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Post by bobdol on Mar 25, 2012 9:32:27 GMT
Out of the 10 or so Lasius niger colonies in my room at the moment I have selected a favorite to keep. There is around 18 workers and a healthy queen. I mostly chose this colony because I have had them the longest and also because they are the only colony in a glass test tube so they stand out a bit. The queen started laying fresh eggs last week and the whole colony is fully out of hibernation with the overwintered larvae mostly turned into cocoons. This colony goes absolutely crazy for honey with the whole worker population leaving the queen to tend the brood while they completely cover the honey drop in there combined mass. They have also started eating insect food again after hibernation, devouring a piece of maggot with more force than any of the other colonies. Another interesting thing to note about this particular Lasius niger colony is some interesting behavior I have noticed that none of the others seem to display. On disturbance, when the workers become agitated they spray formic acid just like Formica. I knew Lasius were capable of it but I've never seen it before.
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Post by bobdol on Mar 31, 2012 13:03:59 GMT
The workers just keep eclosing with this colony and over the last few days the queen has doubled the egg mass. They have been feeding from honey and pieces of mealworm.
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Post by bobdol on Apr 21, 2012 8:32:27 GMT
The Queen is once again very plump after being fed by her workers yesterday. After laying around 70 eggs over the last 2-3 weeks she has had to have a break but now she is looking like she is bursting with eggs again. The worker count is over 25 now and they have been eating non stop taking honey and a dead fly in the last few days. There is also about 10 more cocoons which should eclose over the next couple of weeks. I will have to prepare a nest for these guys as soon a test tube will not be big enough!
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Post by bobdol on May 4, 2012 21:20:22 GMT
The eggs in this colony seem to be taking an age to hatch - no idea why. Workers eclose every now and then but the population is steady at 25-30 workers. All of them have really plump gasters so they are not interested too much in food at the moment but I give them a bit of honey every few days as no matter how full they are they always go crazy for honey.
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Post by bobdol on Jun 23, 2012 15:53:01 GMT
I have now sold this colony as I want to start with a fresh queen from the mating flights this year - put straight into a proper set up. The colony was doing well last time I had them and the eggs hatched once I moved the ants to a new test tube. There were even a few new cocoons appearing. This thread can be moved out now.
Thanks!
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