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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 17, 2011 20:37:57 GMT
Okay, a new callow is here. I have inspected the bottle, and this time there are no water droplets that might drown her, as happened to her unfortunate sister. Hopefully she will live beyond the night. The callow is still lying down of course, but she is now uncurled unlike a few minutes ago and moved her legs a bit. Happy Birthday to her! Please wish her luck.
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Post by Jenny on Feb 17, 2011 20:56:22 GMT
Get some sleep tonight and don't worry
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 18, 2011 15:21:17 GMT
I don't believe this. The callow was only 'half opened' from her pupal skin this morning, moved out of the bottle, and dead. I hope this isn't going to happen to every pupa.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 21, 2011 12:35:49 GMT
Another pupa is close to hatching, I'll despair if this one dies as well. Black queen now has a clutch of about three eggs, none of my Messors will eat.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 21, 2011 13:42:52 GMT
I think you just had a run of bad luck, but hopefully that will change and the next callow will survive
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 22, 2011 19:43:20 GMT
Black queen now has about four eggs, and still won't eat. Red queen has a pupa that will hatch within the next few days, I hope this one lives. They have also not eaten, and they remain in their bottle. There are a few new eggs in there, and a few newly hatched larvae are present as well.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 22, 2011 20:54:34 GMT
Hm, it did live! Worker Number Two is now sitting there, alive and well. I shall keep an eye on her, we don't want her to stumble into a droplet of water this time. I have made sure there are no hazards in the bottle, she should stay alive.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 23, 2011 8:58:30 GMT
Has the older worker ventured out to explore the set up yet Timenova? I had a feeling that the curse of the dying callows would end, so I sincerely hope that all goes well from now on and this new arrival is the beginning of an ever growing, healthy colony. By now I had thought that they may have moved out into the soil nest, but perhaps they are waiting until the colony gets stronger, as they feel safe in their present home? Good to hear about the new girl, as she may have better prospects that her 2 prior unfortunate sisters; and she will soon be helping mum and her older sister around the home once she gains more confidence
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 23, 2011 10:05:39 GMT
Thanks Wood. The older worker has ventured outside the bottle a few times before, mostly climbing around the exterior of the bottle before going back in. I think they feel safer in the bottle right now until they feel the need to expand. Worker Number Two is now on her feet and running around, but has not begun interacting with the brood just yet. I have only just noticed that Messor callows have a orange head, not unlike that of a Super-Major. Another pupa is beginning to change colour already.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 23, 2011 10:53:10 GMT
Worker Number Two is now on her feet and running around, but has not begun interacting with the brood just yet. I have only just noticed that Messor callows have a orange head, not unlike that of a Super-Major. Another pupa is beginning to change colour already. Only from red headed queens, as all black queens tend to produce all black callows and all black workers. I think this also applies to their majors and super-majors too, as the more red a queen has relates to the colour of her daughters, I.e. very red heads etc.
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Post by shane on Feb 23, 2011 13:31:45 GMT
Worker Number Two is now on her feet and running around, but has not begun interacting with the brood just yet. I have only just noticed that Messor callows have a orange head, not unlike that of a Super-Major. Another pupa is beginning to change colour already. Only from red headed queens, as all black queens tend to produce all black callows and all black workers. I think this also applies to their majors and super-majors too, as the more red a queen has relates to the colour of her daughters, I.e. very red heads etc. I've never seen any colored male messor drones pitchers or videos as if its true with the colored red queens with workers then it should be with the male drone's so a almost fully red queen or red queen and a colored drone mate, there next generation would be more red in color and so on abit like when people breed dogs or birds. Also nice to see Timenova that this colonys starting to grow ;D
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 23, 2011 21:24:47 GMT
Indeed, I was beginning to think that there would never be a second worker.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 24, 2011 13:29:47 GMT
The second worker is beginning to take on nest duties, and even for such a young ant she shows a lot of strength as she carries pupae her size. As an experiment, I have closed the lid of the bottle and placed a few seeds in there, with a dead mosquito in the hopes that they might eat them eventually. If the lid was open, then they would be discarded without a thought so I would like to see if they will try eating during the day.
The Black Messor's egg clutch has been reduced to two, but hopefully they might hatch soon.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 25, 2011 11:16:07 GMT
Red queen has two pupae that are the same colour, a pale brown. Workers 3 and 4 should be here by the end of next week. Worker number 2 still has her orange head, which is slowly darkening to match the other worker. They have not touched the mosquito I gave them. I'll try them on some crumbs later. She has a few new eggs, but I would still rather she had something to eat. Altogether, there are two workers, three pupae, four large larvae, one small larva, and a clutch of about 6 eggs. Not too bad. Black queen now has three eggs.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 25, 2011 19:52:23 GMT
Red queen has two pupae that are the same colour, a pale brown. Workers 3 and 4 should be here by the end of next week. If you can keep them as warm as possible you may even get callow ants from them in 3 or 4 days A temperature of 21C. or higher should do the trick.
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