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Post by James O'Neill on Jan 15, 2014 19:07:47 GMT
Hi Remson, sorry it has taken a while for me to get back to you. I took some photos today as I was changing their tube as the old one dried out. It was very easy - just put the new tube in the heat and put the old one to its mouth...the ants moved in in 20 minutes. They are currently moving seeds into the new nest. There are 20 workers exactly, with 2 medias, and a considerable (and growing) pile of brood including 4 pupae. It's just basically a tube, with water at one end, through a hole in the side of a plastic box with no lid and dry sand/gravel on the bottom. It's got a heat mat underneath (my room is normally about 11 degrees this time of year!) . It does the job very well and the colony has been growing quickly.
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Post by Remson on Jan 15, 2014 20:06:29 GMT
Nice! What are you planning on putting them in when the colony is bigger
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Post by James O'Neill on Jan 15, 2014 20:31:41 GMT
I am planning on putting them into a Ytong. Only when its much bigger, I am told that to put a small colony into a large nesting space can be adverse as they would use the spare space as a dump. Best to let them them overcrowd this and then move them.
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Post by deansie on Jan 20, 2014 7:27:10 GMT
Great little species, can't wait to see them in Ytong
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Post by James O'Neill on Feb 21, 2014 23:02:40 GMT
Hello all, it's been a while, but I can report that the colony is doing extremely well, with over 30 workers. It also has just hatched a huge worker - I can't work out of it is a small major or large media, but it is pretty big! The colony feeds voraciously on insects and seeds, and has plenty of brood in all stages.
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Post by James O'Neill on Mar 30, 2014 0:07:54 GMT
The colony is now at an estimated 50 members and it's only set to grow! plenty more eggs laid. I can't believe this colony has grown from 4 workers in October to 50 in March!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 30, 2014 7:49:54 GMT
The colony is now at an estimated 50 members and it's only set to grow! plenty more eggs laid. I can't believe this colony has grown from 4 workers in October to 50 in March! It shows you are caring for the colony well James, as when we do things right I have found Messor barbs reward me by the queen being very productive. Well done on your successful colony.
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Post by James O'Neill on Mar 30, 2014 22:20:38 GMT
Thanks Wood, I certainly must be doing something right. Today I collected a lot of Chironomid midges at Lough Neagh - locally known as the Lough Neagh flies, these midges swarm in their billions over the lake and shore on suitable days. Today was one of those days, and millions of flies were swarming over cars and fences and trees and hedges and people. It was no trouble popping some in a pot and giving them to the ants - they've dragged every single one of the 10 I gave to them into the tube and are now devouring them.
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Post by James O'Neill on Jul 6, 2014 23:14:06 GMT
Hello all, sorry I haven't been about lately but I've just finished my A level exams and now am free to enjoy myself!
My Messor barb colony has grown massively - I suspect there are now around 120 workers, including 10 majors and 1 super major. The queen has just started chugging out eggs and they feed on many insects and seeds. I'll have to move them to a larger home soon as the tube is looking rather crowded now! I will try to get a photo or video tomorrow!
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Post by James O'Neill on Jul 10, 2014 15:12:42 GMT
Here's a vid taken yesterday of my colony taking down a mealworm.
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Hibernating
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2014 11:21:33 GMT
Your colony is doing really well.
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Post by James O'Neill on Sept 9, 2014 11:19:09 GMT
It was, I am afraid. Not anymore. For an unknown reason, the workers all started dying off a couple of weeks ago. I didn't have the heart to put it here on the journal, as now only the queen remains and I doubt she'll be around much longer.
I have got a new colony yesterday from Antdealer but I am heartbroken about my old colony, especially since they were doing so well.
In that case, journal closed and I can start a new one for my new colony.
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