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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 3, 2020 17:13:45 GMT
This is the third time I'm attempting to keep this species, also known as the Asian army ant and the marauder ant. For my previous journal on them, see this thread.I told myself I wouldn't start a journal until I'd had the colony for at least a week yet here I am, starting one less than 30 hours later. This colony has a queen (who I have not yet glimpsed), 400-500 workers and a mountain of brood. I purchased them from Peter, who runs AntsfromAsia.com. I had my doubts about them arriving safely since they took a week to arrive from Thailand and this is a sensitive species, but very few workers actually died during the journey! At the moment they are in a large tube lined with paper (so I can't really see what's happening inside) with a wedge of cardboard that they're using to hang some of the brood from. The outworld has a thin layer of perlite for substrate, which is good for keeping it humid. A tube leads from the outworld to a Worm World, filled with sandy loam and coconut fibre and modified for ant keeping. Last night they discovered the Worm World and started excavating, but not to dig a nest...instead, they were carrying clumps of substrate down to their tube and barricaded the open end with it. I won't be able to get good photos until they decide to move out. They have already taken a cricket into the tube. Most of the foragers are minor workers but the occasional smaller major comes out sometimes. I have peeked into their tube through the front and although I cannot see the queen (who is presumably hidden behind the very big brood pile and a seething mass of workers at the back) I did see a massive super-major who I mistook for the queen! Can't wait to get a photo of her. Here's the minors taking their cricket: But I couldn't leave you with just those photos, so I slowly eased out part of the cardboard to reveal a small fraction of the brood pile. Not only is the queen apparently very active since there's loads of eggs, I was also lucky enough to get this photo of a super-major larva! I'm reasonably optimistic about being able to care for this colony. As long as mites don't infest them, I think I've covered all my bases. As always, feel free to comment. I appreciate any and all feedback.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 3, 2020 18:32:58 GMT
A really great looking colony, and with so much healthy brood and workers I look forward to seeing your queen. I am envious, but at the same time I love seeing your photos as I don't have room for more big colonies.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 3, 2020 18:57:23 GMT
A really great looking colony, and with so much healthy brood and workers I look forward to seeing your queen. I am envious, but at the same time I love seeing your photos as I don't have room for more big colonies. You've got your wish. I decided to gently tip the colony out in the hopes that they'll move over to the Worm World. There's the queen! Hard to see her even when she's exposed, because the minors constantly cover her like a shroud. This is probably the biggest super-major in the colony and close to the queen in size. As far as I can tell there are two of these monstrosities. I certainly wouldn't want to get bitten, because they're perfectly capable of drawing blood if they get hold of you. It's interesting how the minors ride on the backs of the majors. It allows them to travel more efficiently but it also helps protect the larger major from predators that might be tempted by them. I've covered the Worm World with the warm clothes I've had on the radiator to make it dark and tempting for the colony. Hopefully they will move in and not camp indefinitely in the outworld!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 3, 2020 21:36:59 GMT
I'm delighted to say that they are finishing the process of moving as I type this! Covering the Worm World worked and they quickly started digging at an impressive pace. One of the super-majors returned to the outworld and kept pacing between the queen's refuge and the tube. I suspected she was there to escort the queen to her new nest. I was right! The queen barely managed to fit in the tube. Her passage was somewhat clumsy, but she made it. And then she went straight into the nest entrance. I wonder if I will ever see her again? The last of the brood are currently being transported to the nest, including this gloriously sized larva that they struggled to transport along the tube. And a super-major pupa! Watching this makes me wonder what the human equivalent would be like. If we were the size of those minor workers, we'd need a crane or something to transport that. Once they have settled in, I will try feeding them tomorrow. I'm happy that they cooperated and moved.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 5, 2020 9:01:09 GMT
Marvellous photos of your colony TenebrousNova I never cease to be amazed at the sheer size of the queen compared to her smallest daughters, as she must be around 100 times bigger than them. Good to see she got her huge body down the tube and is now in the nest.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 5, 2020 14:55:18 GMT
Marvellous photos of your colony TenebrousNova I never cease to be amazed at the sheer size of the queen compared to her smallest daughters, as she must be around 100 times bigger than them. Good to see she got her huge body down the tube and is now in the nest. It was close. If she were any bigger she might not have made it! At the moment I'm giving them a few days of rest before I try feeding them.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 9, 2020 4:34:21 GMT
The colony is still actively digging their nest. They have expanded throughout the Worm World, judging from the multiple cavernous nest entrances across the surface. They haven't been that enthusiastic about food yet, which is odd since the colony is healthy and they have heaps of hungry larvae. Perhaps they're still settling down?
