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Post by UKantz on Jun 13, 2018 14:37:14 GMT
Third times the charm right?
My small colony of Solenopsis invicta has been posted today. I'm banking on the fact that this time the colony has already successfully founded as there are nanitic workers present (I've read that Solenopsis geminata and invicta are quite hard to found colonies for).
Hopefully they'll arrive by the end of the week - I will update when they arrive.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 14, 2018 11:48:37 GMT
The colony arrived today! Much quicker than I expected. There are around 12-13 nanitics, and a seemingly healthy queen. There is also a small brood pile present consisting of all stages, pupae, larvae and eggs. Unfortunately their water supply has ran out (and their test tube is quite dirty) so now I have the very fun task of transporting these active workers into a new test tube! Once I've done that I'll get a couple pictures, wish me luck
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Post by UKantz on Jun 14, 2018 12:20:32 GMT
I placed a tinfoil tray with some sugar water and a dead spider inside the new test tube and connected the two up, sealing the outside with blue tack. The workers immediately started to pry and find any weakness in the blue tack connecting the two tubes, fortunately I triple checked to make sure it was solenopsis-proof.
They are now exploring the new tube, and have drank some of the sugar water, though show little interest in the spider.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 14, 2018 13:34:15 GMT
The move happened in about a minute as soon as I added the heat mat under the new tube. I'll let the condensation go away before trying to get a couple of pictures
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Post by UKantz on Jun 15, 2018 12:41:00 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 15, 2018 14:34:29 GMT
Looking good, UKantz. Let the empire begin!
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Post by UKantz on Jun 16, 2018 11:36:33 GMT
I figured I'd attempt a brood count:
I estimate there to be around 15 larvae, 3 pupae and around 10-15 eggs. They're currently kept in a dark cupboard since they seem quite sensitive to light, and have a heat mat which is in contact with around 1/3 of the tube (they always place all their brood on the area that area). Hopefully the brood count will increase soon!
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Post by UKantz on Jun 16, 2018 13:20:28 GMT
Just an interesting observation to note: since yesterday, every time I observe the colony there are 1 or two workers "wiggling/vibrating" their gaster. While making the Solenopsis invicta profile, I did some research as to what this actually is. It's apparently known as "gastroflagging" and is a defence behaviour.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 18, 2018 11:34:44 GMT
Ok well this is interesting... All the pupae par 1 have eclosed already so there are around 20 workers now (so hard to count with them running around constantly - they're an active little colony). There are around 20 larvae now and 2 fresh batches of eggs have been laid overnight.
I think soon I need to plan a solenopsis proof nest..
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Post by UKantz on Jun 26, 2018 16:27:18 GMT
12-14 pupae, around the same number of larvae and a small bunch of eggs/very small larvae are present now. There are 21 workers now.
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Post by UKantz on Jul 5, 2018 17:02:07 GMT
There are now 40-50 workers, and the pupae pile is well.. pretty large, around 30 so. These guys eat pretty much anything I feed them. They're also such a small ant, and move so quickly that I hadn't even noticed the substantial increase in workers O.o.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 5, 2018 17:23:59 GMT
Hehehe...this is the part where the population will start to explode and you wonder what just happened.
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Post by tatufmetuf on Jul 5, 2018 19:42:40 GMT
Don't hesitate to show us your set up ! There are Solenopsis nests here with winged queens so they will fly soon but I'm a bit scared of keeping them at least not in a nest with an open foraging area as I usually do It would be nice to see what you planned for them.
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Post by UKantz on Jul 6, 2018 7:49:24 GMT
I'll update with a few more pictures today, though its nothing special; they're still in a test tube set up while I carefully decide what kind of nest is best for them.
I imagine since you're from Belgium, tatufmetuf, that you're describing Solenopsis fugax? Keeping wise they're a lot more tame than invicta, though they are small ants so make sure they cannot escape!
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Post by tatufmetuf on Jul 6, 2018 8:50:45 GMT
Okay I think they are fugax but I can't really tell, at first I thought it was some flavus ants (haha I'm a beginner indeed ) but on closer inspection they look like Myrmica so I would say they are myrmicinae, and I found them in grass between Lasius and Formica nests so I think they are Solenopsis fugax indeed. I've never seen them fight other ants . Are your ants bigger ? I can't really tell with the picture. I would say the ones here do 2mm in length.
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