoid tunnel collapse due to the flimsiness of your current container.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 28, 2012 13:04:06 GMT
Absolutely. I have no problems with the idea of digging them out, but I have a feeling that the crumbly soil will make such an extraction quite problematic. I'll have to think of something before I buy something better for the Messors to live in.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 1, 2012 17:08:41 GMT
I am in the process of taking a break from the process of digging out this colony. I will say this much- it is bigger than I expected. I uncovered a granary containing the queen, a few pupae and many angry workers- including several majors who have already managed to pinch me. I didn't take the queen when I had the chance (Wary of her large bodyguards) and she has retreated deeper inside. In hindsight I should have taken her- it would have calmed down the workers I have already caught. Then it was a battle to keep the workers who have been placed in the new container from escaping. Funny how the timid little minors that I first known are now so vicious. There are no signs of super-majors, so far, which is fortunate. I'll catch as many workers as possible before proceeding with the digging. I have not reached the brood chambers yet. I'll keep this journal updated with events.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 1, 2012 17:39:28 GMT
The queen and many more workers have been captured. However, the brood chambers have crumbled and the workers are attempting to retrieve the brood (Mostly pupae). Just now I have seen a much larger major with a genuinely ruby red head. She doesn't look big enough to be a super-major but she definitely looks formidable. The queen is in a corner with the workers and brood, attempting to burrow downwards with her daughters. The problem is that although the workers are looking after the queen, it hasn't deterred them from making many escape attempts. There's still plenty left to do (Including the hoovering afterwards). The queen is discovered: Workers surrounding the queen in her new container. Note the aggressive stances of the workers at the perimeter: The red major:
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