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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 7, 2019 16:29:00 GMT
It's just that our local authorities so called gardeners have been spraying in the last few days, and they are a bit indiscriminate. I hope your fungus garden recovers and grows up again soon.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 8, 2019 0:22:13 GMT
What a depressing sight. I don't see any new growth on it at all.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 9, 2019 14:23:12 GMT
The remaining fungus is almost completely gone and barely bigger than the queen. I've shown Chris, who asked if I want replacement fungus. Who knows, maybe he'll pull another miracle and get hold of some more? Otherwise, this colony will not survive. The workers know what kind of situation they're in and have become a lot more aggressive. Fingers crossed, everyone. I'd really hoped that this journal ended with the colony getting too massive for me to look after and getting donated to a zoo or something, not with their death.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 9, 2019 15:00:32 GMT
Chris has referred me to Andrew who runs Leafcutterants.com. It was he who apparently supplied me with a replacement fungus that first time. He'll charge for the service but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get this colony back on its feet. I'll let you know what he says later.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 9, 2019 15:02:47 GMT
I'm sorry to see it's got to this state after it was growing so nicely. I'll certainly keep my fingers crossed for you and this colony.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 9, 2019 15:10:55 GMT
I'm sorry to see it's got to this state after it was growing so nicely. I'll certainly keep my fingers crossed for you and this colony. Well, I DID go and choose one of the most infamously difficult species to look after. It goes to show how delicate the symbiosis is since without the fungus, there's nothing the ants can do. Hopefully Andrew will get back to me with replacement fungus (And possibly more workers) before things are too late. But yeah, one little slip up, possibly one contaminated leaf, is all it took to undo months of progress.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 10, 2019 21:17:10 GMT
Just got off the phone with Andrew (Who happened to be collecting wild leafcutters in South America!) and he says he'll get his guy back home to send me some replacement fungus by Friday. In the meantime, he says that the remaining fungus and queen should be moved into a little dark container in the set up which will hopefully encourage the other workers (Who've wandered into a corner) to settle in with her. Whilst this is happening, the set up must be thoroughly cleaned to remove any traces of fungicide or whatever else could've killed the fungus.
He also cleared up something interesting: my colony comes from Trinidad which is why they accepted that new fungus and those workers at the beginning. Andrew says that Trinidad is a sort of genetic bottleneck for A. cephalotes and all of the colonies there are descended from a few, which is why they were so willing to join forces. Having seen my photos he said I was obviously doing things right judging from all the growth and agreed it could've been caused by fungicide. Let's hope things get better when the replacement fungus arrives.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 11, 2019 17:39:12 GMT
I've made my move and picked up the queen and remaining fungus, transferring them into a little plastic container with a hole in the side that'll sit inside the tank. The workers with the queen (Most are in a far corner, presumably with brood?) attacked me of course, but hopefully the others will reunite with her when the new fungus arrives and they start reconstructing it. I should note that as usual, the queen did not seem to care at all despite being manhandled. I added a small piece of damp tissue to help with humidity in the box and closed the lid. It might be a good idea actually if the future fungus garden grows in the safety of the box, since whatever caused the decline might've been further spread by the damp substrate? Plus it wouldn't be able to fall over. Will keep you all posted. Please wish them luck!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 12, 2019 11:05:31 GMT
The new fungus has arrived. And just in time, because that piece with the queen was dead by this morning. Whilst I was cleaning the tank I noticed, with a heavy heart, that many of the mature workers had died. Most of the survivors are callows. There's no remaining brood either...I picked each one up and reunited them with the queen. Then I started to add the new fungus and the workers that came with it, who accepted my colony. Despite the losses there's still quite a few workers. Hopefully they'll keep the fungus in there and not move it under the container (Which wouldn't surprise me). I'll give them a day or so to settle down and rebuild the garden, then try offering food again.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 14, 2019 21:27:16 GMT
It's with great sorrow that I report that the queen has died today. I'm surprised, but in light of recent events and all the turmoil her colony has been through, at the same time I'm not.
In addition the workers made very little effort to rebuild the new fungus. Maybe they saw it coming?
I'd like to thank all of you who followed this journal and hopefully learned a thing or two with me. I think I'll definitely try to keep leafcutter ants again in the future (And learn from my mistakes with this colony), but I can't promise when. Later in the year, maybe? It's been a fascinating journey filled with ups and downs. My only regret is that I couldn't do a better job with them.
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shadowynne
Nurse Ant
Posts: 84
Country: UK
Pets: Many, many pets...
Favourite Ant: Lasius flavus
Likes: 63
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Post by shadowynne on Apr 14, 2019 22:10:08 GMT
That's tough man, sorry to hear it.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 14, 2019 23:14:52 GMT
I am so very sorry to hear this sad news.
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Post by 1moldavite on Apr 14, 2019 23:20:17 GMT
I'm so sorry to hear this,I always looked forward to your photos and updates.
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Post by Jenny on Apr 15, 2019 6:40:38 GMT
Oh no so sorry Jake
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