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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 26, 2011 15:27:01 GMT
I have met the 6th worker today, who is currently in her white callow stage. There are still 6 more cocoons, resulting in 12 workers once they have all hatched. A few larvae are getting there, and there are even more eggs.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 26, 2011 21:15:00 GMT
The new callow has now begun her nest duties. Whilst she still likes to hide behind her mother's ample frame, I have seen her tending to the brood and being fed. I had earlier gave them a small dead cricket, and they have now dragged it towards their brood. The callow has been chewing at the cricket's leg, suggesting she may have gained most of her confidence already. I have also seen the workers carrying tiny pieces of the cricket, and offering it both to the raised heads of the larvae and the queen. Like my Messor Barbarus, I let them sit on the heat mat for a while and it seems to be helping them along. I am very pleased with this colony's progress now- it is only six workers, but they are certainly beginning to grow very fast. With six more workers on their way, it is only a matter of time until I will no longer be able to count them.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 4, 2011 16:04:38 GMT
The Lasius Niger have a cocoon that will soon become Worker Seven. ;D The Lasius Flavus are doing alright too. No pupae yet, but the eggs are all hatched and some larvae are close to pupa stage.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 5, 2011 9:45:48 GMT
Decided to make a more detailed observation of the Lasius Flavus. I have noticed that there isn't as much brood as there used to be, possibly because of their reluctance to take insect prey and so they may have been eating unhatched eggs. I have been giving them plenty of honey recently, which the Workers greedily take. Many of the Workers have drunk so much of it that they are slightly swollen, acting as Repletes now. ;D The colony typically divides itself into two distinct groups. There is always a small group of Workers looking after the brood, which is close to the Queen but usually in a different chamber. The rest of the Workers (Excluding those who are foraging) form the largest group, around the Flavus Queen. The Queen is a different colour to her workers, and is a distinct black rather than the gold of the Workers, so she stands out even whilst Workers climb all over her. In the light, she shines a dull gold and looks pretty compared to most Ant Queens. The Queen normally stays in one place, and sits serenely whilst her daughters attend her. They can't get enough honey, so I'm going to look into finding some kind of insect that they will take. I remember them taking a small Spider before, so I'll see if I can find any today. Here is a previous picture of them, back when I kept them in test tube setups. You can see the Queen's distinct black against the Worker's gold. I have also found that while most Ant species will actively try and bite a threat rather than beat a retreat, my Lasius Flavus are far more docile. They prefer to run away, and on the few occasions some Workers have climbed onto my hand, they have never once shown signs of fear. Even when they realise I am a much larger creature than they are and most ants would get angry, these ladies have never bitten me or even tried. They seem to take a much more peaceful stance to life than their more warlike cousins, Lasius Niger- they simply sit and look up at me.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 5, 2011 20:50:48 GMT
Just opened the Lasius Niger test tube in order to give them some fresh food, and glimpsed the pale form of Worker Seven ducking behind the Queen. ;D This leaves five more cocoons, with about four larvae that will soon pupate.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 8, 2011 19:31:45 GMT
Despite my best Messor Barbarus colony being in jeopardy right now, my Lasius Niger are still doing well. Cocoons now number six, with a few larvae in the pupating position. I have also seen the queen lay an egg just now. Speaking of which, there are now many more larvae as the eggs begin to hatch. I'd better start giving them more food for the next few weeks, as there shall soon be many more mouths to feed.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 9, 2011 18:10:23 GMT
Lasius Niger cocoons now number seven, more eggs are beginning to hatch. I have seen the queen lay a few eggs throughout the day, and there has to be over 50 eggs right now. They have taken a particular like to a drop of golden syrup diluted slightly, and it was tasty enough for their queen to come over and drink from it. Two of the workers have drank enough for their gaster plates to become slightly forced apart, like repletes. Two larvae are almost ready to pupate. I look forward to watching this colony's development.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 11, 2011 21:03:19 GMT
There are now eight cocoons present in the Lasius Niger colony, and one of which is showing signs of hatching into Worker Eight within the next few days. The current cocoons, whilst presently unhatched, make 14 workers once they are hatched. Many eggs are hatching into tiny larvae, some of which are already growing slightly. Lasius Flavus are still reluctant to take food, and are mostly grouped around their queen. But not even they can resist the temptation that comes with a drop of golden syrup. ;D I have found a personality difference between both queens of the aforementioned colonies. The Lasius Niger Queen is bold and social, constantly bustling around her brood and communicating with her seven daughters. She does not carry the brood around nearly as much as she used to, preferring to let the workers do that. I'm sure she feeds them though, and she does eagerly accept food from passing workers. Big and confident, she even comes up to the front of the test tube at times, and may even