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Post by UKantz on May 16, 2012 15:39:47 GMT
birds eye view of the nest Attachments:
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Post by UKantz on May 16, 2012 15:41:38 GMT
side view, I will upload more pictures when I have the chance Attachments:
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Post by UKantz on May 20, 2012 15:55:41 GMT
This species continue to fest on meal worms and has consumed 2 in the space of a week but nest expansion continues to be there priority as all around the sides of the tank is shifted soil.
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Post by UKantz on May 21, 2012 18:38:36 GMT
With all the nest expansion going on the rugs have decided to expanded the brood chamber (very little) but still enough to reveal the brood that came with them when caught and 2 bunches of newly laid eggs, Each bunch being 10-20 in number.This has proven the queens are at home and have settled in.
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Post by UKantz on May 23, 2012 15:35:03 GMT
The spider I put in this morning is completely gone probably off to feed some hungry larvae
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Post by UKantz on May 26, 2012 8:38:34 GMT
More eggs continue to be laid around 15-30 mark along with groups of small larvae being carried around, and I also got a glimps of the queen before being escorted away from me by her workers. The mealworm I placed in there yesterday is complealy gone of to feed the brood. This colony continues to thrive.
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Post by UKantz on May 29, 2012 6:07:53 GMT
They are still taking in food every 1-2 days, but I found the first dead worker today probably of old age
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Post by UKantz on Jun 1, 2012 16:56:08 GMT
Activity is slowing down and now only see the odd one worker but no more dead bodies, so it must just be the fact that they are a small colony (only roughly 50 strong) as the mealworms I place in there still mysteriously disappear.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 4, 2012 17:00:07 GMT
Still continue to take food though seeing a worker is a rare occurrence, but no dead body's are to be found.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 7, 2012 9:38:19 GMT
After not being able to spot a worker foraging or in any tunnel networks I decided to check if they were still alive, and dug up a corner of there set up only to be greeted by 15 angry workers some carrying eggs thus proving the queens were ok as well. I am quite relieved but will not be making this mistake again.... As I type this they are repairing any damage done.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 13, 2012 15:58:03 GMT
They still continue to take food and now even the odd worker comes up to forage.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 17, 2012 9:13:53 GMT
Now I can actually see workers foraging in the day, horay. They seem to alway be hungry and are still taking in the mealworms, and I am able to see 1-3 workers foraging at anyone time. This is a good sign that this colony is growing.
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Post by UKantz on Jun 23, 2012 15:53:20 GMT
I bought a larger set up for this colony today and was preparing to move them in. When digging around the side to lift the soil up I noticed very little retaliation from workers (in fact there was only 1). I placed the soil in the container and waited for them to come rushing out but nothing, I chizzled away untill nothing was left. There was no brood or dead bodies just 3-6 workers left overall found in different parts of the set up, I also noticed why the food was being eaten there are lots of bugs sharing the ants tank and when I went to take this weeks food out it was crawling with tiny lice spiders ect. So sadly this colony has died out, and my others don't seem to be doing well either. I may have to take a few steps back and try starting with Lasius Niger again or take a break from ant keeping.
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Post by deansyme on Jun 24, 2012 8:06:07 GMT
do not let this set back put u off. Every ant keeper has had failed colonies and even experienced keepers still get a colony that doesnt take off or dies out. You need to think what you could have done better or where did it go wrong? Best thing to do is try again. Ant keeping is an educational hobby where we learn new things all the time.
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