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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 27, 2016 10:20:43 GMT
Nice to see your Asian species are all coming along fine Wood. I hope the substitutus start growing into a big colony too. Yes, I'm hoping to add a few more species in a few weeks too if all goes well. Not South American or African, but Asian.
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Post by Black Ant on Oct 4, 2016 15:17:45 GMT
New colony look nice species, sad to hear the queen is disabled. Perhaps the Chinese seller might send a replacement colony if the queen dies?
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Post by deansyme on Oct 4, 2016 17:44:36 GMT
Such a shame She looked ok in the video too. I hope she heals ok. I have noticed that the larger ones do not have same grip as the smaller ones. Could it be that she is just sliding on the acrylic?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 4, 2016 17:53:21 GMT
Such a shame She looked ok in the video too. I hope she heals ok. I have noticed that the larger ones do not have same grip as the smaller ones. Could it be that she is just sliding on the acrylic? Her workers are all walking around fine, but the smaller ones who have gathered the brood (5 larvae) in the same chamber as the queen seem very concerned, as they try to push her back onto her feet. This chamber has plaster pads which she can grip on, but her legs just give way in a matter of seconds and she is back kicking them in the air on her back. I keep willing her to get up, but will not be surprised if she isn't alive by tomorrow.
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Post by danovsan on Oct 4, 2016 19:37:01 GMT
The dead ants in pieces look horrific ![:'(](http://www.cosgan.de/images/more/bigs/c021.gif) . I hope your Queen managed to pull through, she looks a beautiful colour. Out of interest how much did you pay for the colony?
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Post by Jenny on Oct 5, 2016 6:16:02 GMT
The dead ants in pieces look horrific ![:'(](http://www.cosgan.de/images/more/bigs/c021.gif) . I hope your Queen managed to pull through, she looks a beautiful colour. This morning she was very still on her side with 1 leg moving. The workers are trying to get her moving, with a bit more light she continued to lie on her back with legs kicking in the air. This queen is doomed and I fear it will be a slow death, if no improvement.
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Post by Zarbi on Oct 7, 2016 9:58:24 GMT
Sorry to read you lost the Turk colony so fast
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Post by danovsan on Oct 15, 2016 7:58:56 GMT
You might want to use dilute sugar water instead for the substitutus ants, it might be that the dish you are using has little grip so they get stuck in the honey and can't get out.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 15, 2016 8:10:55 GMT
You might want to use dilute sugar water instead for the substitutus ants, it might be that the dish you are using has little grip so they get stuck in the honey and can't get out. They have the Antkit feeding bowl which is supposed to be none slip, as it has rough sides. Ants can get stuck in sugar water too if it gets like syrup, but there wasn't enough liquid for the ant to drown in unless she rolled around in it.
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Post by jeoff82 on Oct 15, 2016 9:34:37 GMT
I just put a small drop of honey for my ants and for the smaller ones I smear it. I don't dilute with water and haven't had a problem with ants drowning in the food yet. May I suggest just smearing a small amount of honey for a small colony.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 15, 2016 11:33:52 GMT
I just put a small drop of honey for my ants and for the smaller ones I smear it. I don't dilute with water and haven't had a problem with ants drowning in the food yet. May I suggest just smearing a small amount of honey for a small colony. I will try it, and probably use a blob of set honey rather than the clear liquid honey as it may have less of a chance of acting like glue. I will of course provide a water source of wet cotton wool placed in a plastic cap. Thanks for the suggestion. ![c014](http://www.cosgan.de/images/more/bigs/c014.gif)
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Post by jeoff82 on Oct 15, 2016 12:09:33 GMT
Yes I often use the solid lumps of honey, the ants drink from it and all is left is a white powder.
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Post by jeoff82 on Nov 6, 2016 12:17:20 GMT
Your ligniperdus colony looks dormant the same as how mine are. Bunch of eggs, barely any movement. There was a couple of cocoons and some larvae but now only eggs. I wonder if they are for food throughout winter.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 9, 2016 8:49:19 GMT
Your ligniperdus colony looks dormant the same as how mine are. Bunch of eggs, barely any movement. There was a couple of cocoons and some larvae but now only eggs. I wonder if they are for food throughout winter. While brood is normally kept over winter, eggs rarely are and will most probably be eaten.
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Post by occultus on Jan 20, 2017 4:23:53 GMT
Camponotus sericeus
Hi Wood, I've been hoping to see your Camponotus sericeus colony bounce back in good health. Do you think that the nest may have some sort of contamination - something toxic inside that is killing off the workers? I cannot think of anything else as you've been very thorough with their care. I've heard floral foam is toxic for ants if consumed. Maybe they are drinking the water that seeps from the hydration chamber?
I wonder if temporarily extracting the the colony out of this nest and placing them back into a dark test-tube set up would improve the survival chances? I'd then be willing to send you brood from my own colony to help bolster their numbers. All I'd need is 5gbp for postage and packaging.
I hope they improve soon mate.
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