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Post by Atomfix on Aug 22, 2013 18:38:04 GMT
22/08/2013 Captured a Yellow Queen Ant, all alone in the wilderness, surrounded by loads of other black (Lasius Niger) ants. I was very excited to capture this lonely Meadow Ant as I already have 2 Lasius Niger farms. I've taken some high quality pictures below, you might notice that I have added some chicken in with the queen also:   |
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Post by Atomfix on Aug 30, 2013 15:56:22 GMT
Change of mind. I moved the queen from the test tube and moved her to the new enclosure (Interplay Ant Farm), she's settling quite well and she's already starting to dig a chamber that I started off.
I'll post some pictures up tonight.
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Post by Atomfix on Aug 30, 2013 18:10:20 GMT
Below is a picture as promised, you can't see much because the sand is very wet to encourage the queen to dig, and it actually makes the sand strong so that it doesn't collapse. Yellow circle marker is where the queen has blocked the entrance to the tunnel and the red marker is where the queen is either nesting or she is still digging.  |
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 5, 2013 9:11:04 GMT
05/10/2013 The queen has now laid her first eggs! I only have 2 in sight in the red circle that I highlighted. I have moved the queen from the antfarm that I used above.  |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 5, 2013 9:28:03 GMT
If I may suggest trying a change of soil in the Ant World, as the stuff provided is just sand and vermiculite which is totally sterile. Where she has laid her eggs is in the foraging pot, and as it is a dry plastic the eggs may dry out and not hatch as there is no moisture.
By changing the sandy stuff and using a nice dark loam you will see these yellow ants far better, and it will be a nice damp place for her to raise her brood, as by now she really should have some larvae and even pupae or first workers.
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 5, 2013 9:34:59 GMT
If I may suggest trying a change of soil in the Ant World, as the stuff provided is just sand and vermiculite which is totally sterile. Where she has laid her eggs is in the foraging pot, and as it is a dry plastic the eggs may dry out and not hatch as there is no moisture. By changing the sandy stuff and using a nice dark loam you will see these yellow ants far better, and it will be a nice damp place for her to raise her brood, as by now she really should have some larvae and even pupae or first workers. I didn't think of this myself, I could get some digging mix, the same stuff I used with my Lasius Niger farm, the mix goes solid after it's been dampened with water which is ideal because I know the tunnels won't collapse. And the sand in the Interplay AntFarm is not the best either, especially when it dries out, it can easily collapse. Do you think I should get some of that sand and put it in the foraging pot? Just a bit on the side, do you think the queen would move the eggs to the new sand pile? |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 5, 2013 9:44:47 GMT
If I may suggest trying a change of soil in the Ant World, as the stuff provided is just sand and vermiculite which is totally sterile. Where she has laid her eggs is in the foraging pot, and as it is a dry plastic the eggs may dry out and not hatch as there is no moisture. By changing the sandy stuff and using a nice dark loam you will see these yellow ants far better, and it will be a nice damp place for her to raise her brood, as by now she really should have some larvae and even pupae or first workers. Do you think I should get some of that sand and put it in the foraging pot? Just a bit on the side, do you think the queen would move the eggs to the new sand pile? I would try half filling the main nest part, then gently pop the queen into this and tap the eggs from the pot, or you can even use a very fine artists paint brush to brush the eggs from the pot to where the queen is. A good alternative is to place a small wad of damp cotton wool in the foraging pot close to the eggs, but not that wet to cause water to run onto the eggs. The queen will decide if she wants to place them near the source of moisture or not, and eventually if they do become larvae you need to get both her and her brood into the soil nest. |
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 5, 2013 9:59:26 GMT
Do you think I should get some of that sand and put it in the foraging pot? Just a bit on the side, do you think the queen would move the eggs to the new sand pile? I would try half filling the main nest part, then gently pop the queen into this and tap the eggs from the pot, or you can even use a very fine artists paint brush to brush the eggs from the pot to where the queen is. A good alternative is to place a small wad of damp cotton wool in the foraging pot close to the eggs, but not that wet to cause water to run onto the eggs. The queen will decide if she wants to place them near the source of moisture or not, and eventually if they do become larvae you need to get both her and her brood into the soil nest. I'll have to order some digging mix in and try using some tubs to make a new nest. The sort of tubs you would take to put packed lunch in, their quite big and I could easily connect 2 up with some pipe, like I've done on my Lasius Niger nest. I've now added a damp cotton wool in the foraging pot.  |
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 12, 2013 15:20:04 GMT
I've moved queenie back to the test tube, and over the past couple of days, I've noticed she has laid maybe 4-5 eggs. All going well I believe.
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Post by Atomfix on Oct 13, 2013 11:25:31 GMT
Here's an updated photo of what's going on. As you can see, they are no longer eggs, but larvae, approximate 9 I've counted.  |
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 14, 2013 12:13:37 GMT
Nice looking queen! L.flavus is definitely my favourite UK ant, they're so docile and colourful. The only problem I've had with them sometimes is getting them to eat, because in the wild they farm root aphids for their honeydew and eat whatever insects that come into the nest. I wish you luck with her.  |
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