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Post by philip369 on Mar 23, 2012 20:39:23 GMT
Hello guys My Messor barbarus queen came yesterday and she is very big I wasn't ready for her size. As I have only seen a Lasius Niger queen before, that was a shock. She seems very shy and very sensitive to vibrations so she is on a shelf I don't use in my room just above Sarah (my Lasius Niger queen). She was bought from Ants unearthed or antsuk what ever the name of that website is, as always it was amazing service and she arrived with out a hitch I don't think I will ever use anyone else, perfect every-time. I have given her a couple of small bird seeds and she seems to like one of them she has a nice clutch of eggs and is very protective of them. She has also eaten a small drop of honey I put on the side of the test tube. I will up load the set up I have for her I build it my self and am quite proud of it they will be taken and uploaded tomorrow as the light in my room is terrible and I only have my camera on my phone. Also I have a question I have bought some sesame seeds from asda for people to eat, would it be safe to give them to her as they are a lot smaller than what she has at the moment. Also what other seeds can I give her ?  |
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Post by Smudge on Mar 23, 2012 22:19:08 GMT
Personally I cannot see why you cannot give her the seeds as long as there are no adatives or roasted if thats even possible. I give mine a small bird seed called trill which is a good mixture of differant grass seeds what you might find is that they will prefer a certain seed to others but they are generally not fussy. Hope this helps.  |
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Billy
Leaf Cutter Ant 
Lasius niger, Formica lemani
Posts: 71
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Post by Billy on Mar 23, 2012 23:31:04 GMT
Rather than Trill (which I use for my budgie), wouldn't a cheaper budgie seed mix work just as well? Trill is more expensive, as it contains little biscuity things which contain iodine and vitamins, which is great for budgies, but I don't think it would benefit ants.
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Post by Jenny on Mar 24, 2012 7:29:48 GMT
All our Messor colonies have Canary seed with no problem. Markets and pet shops all sell it  |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 24, 2012 8:05:42 GMT
Hello guys My Messor barbarus queen came yesterday and she is very big I wasn't ready for her size. As I have only seen a Lasius Niger queen before, that was a shock. She seems very shy and very sensitive to vibrations so she is on a shelf I don't use in my room just above Sarah (my Lasius Niger queen). She was bought from Ants unearthed or antsuk what ever the name of that website is, as always it was amazing service and she arrived with out a hitch I don't think I will ever use anyone else, perfect every-time. I have given her a couple of small bird seeds and she seems to like one of them she has a nice clutch of eggs and is very protective of them. She has also eaten a small drop of honey I put on the side of the test tube. I will up load the set up I have for her I build it my self and am quite proud of it they will be taken and uploaded tomorrow as the light in my room is terrible and I only have my camera on my phone. Also I have a question I have bought some sesame seeds from asda for people to eat, would it be safe to give them to her as they are a lot smaller than what she has at the moment. Also what other seeds can I give her ? Messor species are less fussy about the seeds they eat than other Harvester Ants such as Pogonomyrmex, but they are still selective in what they do use and sesame seeds may not fit their menu.  Grass seeds and those with a high oil content are usually chosen by my Messor barbs, which is why I offer either mixed canary seed or finch seed, as Jen has already said. It is always a bit of a shock when one first sees the size of a Messor barb queen, but these girls can produce large masses of eggs and their colonies reach many thousands in the wild, although in captivity they adapt to their nest size. Having said this, my largest colony is at least over 1,000 strong and is still growing. A great sight when the colony reaches this size, as workers vary from tiny mini-minors to huge super-majors almost as large as the queen. ;D |
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Post by philip369 on Mar 24, 2012 14:35:23 GMT
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Post by IceWhyte on Mar 24, 2012 18:08:33 GMT
I think those seeds you have in the test tube are a bit too large. You will probably find that the queen won't bother with the seeds until there are at least some larvae.
From reading other Messor journals it seems that young colonies only really eat small easy to break seeds like dandelion or grass seeds and then as the workers become bigger (with stronger jaws) they will start taking finch seeds. I did notice my previous queen cracking one of the small, round, hard finch seeds but they mainly prefered grass seeds.
