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Post by crockatt on Jun 13, 2013 23:33:13 GMT
Thanks will do that next time; just need to try and entice some more blue bottles a bit closer !!!
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Post by crockatt on Jun 17, 2013 22:55:55 GMT
Well as I thought I now have a large pile of small larvae, my cocoon pile is getting smaller, I counted about 30 tonight and only a few in a couple of chambers, there is still a large mass of eggs and spotted a chamber with larger larvae, which must of been out of view before, I have now no idea how large my colony is and as much as I do not like to guess at numbers, this is the only thing I can do, if the colony continues to grow at its current rate, I think I may be hitting the 200 mark by the end of summer, my head tells me more, but I do not know if its possible and that I am just over estimating !!!!
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Post by crockatt on Jun 21, 2013 11:49:22 GMT
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Post by crockatt on Jun 30, 2013 22:21:46 GMT
Normally when I turn the farm round to view the chambers I tend to concentrate on checking out the brood chambers, tonight however I had a good look all round and have to say am amazed at just how many ants were running around, compared to my 15 at the start of Feb, there now must be at least a 100 and probably more, there is about 40ish cocoons that I can see, at least another 100 larvae at various stages and a big egg pile, even managed to glimpse my queen, I wish I could keep the farm so the tunnels and chambers are at the front and visible, but found a while ago if I do this they cover up the front of the plastic. All in all this colony seem to be doing great and hopefully that means I am succeeding in caring for my girls properly.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jul 1, 2013 7:32:46 GMT
When ants fail to thrive it is often the fault of the keeper and not necessarily the ants themselves; but as this colony is thriving so well it does show that everything you are doing, you are doing right Crockatt From reading your last entry this colony is evidently feeding well, has the right kind of home to live in; and a queen who feels content and settled, which is always an important factor in ant keeping. Keep up the good work, as even ants that are said to be easy to keep in captivity such as Lasius niger don't always prove to be for some keepers.
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Post by crockatt on Jul 1, 2013 13:53:22 GMT
Thankyou for your kind words wood, look forward to seeing how much it will grow before winter hits.
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Post by crockatt on Jul 7, 2013 22:56:37 GMT
Lots of foraging going on just now, with an average of 15 - 20 ants coming to the foraging area, I have been trying to put fresh food in daily, most of which is taken to the nest, the larvae are going bigger and hungrier daily, keeping their sisters very busy
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Post by crockatt on Jul 13, 2013 16:00:49 GMT
Cocoon numbers are up again with around 100in the nest and about the same of larvae and still a large pile of eggs, my queen has produced so much more than I ever expected, by the end of the month I will of had this colony for a year and as my first one I couldnt be happier.
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Post by crockatt on Jul 17, 2013 22:22:53 GMT
Caught 2 large spiders this evening (sometimes I really freak myself out catching these things !!!!), 1 went to my niger girls, unfortunately I accidentally squashed an ant when putting it in the foraging pot , still a large number of cocoons and larvae, but noticed the egg pile seems to be getting smaller, I wonder if this is the queen slowing down in preperation for winter coming?, I know that sounds silly in the height of summer but taking into account the time it takes from egg to ant you never know, or maybe she just having a rest.
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Post by crockatt on Jul 24, 2013 21:22:02 GMT
Well my girls have taken a pile of around 75 cocoon to the foraging pot, I can only imagine its warmer there and they will eclose quicker, only problem is I am needing to remove old food and normally do it when the pot is empty of ants at night or early morning, but of cause the cocoons are constantly being looked after, will have to think of something soon, my queen must of been having a rest because there is now a massive pile of eggs, I estimate about 150-200 in the pile, which seems quite a lot to me for this time of year, but I guess she knows best.
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Post by Jonzii on Jul 24, 2013 21:33:55 GMT
Nice to hear that they are still doing well Crockatt. Sounds like the colony has grown a lot over the last few months.
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Post by crockatt on Jul 24, 2013 21:50:31 GMT
Totally not the little colony I started with in February, it has grown so much more than I ever expected;D
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Post by crockatt on Jul 25, 2013 21:06:42 GMT
Well in my (not so) infinate wisdom, I decided if I added a spare foraging pot and put the food etc in it, they could keep cocoons in the other and I can clean out the added one easier, HUGE MISTAKE, went to connect new pot, pulled off the stopper on the connected one and it was full of cocoons and ants, so then spent the best part of 40mins trying to put ants and cocoons back in, it was like a carry on film, go one in and 3 came out, nightmare, ants running everwhere, then I went and dropped the lid on the floor, so am sure some escaped, have seen 2 dead and no doubt there are some damaged cocoons. Not a good night and still havent gotten the old food out
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Post by crockatt on Jul 26, 2013 22:24:00 GMT
Well decided just to go for it tonight and remove the old food, most of the cocoons had been returned to the nest last night after all the upset, still had ants coming out but once you realise that they do not really stray far from the nest, its a bit less frantic, so all old food removed and pot cleaned and no fatalities that I know of, put about 10 tiny moths in with wings removed.
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Post by crockatt on Aug 2, 2013 15:51:22 GMT
Well just back from 4 days away and found all the cocoons spread out between the 2 small foraging pots, I moved the nest into stronger light in the hope that they would return the cocoons to the nest, this worked to a point with some cocoons still remaining in the pots, I had to remove the old sugar water and give food and this is becoming extremely difficult as, as soon as I remove the lid I am mobbed with ants, I have checked the nest and it looks plenty damp enough and can only think it is slightly warmer in the pots for the cocoons to develope quicker, but I could do without it, any hints would be welcome.
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