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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 8, 2011 10:22:07 GMT
(Log 14)The Amber Ladies have given me a great surprise today- There's almost fifty workers, about fifty pupae, about a dozen larvae and about seventy eggs. They will probably slow down for the Winter, but at the current rate of growth, they may well outgrow their test tube soon into next year. ;D Here's one of the queens who came up to the front to drink some honey. Towards the back, you can see the large brood piles: I attribute this fast colony growth to the combined efforts of more than one queen. Their progress is more than satisfactory. The queens are showing no hostile or dominant behaviour towards each other, which will hopefully continue since this species can have multiple queens under some conditions.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 20, 2011 12:05:51 GMT
(Log 15)
The queens are still laying eggs at a rate of about ten every few days. The workers seem used to me by now, as they know that I open their test tube once every few days to put a small drop of honey inside, which they eagerly drink up. In fact, even the queens sometimes come right to the front, although there is always one who stays behind in the safety of the nest.
The lump of soil in the test tube has been sculpted almost artfully by the L.flavus- small holes and ridges through which movement and brood can be seen, it looks a bit like a piece of coral or sponge.
They don't seem sure of crickets- they bury them and usually don't bother after that, so I end up having to remove them. The tiny sort of flies that you often find at your windows seem to be popular with this colony though.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 29, 2011 22:48:20 GMT
(Log 16)This colony still readily accepts honey and small insects. There are at least eighty eggs, and a great deal of larvae are beginning to hatch out as well as form cocooned pupae. The worker population is around sixty or so. The queens are still living together without problems. I assume that this colony can now be considered polygynous. Here's a portion of the brood, with a queen visible: This is easily my fastest growing colony.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Dec 5, 2011 22:17:14 GMT
(Log 17)I like how with every offered spider, the queens add several more eggs to the growing pile and the larvae noticeably increase in size. I had my doubts about these queens at the beginning, but they have far exceeded my expectations so far. The workers seem well behaved and they don't seem interested in escaping, even though they have the opportunity during feeding time.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Dec 21, 2011 17:15:32 GMT
(Log 18)Most of the brood now consists of pupae (About thirty or forty), and a big pile of eggs. I fed them earlier and one of the queens didn't move out of the way, so she sat in the lid looking a bit bewildered. Because she was relatively well behaved and didn't try climbing out, I photographed her. ;D 7 I carefully put her back in when I was done.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Dec 23, 2011 10:10:05 GMT
(Log 19)Today I decided to remove the soil in the test tube. It wasn't doing too much harm, but tiny insects (Presumably springtails) were breeding quickly in it, and a mold was forming on the cotton. The workers didn't take kindly to it of course, but I managed within half an hour. Here's the result: Is it possible to clean a piece of cotton wool? I can't remove the existing piece to change it of course. None of the brood was lost during the process, but much of it in the picture is hidden behind pieces of soil.
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peanuts
Honey Pot Ant
Posts: 40
Likes: 1
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Post by peanuts on Dec 23, 2011 10:25:27 GMT
Is it possible to clean a piece of cotton wool? I can't remove the existing piece to change it of course. In a word, NO. You can only replace it with a clean bit.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Dec 23, 2011 10:35:35 GMT
Ah, that's a shame. Maybe I'll put a clean piece in, but not at the back. I keep the wool damp with a pipette.
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Post by batspiderfish on Dec 26, 2011 13:28:46 GMT
I don't think this mold should be considered harmful. Usually the only problem which arises from decaying cotton is the potential for flooding, but it sounds like your reservoir has already run out.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Dec 28, 2011 14:55:54 GMT
(Log 20)
The queens have been laying a lot of eggs- earlier I saw one worker hanging from the ceiling with about fifty in her jaws. ;D There's a lot of pupae and larvae, some of the larvae are getting pretty big.
The queens seem to enjoy each others company and often rest next to each other. There's about seventy or eighty workers. I can't be accurate of course. Several callows have been eclosing over the week, almost pure white in colour.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jan 24, 2012 14:38:22 GMT
(Log 21)Brood mostly consists of eggs and mid-sized larvae right now. Most of the pupae seem to have eclosed. Things seem a bit quieter in the colony, but eggs seem to be laid still. I have even noticed a few bare pupae among the brood. There's a couple of callows present at the moment, but the other workers seem to be at their full colour.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 19, 2012 12:48:30 GMT
(Log 22)The colony was acting quite oddly just now. Usually when I take the test tube lid off, they run around with their brood and the queens scurry for cover- but this time, they sat serenely and simply cleaned themselves and calmly walked around. Another oddity, on closer examination, is that most of the larvae were moving their heads around whilst normally there's only a few of them doing so. One of the queens was sitting right at the front, and she even laid an egg! When I put new honey in and a new mealworm, then removed the remains of the old one, they mildly examined my finger before resuming their previous activities. When I put the test tube back, they continued their calm behaviour. I wonder if this is normal or if I'm getting too suspicious. Here's the queen I mentioned with her group of workers.They seem to be getting on well though, the larvae are growing quickly and there's a new clutch of eggs along with a small number of callows.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 19, 2012 15:42:40 GMT
Nothing to get suspicious about, as some of my ants react in a way that may suggest they know me, or least know that I am opening their set up to either clean it or feed them. Some ants panic when you open up the nest or foraging area, but some have learned to accept this as being normal routine.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 19, 2012 15:46:58 GMT
Ah, thanks for the reassurance. I must be too used to my ants reacting fearfully to disturbances.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 2, 2012 9:21:42 GMT
(Log 23)The time has come at last for this colony to move (Prematurely, I might add). Well, once I come home from college at 5pm. The colony is now staying well away from the cotton, because it is growing a silvery mould all over its surface. This is why I'm going to move them. I would like some opinions and advice if possible, however. Should they be given a container with soil or with none? No soil would be convenient for maintenance, and I'll be able to keep an eye on the colony's status. Soil means they'll be at their happiest, but if (I hope not) fungus breaks out, I'll have to keep trying to remove the infected areas. Just as importantly, they'll be a lot harder to feed. Advice is welcome.
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