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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2014 20:34:20 GMT
Yaaay I was getting worried that they weren't going to have any more brood before winter, other than what they came with, but I'm pretty sure I can make out eggs within the pupa / larva That's brilliant news!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2014 20:37:24 GMT
Sound like they are doing really well Timl!
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Post by timl on Nov 3, 2014 23:08:31 GMT
I've also included a heat-mat to the set up which I've placed at the very corner of the ytong to try and add a temperature gradient, the ants have since spent most of their time in this corner / on that side of the ytong which is also closest to where I hydrate the ytong.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 4, 2014 7:28:08 GMT
You don't really need a heat mat for a British native ant, as these girls are found in parts of Britain that get very cold during winter, but they survive by hibernating. You may find the added heat reduces the lifespan of the adults, and they die much faster than if just kept at room temperature.
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Post by timl on Nov 7, 2014 23:31:31 GMT
Confirmed, there is two nice (ant sized) balls of eggs, hopefully the queens don't decide that it's too close to winter to keep them.
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Post by timl on Nov 11, 2014 13:23:24 GMT
Half price little brown crickets... worth a try...
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Post by timl on Nov 12, 2014 7:20:06 GMT
What would people recommend feeding my ants, I've tried various jellies form ants uk, I've tried mealworms, I've tried crab and prawns, I've tried all the vials of food you can get from ants uk like the honey and sugar solution. but to be honest, either there arent enough ants to eat/drink what I give them or they really arent that interested in most of what I've gotten them other than the odd fruit fly and moth I've given them
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 12, 2014 8:08:48 GMT
Have you tried wax worms? These are large grubs which are the larval stage of a moth; and if your ants do stop eating now winter is almost here it is a perfectly natural thing for them to do, as being a native British ant they are just exhibiting the instinct to hibernate.
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Post by timl on Nov 13, 2014 0:40:45 GMT
They were actually what I aimed to buy, but the pet shop was getting restocked in a couple hours so my timing couldn't have been worse, that's why I ended up getting what I did get for half price as most of the stock was dead.
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Post by timl on Nov 15, 2014 15:35:20 GMT
Tried wax worms and they seem fairly happy, although the colony is small and it's probably over kill they are actually interested and crawling all over and eating away which is a lot more than I can say for any of the jellies I've tried
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 17:00:03 GMT
I find that my ants like a bit of variety. If I feed them too much of one thing over a period of time they seem o get bored with it, but when I put something new in they go mad for it. The exception to this is the ant jelly which they always seem to favour.
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Post by timl on Nov 27, 2014 23:21:51 GMT
Hi, The yellowy black ant should be the queen. Does the look like all the others except for the yellowy coloration and a larger thorax? If so that's a queen, although pictures would help After much research I still can't figure out what that ant was lol, it definitely wasn't one of the queens... still searching though...
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Post by timl on Dec 1, 2014 23:20:15 GMT
Just a quick update with pic to show some of the brood that are at various stages, most is hiding in the reservoir.
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Post by timl on Dec 9, 2014 20:10:36 GMT
I was thinking this colony would start to show some sign of slowing down, but am glad to say I spotted a new ball of eggs within all the brood, considering I started with no brood at all I now have every stage of brood piled up and all the deaths that have occurred over the past months have been replaced and then some. happy times, so I think that I might try seeing if there's any distinct feature difference between my two queens and I will name them / the colony
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