Once you get some workers and they start foraging you will soon see what they prefer. I had a rock feed dish that I put a large selection of different types of seeds in and the ants only took the grass seeds and left the hard ones.
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Post by philip369 on May 28, 2012 19:36:07 GMT
Well after a couple of weeks of worry for the queen she seems to have come out on top she has two workers and a lot of brood (I will upload some pictures tomorrow).
She has had me worried she had eaten some of her brood and was very still for a couple of days even when I was messing with the test tube but she has come on a lot and I'm so pleased. I have moved her to where the the Lasius Niger was and the Lasius Niger has been moved to a semi permanent nest site in a plastic box I have. (look on my Lasius Niger journal for more about them)
I am looking for a large glass case for her now and wondering if I should make a ytong or a natural nest for them anyone got any ideas on which one is best?
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Post by philip369 on Jun 26, 2012 21:16:27 GMT
The queen is now up to around 15 workers and is doing very well. I have also had my first ant death  on the whole though that particular ant had left the colony and had been wandering around for a day so I though there was some thing wrong. they do have a big appetite eating dandelion seeds all the time, cleaning has been a bit of an issue as they have left all the seeds at the front of the test tube, but now have covered the seeds in sand from the nest area. Hopefully they will be in there permanent home soon (still building that, it's going to be a block of plaster of Paris in a cube with glass around the outside and an 80 litre 'out world' box. Should be enough room for them for the time being hopefully) and I can stop worrying about them for the time being |
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Post by philip369 on Jul 3, 2012 20:50:09 GMT
I have decided to buy a 3 foot fish tank for the messor in stead as the mother has expressed her desire that if even one gets out then shes getting the ant powder out  . The total deaths are now also up to three two I'm not sure why died and the third drowned in some honey I'm not sure why they are drowning as they have never had any problems with the honey up to now (they usually leave it along anyway I just put it there just in case) I have put a big seed there for now so that they have something to grab on to if they fall in (it is watered as well the honey). I will add some new pictures when I get the new tank also does anyone know where to get a good substrate for them? |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jul 4, 2012 7:57:02 GMT
You will find they can climb well, even on a smooth glass vertical wall. So make your tank completely escape proof with whatever means you can.  As for honey, I have found my own Messor don't touch the stuff at all, or even sugar water that much, preferring seeds and insects; but they will nibble on a bit of fruit such as apple or strawberries, as long as the fruit is removed after 3 days just before it starts to grow mould or fungus over it. |
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Post by philip369 on Aug 12, 2012 21:37:33 GMT
These ladies are just doing so well they are around 50-ish workers at the moment, with about 20-30 larvae, no more deaths and they are energetic and look really healthy. In a round two weeks the accessories should be here for the tank and then I will put up a load of pictures of both colonies. I will also be getting a third colony of Pheidole pallidula in a weeks time if they are still there.
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Post by philip369 on Aug 31, 2012 21:54:23 GMT
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Post by philip369 on Sept 18, 2012 21:05:41 GMT
Mixed results with these ladies at the moment as some have died again but I think this has to do with the weather more than anything as it has been freezing at the moment and all of a sudden to. I now have the central heating on in my room at 2 hour intervals in my room so it takes the edge off the cold.
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Post by philip369 on Oct 8, 2012 20:39:31 GMT
Not much to report no more deaths  and the colony is hibernating in the test tube still. |
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on the whole though that particular ant had left the colony and had been wandering around for a day so I though there was some thing wrong. they do have a big appetite eating dandelion seeds all the time, cleaning has been a bit of an issue as they have left all the seeds at the front of the test tube, but now have covered the seeds in sand from the nest area. Hopefully they will be in there permanent home soon (still building that, it's going to be a block of plaster of Paris in a cube with glass around the outside and an 80 litre 'out world' box. Should be enough room for them for the time being hopefully) and I can stop worrying about them for the time being 
. The total deaths are now also up to three two I'm not sure why died and the third drowned in some honey I'm not sure why they are drowning as they have never had any problems with the honey up to now (they usually leave it along anyway I just put it there just in case) I have put a big seed there for now so that they have something to grab on to if they fall in (it is watered as well the honey). I will add some new pictures when I get the new tank also does anyone know where to get a good substrate for them? 
and the colony is hibernating in the test tube still.
