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Post by philip369 on Aug 25, 2012 13:51:54 GMT
Well first of all I would like to say these are my new favourite ant species. From the second I put them in the tank they where searching for a new nesting site and in a little under 3 hours had a new nest built and had left for the nest site. This species just doesn't turn down food as well they have had 4 crickets the first day 3 the second and 4 today. They seem to be just taking the legs of the crick and into the nest then eating the inside of the crickets and leaving the rest. They don't seem to bothered by honey at the moment or by water and are pretty much leaving both alone but I am keep them both in the tank. They act a lot like army ants as well I think their new nick name should be 'little army ants' They hunt in 'packs' and make long lines back to the nest dragging bits of the insects back with them. They are just such a brilliant species.
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Post by Smudge on Aug 25, 2012 14:17:44 GMT
I can vouch for that some sites describe them as the european army ant or fire ant as their nest numbers grow into the thousands and even 10s of thousands they are a very interesting species and are a joy to watch take down insect prey much larger than themselves. Though you will have to watch them closely because they are masters in esccape that would put hoodini to shame
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 25, 2012 14:21:40 GMT
I've kept them before, they're a marvelous little species. ;D A single tiny worker could drag along a big and heavy cricket by herself and whilst I didn't see the soldiers do a lot, they looked very impressive. I must try keeping these again sometime, they're easy to look after and eat just about anything. Good luck.
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Post by philip369 on Aug 31, 2012 21:49:27 GMT
They are settled in now and are just as amazing as the first day I got them them. I have had to use PTFE fluid and olive oil to stop them trying to get out of the tank (as it is an open top tank until I can built a lid for it) on the first day I had about 7 escapes so not to bad. They are continuing to devour everything I put in the tank and I keep seeing brood being moved about all the time so hopefully they will have a population explosion. philip369.deviantart.com/art/Pheidole-pallidula-Tank-324520260?q=boost%3Apopular%20philip369&qo=31
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 1, 2012 6:44:29 GMT
The set up looks nice and is aesthetically pleasing to the human eye, but what will the ants nest in Philip? Most ants live in moist soil which they dig a rather complex nest, so what may be a nice looking home to us is not what ants find a good nesting place. I hope you have a place with moist sand or soil for them to build a nest, as the tank decor and accessories are a nice show for a foraging area, but no good for a nest when the colony grows bigger. Sorry if this sounds a bit derogatory about your efforts, but having kept ants for 50 years now I do know what I'm talking about; and although ants may nest in some funny places, they do know what kind of substrata and conditions they prefer, as they know best what's good for them.
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Post by philip369 on Sept 1, 2012 15:25:07 GMT
Yeah I though about that here is picture of the place they have to nest I guess its hard to tell from the picture: philip369.deviantart.com/#/d5dajeaThis is a hollow stump and is full of a soil mixture that holds together really well and I can take the top of if the soil needs more moister but it does hold moist quite well. I am thinking of buying a second one or custom building a bigger one that when the colony is bigger they can move to. Hope that clears that up and your input is always welcome
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Post by Jenny on Sept 1, 2012 15:46:41 GMT
That tree stump nest is an interesting feature, did you make it yourself or buy it ready made from somewhere?
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Post by philip369 on Sept 1, 2012 22:30:45 GMT
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Post by philip369 on Sept 18, 2012 21:13:39 GMT
They seem to be well settled now but the cold at the moment seems to have confused them. They still eat like monsters and the out side of there nest always looks like an insect grave yard; no matter how much I try to keep it clean. They eat around 6 crickets and 3 meal worms every 2-3 days (depending on if they have finished with them).
I also didn't quite kill one of the meal worms the other day but though nothing of it at the time (my mistake) the meal worm made a b line straight for the nest and before I could grab it, it entered the nest, the entire colony left the nest and hundreds of workers when back in to kill the intruder even the queen came out. I must admit I was fearful for the colony but I saw some brood the other day, still eggs so the queen must have not given up on laying eggs which is good.
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Post by philip369 on Oct 8, 2012 20:37:57 GMT
They are still in doing all right and eating me out of house and home. The cold seems to have them mostly in the nest for the time being and they stay in there until food is dropped in then they swarm it (fascinating to watch).
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Post by philip369 on Nov 11, 2012 21:55:49 GMT
These ladies are enjoying some Sunday lunch (very nice chicken) and some cake hopefully I will be getting a new camera as a Christmas present to my self and then I will have a lot of very nice pictures to show off of them
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Post by philip369 on Jan 31, 2013 0:53:45 GMT
These ladies seem to have stopped hibernating now and have returned to eating they are taking 5 crickets every 2 days and there seems to have only been one causality from the winter weather. I did stop feeding them for a couple of weeks as they slowed down quite a bit and stopped eating as much. I also happy to say that on the 15th of feb I will be buying another colony of these guys and will be making a y tong nest so that I can see them clearly as I can't study any of my ants in the nest and would really like to do it!
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