Marks Atta Cephalotes Journal

[adamjames20]

Glad there doing well mate , Soil warming cables are a lot more efficient I find , they do a great job : )

Adam

[Joona]

Hey guys just a little update, sadly its not good news. The ants are dumping fungus like mad and dead workers. I know a few a week is normal but I have seen 9 today alone. These could be the old workers that hatched around the same time but I don't know. They haven't cut at all since Wednesday and have dumped the privet stash they were processing. I know that nothing I gave them had pesticides on as they were from my garden. I have also put some organic oats in and organic raisins, they have had a nibble at the raisins but not the oats. The strange thing is the queen is covered in minims all the time and eggs are being carried to the fungus all the time, since I had them I have never seen so many eggs at once, I can also see inside the fungus there are some very large larvae in there. I have emailed the person I got them from for advise and am awaiting his reply, Adam has also gave me some advise on feeding but sadly my ants are fussy little bleeders.

I'll keep you updated. Fingers crossed it goes well.

[Wood~Ant]

I hope it's just old fungus which is being thrown out and that new growth will replace it, and also that the new brood will more than make up the numbers of dead ants within the colony? I know that the insect keeper at Marwell zoo did say these ants like it very warm with high humidity to keep the fungus growing strong and healthy.

[Joona]

The set up is 24 - 27 'c and humidity is showing 90RH so well with in the limits.

I just watched them kill media workers and dump them in the waste which led me to think of Adam's experience with his soldier being killed for the good of the colony, only problem is if they kill the media workers who's going to cut leaves? I must say it was quite brutal and the worker that was being killed just let them rip her apart, they just dumped her like waste but she wasn't dead so I put her out of her misery.

Also I thought that if the colony is going to fail I am not going down with out a fight, so I took an unused sphere and put a little substrate around a tub and have put a bit of fungus from the main garden in there.


The ants didn't quite like that and went on a escaping frenzy but I managed to get them all back in, they actually open their mouths and charge the intrusion and if they get you in the right place it really pinches! Anyway I gently scraped the top off the fungus and this is what I saw



There were a fair few dolls being carried about the place so hopefully will not be long before the dead ones are replaced.

On a side note the fungus has a odd smell I often wondered what it smelt like I can only explain it as wet rotting wood, and its very soft the spoon I used just flew through it.

Mark

[Wood~Ant]

What are "dolls" Mark?   You mentioned them and I am assuming you mean larvae. 

[Joona]

Yeah I'm lazy plus I can never spell larvae so I have to auto correct it every time.

I just changed the battery's on the humidity gauge and is reading 48%RH. So I'm guessing the no cutting is meaning no humidity so I wet the substrate that the blocked the nest entrance with but it hasn't risen by much and it will be even dryer in the garden chamber.

Now I'm starting to get worried, I have wet everything I can the only Idea I have left is to add some cotton wool balls in the substrate sphere and hope that will raise the humidity.

I've enjoyed these ants so far but my god there challenging, raising two kids and a dog wasn't this hard.

[Joona]

I actually think the humidity reader is broken, its reading erratic and all over the place, a lot of condensation has appeared on the spheres so I'm guessing it raising. Out of desperation I have built a new incubator for them as I think the fungus sphere is too close to the glass on the front which is exposed to colder temps and creating a lot of moisture build up in the fungus sphere. I just need to get the perspex for the front tomorrow and I can put them in it.

When it got to 8pm and they still hadn't even sniffed a leaf my last resort was to open the fungus sphere and drop some rose leaves in there. It too a half hour but I was made more then happy.



At least they still remember what to do lol. Fingers crossed they carry on them selves now, its not ideal but I do not mind dropping the leaves in so long as there cutting.

[Deleted]

Sorry to hear about the bad news, I hope you get things back on track.

[adamjames20]

sorry to hear there getting fussy and not doing well , not the best of times for them to be getting fussy now winter is setting in. Keeping my fingers crossed for you mate , have you tried sprout leaves ??

Adam

[Joona]

I haven't mate, but I am not to sure where to get them. I need to find a local organic grocers fast. Although even if I did put them in they're not leaving the fungus to forage anyway.

I am gonna try willow again in a bit. At the moment they're adding a bit of rose but its literally one leaf.

[adamjames20]

O right , not good if they have killed off the foragers, Hmm well don't give up yet , Have you tried a piece of apple ? , also its worth a try , mix a little lemon juice with some water and lightly spray some leaves you give, Have seen this on the tv once to get ants to cut leaves for a programme. Try raisins also.

Adam

[Joona]

Cool I'll give the lemon juice a try, I may of over exaggerated the extent of the killings there are still a lot of media workers left. But I really think the fungus isn't happy where it is, so I'm going to move it to a hatchling box with a plastic cup over it. I also saw the queen this morning she looked happy enough watching the workers.

Do you just give your ants any old apples or they specifically brought for the ants?

[adamjames20]

I just buy apples from the grocery store , then I wash them and cut them up : )

[Joona]

Really do not want to jynx this but

They're foraging!! There are 6 or 7 media's wandering round the set up and I have just watched one cut a leaf and take it to the second garden!!!

I just picked up some kale a lemon and an apple so I am gonna give it all a good wash and pray!


Edit.
Well there cutting, just not the stuff there supposed to. There removing the leaves I put in the fungus sphere and dumping them on the waste pile, the second little garden is a different story, they are actualy cutting willow and adding it to the fungus. There still wondering the set up so at least there on the hunt.

[adamjames20]

Hey Mark , I noticed you said there were two gardens , I am surprised there being two gardens due to the colony's small population, I do know from experience when I have split gardens prematurely instead of letting the ants do it themselves that they sometimes stop cutting and one garden always seems to die off. Perhaps it be wise to merge the gardens so they only have to concentrate on one ?

Adam