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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 19, 2019 22:24:40 GMT
I had a sneak peck under the stone only to find no ants it is now official that I have no idea where there nest is.
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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 20, 2019 16:28:47 GMT
My colony is spoiled for choice today with offerings of melon,apple and grape also mealworm skewers as placing them on cocktail sticks stop them dragging them into their nest where left over food can cause mold,it will be interesting what will happen when I introduce the springtails as far as the ants having competition for food,as they have never had to compete before,although I am prepared for the springtails themselves to maybe become food items,that is of course if the ants can catch them,I saw a worker ant walking up the side of their arena then doing a circular around the top to see if there are any gaps in the Vaseline which prompted me to add a fresh layer.
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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 22, 2019 0:41:55 GMT
It looks like the ants are addicted to apple,small workers have spent all day going back and forth to a slice of apple I put in,saying that when I first put it in it took them a while to approach it they seemed to be a bit nervous of this new food.
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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 22, 2019 11:29:04 GMT
My springtails arrived this morning and I decided to put all of them in the foraging area,including their substrate at first I thought that the ants weren't aware of them,but when I looked closer I realized that not only were the ants walking among the springtails, they were actually hunting them.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 22, 2019 11:51:17 GMT
My springtails arrived this morning and I decided to put all of them in the foraging area,including their substrate at first I thought that the ants weren't aware of them,but when I looked closer I realized that not only were the ants walking among the springtails, they were actually hunting them. Pheidole are good hunters, and being small ants will often hunt much smaller insects than bigger ant species do. So it seems logical they will exhibit this kind of behaviour and see the springtails as food.  |
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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 22, 2019 14:23:49 GMT
Although I introduced the springtails as a clean up crew,I'm quite happy that my colony is hunting them as they at last have live food to eat as they will not take on a live mealworm,I have to cut it in half plus they seemed to have gone off mealworm and maybe that is why because they didn't get to really hunt the mealworm,there is about 500 springtails in there ranging from adult to eggs and some in between stages,so they should last a while,the ants obsession with apple is totally over as hunting for them is much more fun.
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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 22, 2019 23:35:28 GMT
Just an update,my ants are still hunting the springtails,I have seen at least ten ants carrying them in their mandibles,I honestly don't think 500 springtails are going to last a week,I haven't seen the queen or a nest since putting them in the natural set up,but I'm assuming there may be lots of brood with the number of ants out hunting and catching the clean up crew.
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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 26, 2019 18:04:41 GMT
A update that solved a mystery,last time I posted my colony were openly hunting springtails,but since then there has been no sightings of ants in the outworld,so I started to panic that maybe they had died or escape somehow anyway I was beginning to lose hope,as before if I put anything in there enclosure at least one or two workers would come and inspect what I'd put in.Today I thought I have to find out if I still had a colony,so I spent a good hour just observing,as I turned the enclosure to see if I could fathom what was going on I noticed a distinct small opening at one of the corners,then I noticed a few tunnels under the soil,some were right next to the plastic and some led farther in,I then noticed a chamber right at the bottom which had lavea in it,as I watched I noticed quite a few springtail in all the tunnels,it then occured to me why I hadn't seen my ants foraging out of the nest,the reason is simple they have a large resource of food already there,there is not much reason to venture out except for a sugar top up,the springtails were still alive so dead food weren't left around in there nest to go moldy,it is the perfect sittuation.So now I'm even more happier now I know where there nest is,and I also know they are feeding.
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Post by 1moldavite on Feb 28, 2019 13:05:54 GMT
I've just ordered some flightless fruit flies,and some brown cricket hatchlings for my colony to try as all I've offered is mealworm,fruit and honey water,they are still hunting springtails which is fun to watch plus all of a sudden there are smaller springtails which lead me to believe that the springtails are breeding,so it's getting harder to spot my ants as there is just so many springtails now,although if I see one spring up that's a general indication it's just leaping away from an ant.
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Post by 1moldavite on Mar 2, 2019 1:15:53 GMT
Two of my Noda girls
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 2, 2019 7:47:24 GMT
Video not working. Please check your youtube settings.
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Post by 1moldavite on Mar 2, 2019 12:25:13 GMT
It should be working now,I had it on private setting due to embarrassing camera work,now it's gone public
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Post by 1moldavite on Mar 2, 2019 19:24:19 GMT
Well earlier today the cricket hatchling and the supposed flightless fruitflies arrived. I say supposed, because there were no adult fruitflies just their larvae, also right at the bottom of the box was one lone adult cricket. I knew my colony wouldn't take on an adult cricket, so I cut it in half and put it in the enclosure. A worker gave it a check then proceeded to totally ignore it, so I removed it. I then put in some cricket hatchlings and a few fruitfly larvae, I also put in some food for the larvae now the workers started hunting. I watched a group of hatchlings headed straight for the ants nest opening and they ended up falling in. However they tried they couldn't get out, then the ants did start hunting in earnest. I was able to watch the proceedings through the side of their enclosure, not only were the workers hunting, but the soldiers were too. Of course any creature entering the nest would be attacked, but after two hours I checked the nest and there were no sign of hatchlings or their bodies anywhere, not even in the enclosure so they have probably been eaten already. Although not all the hatchlings went in the nest, I've just checked and could not find any in the outworld. It seems my colony liked them that much they caught them all. I don't know if they have eaten the fruitfly larvae, as last time I spotted one it was near the nest and had a near miss encounter with a worker ant, which made the larvae escape in the opposite direction as fast as it could manage. The thing I have learnt about my colony is, cutting up mealworms or crickets isn't good enough, their food has to be small and alive, nothing else will do. Oh and my Queen Camponotus ended up with an adult cricket instead of her usual mealworm.
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Post by 1moldavite on Mar 4, 2019 11:49:00 GMT
This morning I saw a worker get knocked by a cricket hatchling and I'm wondering if they need another live food source that doesn't jump,I put in a small slice of melon and a small grape which I cut in half,which the workers showed there appreciation by promptly ignoring,I have also put in a mealworm which I cut in half,which was also ignored,so I'm going to buy a culture of microworms,and see what they think of them as a food source at least microworms don't jump.
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Post by 1moldavite on Mar 4, 2019 22:28:11 GMT
I apologize in advance for the amazing awful camera work,and also the quality,in the video I've spotted a upcoming problem in the near future,I wonder if anyone else can guess what my colony have been trying to do.
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