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 9, 2020 15:57:43 GMT
Last night I put some mixed seeds in a shallow dish in the outworld. I have read that during certain seasons, seeds make up a large portion of C. diversa's diet. Sure enough, they have taken them all! I suppose that like Messors, they chew them up to make ant bread?
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 9, 2020 19:20:38 GMT
I decided to drop in a stunned red runner roach and gauge their response. A few minors found it and ran straight back to the nest entrance, whereupon loads of workers immediately came charging out. This is the feeding response I'm looking for! Life advice if you're an insect being harassed by ants: don't stumble into their nest entrance and start kicking. It will only fuel their rage. A few of the smaller majors have come out to deal with the roach but I can't get photos without the minors escaping.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 12, 2020 23:56:39 GMT
Here's a few workers investigating a seed. I have seen a few empty seed shells near the nest entrance so they must be eating them. This is the biggest nest entrance. Another cockroach getting swarmed. There were several of the lesser majors out this time! No sign of the super-majors, however. It seems they stay at the queen's side unless there's very big prey or a direct threat to the colony. And a severed leg being taken to a smaller entrance.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 16, 2020 16:09:31 GMT
The colony still seems to be doing well. I cannot see what's going inside because the tunnels against the sides are plastered with substrate, so I gauge the colony's health by the number of workers I see. They took another cockroach and plenty of seeds last night. Among the foragers, oddly, was a callow minor with a missing gaster. It did not seem to impede her in any way, but I wonder why she's missing it?
The interaction between the minors and majors is interesting to watch. I noticed that the majors seem obedient to their smaller siblings and I've seen them being tugged by their jaws to guide them where they're needed.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 20, 2020 23:20:58 GMT
Today I discovered a bunch of minor workers roaming the floor near their set up and wondered how on Earth they could've gotten out, but the reason soon became apparent on closer inspection. The Carebara are unable to climb past the liquid barrier I use along the top of their nest, but if they can overcome that it's not hard for them to squeeze through the mesh covering the airholes. I forgot to remove the germinated seeds from the surface yesterday and a few had grown tall enough that the minor workers could climb up them and reach the mesh! You really can't let your guard down where this species is concerned. I've also noticed that there are roots visible near the bottom of the nest, suggesting that the colony was unable to eat some of the seeds they collected before they germinated. This is unavoidable since I spray the surface each day- a humid environment is essential for Carebara and they will die very quickly if they don't have access to water. Still, the roots should provide some stability to their excavated nest? I've also noticed that they are much more interested in their outworld. Normally there's only a few workers in there, but today there's about 20 roaming around in their never ending quest for more food. I refilled their seed dish, lightly sprayed the substrate and put in a locust to help encourage them to use the outworld. Another three locusts which I put on the surface of the Worm World are currently being pulled into the nest. There was even a major in the outworld. Here she is, ignoring her sister's valiant efforts to subdue the locust and instead trying to collect a seed.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 21, 2020 17:52:10 GMT
I was just reviewing the photos I took of the colony foraging when I noticed that many of the workers have parasitic mites attached. I'm very worried now, since this is what killed my original colony.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 21, 2020 19:09:33 GMT
They say lemon juice is a good thing for getting rid of mites. I hope your colony will survive and live for several years as you've only just got it. 🙄 I have found that sometimes mites get into a nest from the crickets, so they might be the culprits of the infestation.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 21, 2020 20:04:05 GMT
They say lemon juice is a good thing for getting rid of mites. I hope your colony will survive and live for several years as you've only just got it. 🙄 I have found that sometimes mites get into a nest from the crickets, so they might be the culprits of the infestation. I've already placed several lemon slices in the outworld and Worm World and liberally sprinkled freshly squeezed lemon juice everywhere in the hopes that it will help. In the meantime, I ordered a culture of Hypoaspis miles (predatory mites that will eat the parasitic ones). Those won't arrive for about a week though. Most of the ants seem unfettered by the mites and behaving as normal, but a few have been trying hard to groom themselves and each other, which of course just lets the mites hop from one ant to another. In the meantime, I will not give up until this vile scourge of ants has been eradicated from the colony forever- or until the colony falls.
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