drink offered honey or syrup by herself. In January, she went into egg-laying overdrive and produced at least 50 eggs, and is still laying a few a day. She is visibly faster and stronger than her L.Flavus rival but had a far shakier start, yet to get nearly as many workers. The Lasius Flavus Queen has far more daughters, at least 40. She is half the size of the L.Niger queen however, and a lot more timid. She does not eat food by herself, preferring to wait for it to be brought to her. She is constantly attended by the vast majority of the L.Flavus population, and is often covered so that only parts of her are visible under the golden masses. It helps that she is a bronze-black, so she is more distinguished. Like her L.Niger rival, she went into egg-laying overdrive during the course of January. Unfortunately, many of these eggs were eaten in their reluctance to feed. She prefers to sit serenely in her favourite corner, and is very reluctant to move though light may get her to her feet. Even so, she is slower than the L.Niger queen. She plays no active part in brood care or nest maintenance, but she has reason to be lazy as her daughters see to. ;D Interestingly, she did display curiosity and possibly aggression when my L.Niger queen's late sister died. I had offered the deceased queen to the L.Flavus, and their queen actually arrived on the scene to investigate. She was holding her jaws wide, and only when she had sniffed every part of the body was she convinced that the intruder was dead, and finally satisfied enough to return to her nest. It seems that she dislikes the idea of competition. I don't have a favourite out of the two species, each are equally fascinating for me to watch and learn from.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 12, 2011 10:15:47 GMT
Wow, that was quick! Only ten minutes ago, the oldest cocoon of my Lasius Niger was shrivelled slightly and darkened- a sign of maturity. I just took them off the heat mat just now and saw Worker Eight, alive and well. There are still eight cocoons, as another larva has pupated during the night. Over half of the eggs are now hatched, luckily it is getting warmer and so insect prey should be easier to find for them.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 14, 2011 16:27:56 GMT
Nine Lasius Niger cocoons. The one which will become Worker Nine has not yet darkened, but it should within a week or two. Worker Eight is still a dark grey, but is slowly but surely gaining the black armour of her sisters. Newly hatched larvae are showing signs of development, growing slightly bigger every few days it seems. The largest larvae are still nearing the pupating stage, as there are now nine cocoons. A few of the larvae are starting to replace them in the big larvae stage now. In general, the brood are starting to get hard to count now. The queen is still very active, and frequently interacts with her daughters. She seems to have a bit of a routine throughout the day, though her activities are random. For the most part, she sits at the back at the base of the cotton, communicating with the workers who go past and accepting food. If hungry, she shows it by walking up to each worker and the workers seems to get the message, and begin feeding the queen. When not sitting at the back, she bustles around her brood whilst inspecting every egg, larva and cocoon. She spends some of the day 'sleeping', in which case she sits at the back behind her brood and settles down. Alternatively she 'roosts' in the cotton wool and rests there. The Lasius Flavus are not very active, so I'm going to see if their activity increases by evening (Which it normally does).
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 16, 2011 16:06:34 GMT
Just discovered a massive L.Niger nest in my garden- but unfortunately, they are underneath the pond (Which is a rectangle made of bricks). They are inaccessible or I would probably take a few cocoons for my L.Niger nanitics- these wild ants are full size and have both twice the size and strength of the nanitics.
Its such a shame when they make a nest in such a concrete fortress, when you need them. I counted over 50 just foraging, I can only imagine what its like inside.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 17, 2011 20:59:14 GMT
L.Niger larvae are growing pretty fast, the new ones are soon approaching the medium size. There's about 30 eggs that have not hatched yet. They are doing pretty well. None of the cocoons have darkened yet, but it is only a matter of time until Worker Nine arrives.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 19, 2011 10:20:50 GMT
10 cocoons in L.Niger colony, making 18 workers once all have hatched. ;D Looks like they will triple in size in the next few months. Most of the larvae are now at medium size, and eggs are hatching each day.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 20, 2011 13:54:09 GMT
11 cocoons in the Lasius Niger colony. Many of the new larvae are getting big now, and some of the older ones will be in the pupa stage within days. Looks like I'll have a lot more workers once the Summer is here, as according to the pupa count the population will double soon. ;D All eight workers are active and healthy. I'm not sure of their natural lifespan, though Worker One, Two, Three and Four were born in early September. They still look as though they have plenty of life in them yet, even though I can't tell them apart from the others. I suppose the newer larvae will become bigger workers, as they have had more nutrition than the earlier ones. Queen is no longer as round and gravid as she was, as she has laid many eggs recently. Knowing her, there are more on the way. Its as if this colony is trying its hardest to make up for the lost time that it took to get started.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 23, 2011 7:39:17 GMT
About 40 or more eggs now, with a rapidly rising larva population. Must be 50 of them or more.
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