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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 18:02:37 GMT
12th May 2015
I received my Myrmica sabuleti colony from deansyme today and have decided to rehome them into a larger test tube nest until it's large enough to move into an acrylic nest. Also for the time being the colony will use the 2nd half of the Formica cinerea foraging area which I have separated with a wad of cotton wool. Each colony will have its own half until larger foraging areas are needed. A bright lamp has been placed onto the original nest and the colony have started to move to the new nest with quite a lot of the brood having been already moved halfway and into the tubing. Also I have spotted all 3 queens.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 18:33:41 GMT
I should probably add that this species is a lot bigger then I was expecting and they look fantastic. The nest moving activity seemed to come to a stand still so I gently tapped the test tube up and down and that's got them motivated! Nearly all of the brood has been moved to the tube and is now being moved into the nest. It's really fascinating watching the move 
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 20:41:46 GMT
The nest has now been attached to the foraging area even though I did have to tap the last 5 workers out that were a bit reluctant to leave! The brood has nearly all been moved to the nest and the workers are busy feeding on dead spiders, crickets and maple syrup water. The queens were very hungry, in fact all 3 tripped over each over to be fed by the workers, 1 worker feeding all 3 at the same time. Interesting to watch their antennae feathering the workers head, milking it as if it was an aphid. The foraging area is a hive of activity (no pun intended lol) and is great to watch as this is my first colony with multiple workers. Thanks again to deansyme for supplying an excellent colony   |
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2015 16:32:11 GMT
14th May 2015
The colony has been happily feeding on spiders, small crickets and waxworms these last couple of days.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2015 16:27:49 GMT
20th May 2015
I've now provided a larger foraging area for the colony and the workers have been busy exploring it. Offered a couple of cut up waxworms this morning however feeding has slowed down somewhat, probably because I've been over feeding them so I won't offer any more food for a few days.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2015 18:15:23 GMT
Here's a quick rough video of the colony. I'll post up a longer and better one soon.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 17:06:22 GMT
Last picture of the colony in it's test tube nest before I move them.  |
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 17:12:29 GMT
As promised, a better video of the colony in it's test tube nest.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 23:32:10 GMT
So I decided to take woodants good advice and finally get round to moving this colony from its test tube into a brand spanking new acrylic nest. I'm glad I did as they look fantastic in their new home and I love watching colonies move their brood. And I'm sure the colony will fair much better with more room. Sorry about the dodgy cameramanship, I'm still getting used to the auto-zoom  Long videos I know but I wanted to record the entire move and it was so fascinating to watch. |
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 20:21:29 GMT
27th May 2015
Fed the colony a cut up Peacock butterfly this evening and they really seemed to go for it. The pieces have all been collected up and its started a feeding frenzy inside the nest, I've even seen larvae attached to one of the pieces. Trying not to overfeed this colony at the moment and am only feeding once every 2-3 days, maple syrup water every other day. The colony's settled into its new nest really well and I'm really looking forward to the appearance of pupae.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 20:33:11 GMT
Sorry to repost this video link but I've just noticed the appearance of the nice sized egg-ball that this colony has Time index 2:55 in the top left corner of the nest, you might find it interesting. I've seen a steady increase in eggs in the last 15 days since I've had this colony, having 3 queens helps no doubt.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 21:40:40 GMT
Picture taken just after the nest relocation on 25th May.  |
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2015 18:33:54 GMT
The colony have reorganised the brood in order of size and I'm guessing the larger larvae in the top right corner will pupate soon?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 17:11:13 GMT
12th June 2015
There are now lots of pupae in the nest, also I fed the colony a cut-up meal worm for the first time this evening and it went down very well.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 17:27:22 GMT
13th June 2015 We now have lots of naked pupae! I'm not worried though given my past experiences with my other queens EATING them, even though there are 3 of them, I'd like to see them eating that lot! The challenge is on, queen ant versus food  |
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