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Post by occultus on Apr 8, 2016 18:53:58 GMT
Camponotus sericeus now have 7 workers. It would be 8 but believe it or not one of the workers sneaked into my suitcase and is now living in Cambodia.
The test-tube is bone dry and dirty but colony refuse to move into the clean test-tube.
In the video you can see one of the workers trying hard to feed on a small cricket, everyone else is just happy to watch the little worker struggle.
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Post by occultus on Mar 5, 2016 15:55:06 GMT
Four workers
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Post by occultus on Mar 1, 2016 1:17:17 GMT
Today the Queen and the older workers decided it best to cannibalise the (3 days old) third worker Sure am glad it wasn't the other way around though I don't believe its because of a lack of food, purely because I tend to overfeed. I offer fresh protein every other day left just outside of their nest entrance. (I have witnessed them feed without problems) The weird thing is that this ant looked healthy and active for the past 3 days( it did have a very attractive pale orange colour though and it was slightly larger than the two older workers). I do not want to sound ridiculous but it did almost remind me of a honey pot ants behavior. Just the way it stayed suspended from the ceiling for most of the time. I hope its a one off thing, perhaps there was an underlying weakness in the ant that wasn't visible to me. At any rate I shall increase the amount of insects proteins on offer. P.S As you can probably tell from the video, the big lazy Queen really seemed to enjoy this grizzly meal so at least she hasn't wasted the workers life entirely.
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Post by occultus on Feb 29, 2016 16:42:40 GMT
Finally I can say congratulations on getting a colony of these beauties! I hope they do well for you. Hopefully we can help each other out in regards to their care.
I had no idea that they liked it around 28-30 Celsius. My colony is rather shy and sensitive to vibration.
I'm looking forward to reading more.
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Post by occultus on Feb 23, 2016 23:09:55 GMT
The Messor barbarus colony has started to wake up. They oddly decided to hibernate inside their outworld. These girls must have been thirsty today because I refilled their water bowl and the whole colony came out to drink Also this colony was slightly brood boosted to help the queen out during her difficult founding. 2016-02-23_10-35-56 by che hawkins, on Flickr
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Post by occultus on Feb 23, 2016 23:00:21 GMT
The L.neglectus colony has just started to increase in activity. One of the workers is actively foraging, the rest just stand still most of the time. 2016-02-23_10-49-28 by che hawkins, on Flickr
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Post by occultus on Feb 23, 2016 22:42:59 GMT
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Post by occultus on Feb 23, 2016 2:00:58 GMT
I'm always on the lookout for treasure
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Post by occultus on Feb 23, 2016 1:54:38 GMT
These shy little ants are making steady progress. The brood and larvae have increased. My one concern so far is that they don't seem to like light disturbance and they have been eating their own cocoons when just slightly stressed. 2016-02-23_01-35-01 by che hawkins, on Flickr 2016-02-23_01-35-42 by che hawkins, on Flickr I'm sure that when they get enough workers they will start forage more often. Out in the wild, I think they live arboreal high up and like to avoid conflict?
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Post by occultus on Feb 4, 2016 12:12:14 GMT
My thoughts exactly mate haha. I really think the name suits them..Dino'myrmex gigas
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Post by occultus on Feb 4, 2016 0:55:10 GMT
The two Nanitic workers plucked up the courage to drag a cricket into the nest tonight. It was nice seeing them enjoy their first solid proteins.
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Post by occultus on Feb 4, 2016 0:50:36 GMT
Hi occultus. I just wanted to make sure you knew that Camponotus gigas is no longer the valid name of this species, and that it is now Dinomyrmex gigas. Thank you for telling me Miles! I shall update the name change to all of my videos and journals some time this week.
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Post by occultus on Feb 1, 2016 21:14:27 GMT
I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. 90% death rate is a shocking figure. I've never heard of temperatures being so low in Southeast Asia.
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Post by occultus on Jan 29, 2016 21:28:26 GMT
Queen Iris(the winged Queen) has been constantly eating her own eggs before they can grow into larvae. I presume this is because she is potentially infertile. I cannot give up on her, so today I have created a new nest. It's allot smaller than her old nest. Feeding will be much easier and I'm hoping she will feel more comfortable here and less stressed. The holes in lid are where I will inject fresh sugar water, hydrate the nest and add/remove fresh protein.
This species doesn't fit inside test tubes or large boiling tubes.
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Post by occultus on Jan 24, 2016 13:15:56 GMT
So sorry to hear this sad news. I feel your pain mate.
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