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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 12, 2019 6:58:51 GMT
Don't forget that they are harvester ants, so keep giving the colony seeds to eat. As long as the queen is strong and laying eggs the colony won't die out, and with the warmer weather things should pick up soon.
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edvf
Honey Pot Ant
Posts: 45
Likes: 53
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Post by edvf on Apr 12, 2019 8:42:01 GMT
Thanks for the comments. I'm hoping too with higher temperatures the colony might stay growing.
They always have a lot of seeds inside the nest, and in the outworld as well (these I replace every couple of weeks).
One of the things I find most fascinating is how tidy they are. They use one or two rooms as seed stockpiles, perfectly organized. On a few occasions they have moved the whole stockpile to a different room(s). I've never seen them moving them though.
Do you think I should I get a heat mat?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 12, 2019 10:03:38 GMT
I've never found a heat mat necessary for keeping Messors, but if you wish to use one then keep the temperature no higher than 21 to 25 Celsius. Certainly not above 27, or below 17 in winter.
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edvf
Honey Pot Ant
Posts: 45
Likes: 53
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Post by edvf on Apr 22, 2019 15:45:22 GMT
Not decided yet on the mat . Coming back from Easter break, I found the colony had decided to move to the transparent tube connecting nest and outworld. Larva and eggs were there, only the Queen was inside the nest. I noticed a germinated seed, so I took my chance when the Queen went out to the tube too, to disconnect the nest and clean it. I've removed some water from the under-nest container, trying to decrease humidity. I've read here that this species doesn't need that much humidity and anyway they live happily in dry Spain. After cleaning the nest, the colony is back in the nest. Is this something that happens normally? What do people do in such cases?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 22, 2019 16:22:28 GMT
If you can keep the nest drier it should stay relatively clean. Messors like damp soil, but if you're using any other nest set up the humidity can be kept low.
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edvf
Honey Pot Ant
Posts: 45
Likes: 53
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Post by edvf on Aug 19, 2019 7:06:25 GMT
So bad news. The colony's queen has died. It's been a bit strange. After I cleaned the nest and the ants moved back in, they never took any seeds inside and didn't bother with most of the insects I put in the foraging area. In July the queen died, though the workers didn't take her out. Eventually they cut her head off , and left the remains inside. There haven't been any newborn ants in one year (nor pupae), I'm not sure what I've done wrong with the colony .
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