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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2012 1:33:58 GMT 1
As title says...what ant species do you have a hard time keeping?
For me, it would be any Camponotus species. For one, all the Camponotus queens I've had...think 6 of them, maybe 5...have taken ages to get to worker stage. It always takes them 6 months, and then there is only 3 or 4 workers to start with. I don't have this problem with any other species taking that long and it is always room temperature where they are (high 60s, low 70s). But that isn't really the problem I have...longest I've been able to keep the workers alive has been a week and a half. For some reason, every time the workers eclose...they die shortly after. They never eat anything either, like termites or fruit flies.
So, not sure why I have a hard time with Camponotus...but they are number one on my list of hardest species I've tried raising.
On the other side...I find Pheidole and Pogonomyrmex, along with Forelius and Dorymyrmex...to be incredibly easy. I don't imagine Myrmecocystus to be hard either, but I've never been able to get a queen. I seem to do a lot better with semi-arid or desert species. And ants that require more humidity or moisture, I have a hard time with.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2012 2:06:58 GMT 1
I have some trouble with Camponotus as well. I keep them between 21 and 28 degrees celsius, but the brood take months to develop. I also have problems with niger-group Lasius. The queens seem to keel over before they've laid a single egg. I've gotten further with Ponera! Despite difficulties with these two easier species, I've had success with Lasius umbratus and Tapinoma sessile.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2012 3:01:50 GMT 1
I have a hard time with Lasius neoniger. I've only seen one egg, and three of my queens have been parasitized. I only have two left. Time will tell.
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Post by Myrm on Feb 28, 2012 8:37:44 GMT 1
I have always had proplems with Lasius flavus
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2012 17:04:13 GMT 1
Ive always had bad luck with Messor species .
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2012 3:27:55 GMT 1
So far I only have one Lasius niger queen. Had her for around a year n a half now. Hardy little beasty she is. She lived in a small pot of soil in my cold room at home for the first few months, then I upgraded her to a test tube in toasty student accommodation with broken (super warm) heating. After that she laid a whole heap of eggs and promptly moved out into the glass formicarium I bought from antstore. I then shifted her back home with me for the summer, where she currently still resides. My mum tops up the colonys water and any spiders she finds, along with the odd slice of fruit.
From what I gather I've been incredibly lucky she didn't just keel over within the first couple of months.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 11:08:19 GMT 1
Lasius Niger, They always die . Myrmica rubra are my Successor ants.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2012 1:22:00 GMT 1
Everything!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2012 17:37:18 GMT 1
I'm on my second Carpenter and queen- the first one has raised big larvae but then she opens the cocoons and eats the ant inside, despite being fed numerous fruit flies and meal worms. I think she's just went a bit unbalanced!! My L. Niger queen in the school is doing really well, she now has 6 workers and we watched one come out. My ruba colony is exploding- there's hundreds of eggs and great big cocoons!! The other carpenter ant got off to a shaky start but now I think they've settled and begun digging and blocking up the test tube. I do have to put dead fruit flies right into the tube to be acknowledged though, so maybe they're just fussy??
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2012 18:00:01 GMT 1
I had a problem with my first lasius niger queen she died
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 8:04:09 GMT 1
Lasius niger are strange, some queens are too weak. Pick up the 1cm long queens, they are the best and do well.
I find smaller queens just die. Larger queens last for a good 12+ years.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 12:12:52 GMT 1
Lasius niger are strange, some queens are too weak. Pick up the 1cm long queens, they are the best and do well. I find smaller queens just die. Larger queens last for a good 12+ years. Where did you obtain this information? I may put it to the test in the coming nuptial flights.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 12:55:12 GMT 1
If Im lucky enought to chatch lasius Niger queens, I will try and get the fat ones One thing I want to do is get a L.Niger queen, get them to a huge colony, then attempt a L. Umbratus parisite. I find parsite ant awesome
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 17:27:20 GMT 1
Lasius niger are strange, some queens are too weak. Pick up the 1cm long queens, they are the best and do well. I find smaller queens just die. Larger queens last for a good 12+ years. Where did you obtain this information? I may put it to the test in the coming nuptial flights. This is what i've noticed. The bigger queens generally do best. the small ones just seem to die if they don't get food after the first workers, unless they eat their eggs.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 17:29:25 GMT 1
If Im lucky enought to chatch lasius Niger queens, I will try and get the fat ones One thing I want to do is get a L.Niger queen, get them to a huge colony, then attempt a L. Umbratus parisite. I find parsite ant awesome Just be warned social parasites are very hard to keep. Introduce them when they start coming out if hibernation, when the colony is still waking up.
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