Questions & Comments for Barney's Journals

[barney636]

All Questions and comments on any of my Journals in here please.

Thank you Kindly

[Wood~Ant]

With regards to keeping C. herculeanus, we will have to exchange info on this species Barney, as my queen is just starting to found a colony too.

[barney636]

Absolutely, I can't find a huge amount of info on these other than they seem very similar to Ligniperda but more at home in higher altitudes therefore used to cooler temperatures.

[Wood~Ant]

I like the natural looking interior of your set up. One thing, Formica sanguinea come from sandy heathland commons, so add a bit of fine silver sand and a little sharp river sand to the soil as they will feel really at home with this.

[batspiderfish]

Formica sanguinea need to be boosted with pupae, as they are temporary social parasites (thus the workers). Buying Formica sanguinea as such takes some of the charm out of keeping them, if you ask me, but your seller probably doesn't want your queen to die on you.

If you have any Formica fusca/lemani nests nearby, you may want to consider boosting your sanguinea colony a bit, as these ants will benefit from a host of at least 30.

[barney636]

Oh bugger, a bit difficult to add the sand now they are out and about I read that they were usually on the edge of forests but didn't realise they were in sandy substrate.

I haven't seen any Lemani or Fusca around here to be honest, I will have to see if any one on here has any spare or go deeper into the forests. I think it is Formica aquilonia we have around here and I imagine the brood will still do the job but how would I get the brood without ripping a big angry ant nest apart?

[Wood~Ant]

You cannot take brood from a big wood ants nest without causing some damage, but if you only open up a hole and find enough cocoons to scoop some out, then the ants will soon repair the damage as long as it is minor.
The trick is to only go in no more than 2 inches (5cm) and where the sun warms the nest, as this is where the cocooned pupae are most likely to be.

If you find several nests, then even if each nest only lets you take about 10, you should soon have 30 to 40 cocooned pupae which should be plenty; and push back the nest material to help the workers repair the damage faster so there isn't a gaping hole.

[Wood~Ant]

Having thought about it a bit more Barney, you might be just as well either buying a servi-Formica species such as F. fusca or F. lemani, or asking a member like Dean if he can supply you with a few pupae from a wild lemani nest?
The main reason is, Formica aquilonia workers would want to make the thatched ant hill that typical wood ants are well known for; and they might not fit in with F. sanguinea as well as a more submissive species.

Sanguinea nests here in the south of England raid F. fusca as their main slave species provider, and avoid confrontation with large wood ant nests as the latter are just too powerful to raid for captive brood.

[barney636]

Interestig... Ok, thanks for the info. I will double check my local forests to be certain of the species but failing that, I'll ask about for some Fusca or Lemani.

[Wood~Ant]

Aug 27, 2012 21:34:16 GMT barney636 said:

I dropped a maimed fly in earlier and they totalled it in seconds really aggressive but that is something I love about wood ants.

Sorry if this info disappoints you, but Formica sanguinea are not true "wood ants" as they live in open heathland. About the closest they get to woods is in sandy clearings with a few trees and bushes around.

[barney636]

Oh come on... way to shatter my enthusiasm just kidding...

They look and act the part and that is good enough for me They certainly seem to have settled in quick anyway.

[armyant]

They do look a lot like wood ants, but this shows that they aren't
www.woodants.org.uk/species/bloodredant

You might enjoy this video as they are kept in a cork nest.

[barney636]

Yeah, good info. Thanks

They are really nice ants and I hope they do good