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Post by Atomfix on Oct 4, 2013 13:04:44 GMT
Finally found the time to expand the area that the ants can explore, I had to use a solder iron to burn a hole through, a drill would probably put too much stress on the nest.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 4, 2013 13:46:30 GMT
With the bigger foraging tank attached it will give plenty of space for the workers to explore as the colony gets larger.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 4, 2013 13:48:35 GMT
Sorry, I forgot to ask where you got the foraging tank from, as it looks like it has a metal mesh over the top hole?
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 4, 2013 13:55:36 GMT
Sorry, I forgot to ask where you got the foraging tank from, as it looks like it has a metal mesh over the top hole? From here www.queenantshop.co.uk/ But it says the arenas are currently unavailable. It's some sort of plastic mesh with glue supporting it down.
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 12, 2013 15:21:47 GMT
12/10/2013
After checking on the new chamber the workers have built, I can now see how many pupae they have. I must of counted at least 18, and possibly 11 larvae in a separate chamber. But I can't see where they are keeping the eggs though.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 13, 2013 7:42:49 GMT
12/10/2013 But I can't see where they are keeping the eggs though. You may well find that there are no eggs present now that winter is approaching, as unlike larvae and pupae which are often over-wintered in ant nests in the wild, eggs do not survive the cold and wet conditions and are usually eaten by the adult ants.
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 13, 2013 11:18:15 GMT
12/10/2013 But I can't see where they are keeping the eggs though. You may well find that there are no eggs present now that winter is approaching, as unlike larvae and pupae which are often over-wintered in ant nests in the wild, eggs do not survive the cold and wet conditions and are usually eaten by the adult ants. I'm trying to skip the hibernation for the first year if possible, the farm has been sitting on top of my fireplace and it looks like they have moved the pupae in the chamber where all the heat is generated. They are still very active within the tunnels, but they don't come out much to forage. They love the sugar water more than the honey too which I'm quite surprised about!
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 20, 2013 12:14:40 GMT
20/10/2013
All is still good!
I can now see where they are keeping the eggs, there's at least 33 of them, about 15 pupae and at least 25 larvae.
There's plenty of activity in the tunnels, but they don't come out to forage much or explore yet.
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Post by Atomfix on Feb 14, 2014 21:10:44 GMT
After their long hibernation period, I decided to bring them out of hibernation. I stuck them in my hot water cuboard under a bright light which is used for my Fly Trap plant. Waited 2 weeks for them to slowly wake up and stuck a spider in which I found outside my window..... I've never seen anything like it! At least 30 or so ants came running out to dismember it!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 15, 2014 0:42:50 GMT
I love where the Venus Fly Trap is sited, any ants that escape into its jaws would be very foolish and it would teach them not to leave the safety of their nest.
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Post by Atomfix on Feb 15, 2014 9:58:05 GMT
I love where the Venus Fly Trap is sited, any ants that escape into its jaws would be very foolish and it would teach them not to leave the safety of their nest. I was going to place it within the ant box. But thought that might just be a bad idea ^_^
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 15, 2014 17:11:02 GMT
I love where the Venus Fly Trap is sited, any ants that escape into its jaws would be very foolish and it would teach them not to leave the safety of their nest. I was going to place it within the ant box. But thought that might just be a bad idea ^_^ Good for the plant, but bad for the ants that's for sure.
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Post by Atomfix on Feb 19, 2014 9:36:39 GMT
I was going to place it within the ant box. But thought that might just be a bad idea ^_^ Good for the plant, but bad for the ants that's for sure. 19/02/2014 Thought I'd let everyone know that Yesterday morning, my baby daughter was born. 9 Pound 5!! Big baby! My partner and newborn are finally coming home today. And another quick update on the plant after coming home from the hospital last night, I noticed that my fly trap plant has finally started to grow it's seeding pod! If you can look closely, it's the stem that's sprouting in the middle.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 19, 2014 11:00:26 GMT
The flowers of Dionaea muscipula (Venus Fly Trap) can sometimes weaken the strength of the bulb, so once it flowers you may want to cut off the flower stalk, as unless you pollinate by hand they don't produce seeds. Congrats on your newborn daughter
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Post by Atomfix on Feb 19, 2014 11:56:50 GMT
The flowers of Dionaea muscipula (Venus Fly Trap) can sometimes weaken the strength of the bulb, so once it flowers you may want to cut off the flower stalk, as unless you pollinate by hand they don't produce seeds. Congrats on your newborn daughter So it's best to cut the flower off once it starts to open up?
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