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Post by messor2894 on Mar 26, 2014 21:46:08 GMT
Hi I'm new to this forum and didn't know where to post this. I've been collecting rubra for about a year now and have this problem with the throwing away moldy looking larvae. The workers just walk around with it, would take a picture but do not have a good enough camera, so any advice why they do this would be really appreciated?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 26, 2014 23:17:30 GMT
Hi Messor2894 and welcome to the Ant Hill. I have known Myrmica brood to dry up if the nest is too dry, so this might be the problem?
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Post by Zarbi on Mar 27, 2014 9:36:36 GMT
I have seen larvae which appear to be mummified and looked like bits of dessicated coconut, and it seemed to be where the brood was kept in dry plaster nests or soil which wasn't kept damp enough.
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Post by messor2894 on Mar 27, 2014 20:59:29 GMT
It might be that I keep them quite humid and dampen the soil everyday they look drained its strange I always pick them up and see if its mites if it was mite would I be able to see them ? and thanks for the replys my massive colony are in a temporary 9 litre container I have 30 + queens
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Post by elitzchupa on Mar 27, 2014 21:53:24 GMT
30?! I'm so jealous. I have anyways wanted to keep this species but everywhere that sells is unavailable and I didn't get any during last year's flights
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Post by messor2894 on Mar 27, 2014 22:31:51 GMT
Yeah my colony is wild, it easy had 60 queens but I took 30 or just over, but just trying to find out why they are throwing away eggs and larvae and should be moving them into a 4 foot long classic ant farm in next day or 2.
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Post by messor2894 on Mar 27, 2014 22:33:40 GMT
And how do I attach pics?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 27, 2014 23:41:26 GMT
And how do I attach pics? Not sure how you'd do them from a mobile, but from a computer you can add an attached photo file or use a link via an image host.
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Post by messor2894 on Mar 28, 2014 0:18:12 GMT
I can't on my phone, ohh well wood ant what colonies are you keeping at the moment?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 28, 2014 8:02:04 GMT
I can't on my phone, ohh well wood ant what colonies are you keeping at the moment? At present 17 in total, all of this on this link here} Wood Ant's Journals
That must have a massive wild colony you found if it had around 60 queens. The biggest Myrmica colony I ever found had only 27 queens that I could see. Surprisingly even with a lot more queens such colonies rarely reach more than 3,000 workers, and the budding of a big colony is commonplace.
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Post by messor2894 on Mar 28, 2014 13:22:30 GMT
I thought they could have more than 3000, it was a massive colony in Martlesham is good for rubra 17 hard work lol
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 28, 2014 13:39:14 GMT
I thought they could have more than 3000, it was a massive colony in Martlesham is good for rubra 17 hard work lol Even with a 100 queens the average M. rubra colony has a population of around 2,500 or less. Most Myrmica nests tend to contain smaller numbers rather than larger in terms of queens and workers, unlike some British Formica species which have tens or even hundreds of thousands.
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Post by messor2894 on Apr 1, 2014 19:22:10 GMT
Is Formica sanguinea polygyne or not? They interest me. If not could you name some cheap polygoyne species I could buy.
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Post by elitzchupa on Apr 1, 2014 21:23:57 GMT
I prefer to keep Manica rubida and they seem to be bigger and badder however I can either buy a queen only of Manica rubida, or a rubra Queen and 50-100 workers. I'd prefer to put them in a ytong tank set up, but I'm having trouble keeping the ytong moist even with hydration holes at the top that are ant proof.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 1, 2014 23:09:57 GMT
Is formica sanguiea polygon or not they intrest me if not could you name so cheap polygon species I could buy I think the word you want is "polygyne" here. Formica sanguinea can be, but not so much as other Formica species like fusca or lemani.
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