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Post by James O'Neill on Nov 19, 2013 22:49:36 GMT
Awful pictures, but my camera can't really manage it through the side of the tube.. this shows the queen just after laying an egg - you can see it on her abdomen. She seems to lay at least an egg daily. Attachments:
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Post by James O'Neill on Nov 19, 2013 22:54:28 GMT
And in this you can just about see the callow nestled beside the brood. The colony has a voracious appetite at the moment - lots of little mouths to feed!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 20, 2013 8:56:22 GMT
How long has the colony been kept in a test tube? I would consider getting them a small plastic or glass tank with an escape proof lid, as these ants love to dig and make wonderful nests in soil.
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Post by James O'Neill on Nov 20, 2013 16:05:42 GMT
I plan to move these guys into a ytong when the colony is of a suitable size. I wish to see everything that goes on in the chambers and tunnels. However I would also very much like to see digging behaviour. I will probably get another colony to observe this, if the current colony does well.
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Post by James O'Neill on Nov 24, 2013 23:21:50 GMT
The 6th worker hatched today, right on the expected date - 12 days after pupation. Perhaps this is standard.. Still plenty of insects and seeds being consumed and more larvae soon to pupate...
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Post by James O'Neill on Nov 27, 2013 20:03:45 GMT
A larva pupated yesterday and another today. The rest of the larvae are quickly growing. The oldest pupa is turning darker too, soon the 7th worker will be with us With more workers present, there is always something of interest happening in the tube!
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Post by James O'Neill on Nov 30, 2013 23:18:25 GMT
The 7th worker has hatched today!
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Post by James O'Neill on Dec 8, 2013 21:55:31 GMT
The 8th worker has just hatched and there are 2 more pupae going dark. There are 4 pupae in total currently, including a bigger one would could be a small media. Plenty of larvae and eggs too.
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Post by James O'Neill on Dec 12, 2013 17:00:05 GMT
The 9th and 10th workers hatched yesterday. There are 4 more pupa still to hatch. I will try to get pictures or a video soon.
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Post by James O'Neill on Dec 15, 2013 23:58:16 GMT
The 11th worker has hatched today.
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Post by James O'Neill on Dec 21, 2013 0:22:13 GMT
The 12th worker hatched yesterday and the 13th hatched today. A larva pupated today and it is pretty large - a full blown media I'd say. Also plenty more eggs have been laid, so this colony has not slowed down for the winter in any way! They are currently tucking into a large fly which had the misfortune to be attracted to the window.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Dec 21, 2013 8:30:56 GMT
The 12th worker hatched yesterday and the 13th hatched today. A larva pupated today and it is pretty large - a full blown media I'd say. Also plenty more eggs have been laid, so this colony has not slowed down for the winter in any way! When kept in captivity Messor barbs don't hibernate like they might do in the wild, especially if the winters in Portugal or Spain are very cold. While egg laying tends to stop for the winter months, if enough food is available or stored, then the adult workers will continue to feed brood; and as long as the temperature doesn't drop below 15C. for very long, then there is no reason why larvae and pupae will not develop, although their growth rate may be a bit slower than during the heat of summer. Finding flies is a bonus for your colony too in late December.
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Post by deansie on Dec 31, 2013 10:22:14 GMT
nice colony
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Post by James O'Neill on Jan 1, 2014 12:59:52 GMT
Cheers! I have finally reached 15 workers, and one of the media pupae has darkened!
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Post by Remson on Jan 5, 2014 22:02:53 GMT
Hi James do you have a picture of your set up?
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