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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 0:40:02 GMT 1
Hey I was just wondering what everyones thoughts on Ant COLLECTING are...When I say Collecting I mean picking up random ant's and bottling them and observing, I must admit when I was younger I found this EXTREMELY interesting but now that does seem rather sad and That I didn't ever get my own colony for quite some time. But that's where everyone get's there fanatic over ant's...I love them, thanks to the Lasius Niger colony I first seen near my cousins home, They had 1cm large workers and still do, My cousin used to pour shandy and stuff down there :/ She hates them....Well she used to them many years ago, she will have changed now (Hopefully ) But this is where it started for me. So what are your view on collecting ants and how did your ant love start...how did you catch the disease like my rubra's have ant mites ? Have a merry christmas everyone!!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 1:06:35 GMT 1
Well I really got into ants in summer, where I would constantly feed a giant colony in my garden. But I became intrested in spring.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 1:08:58 GMT 1
And it is best if you return collected ants, though if you cant only collect a few.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 5:50:45 GMT 1
If you are seeing 1 cm large Ln, then you are actually likely to be seeing large Formica fusca, as Ln rarely gets that large.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 8:56:38 GMT 1
No I have kept fusca and there Is fusca down my road and these are DEFINATELY Niger's, They are matte black not the metallic green/brown like fusca, They are Really old ants the colony I suspect is around 2000 ants at least and is at least 7 years old... They really are cool .
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 9:00:05 GMT 1
Oh and also these have really nasty bites, One climbed up my shirt onto my neck and bit me, I still have the mark today...it was like a little swelling thing...Weird but painful, I know they are related to wasps but I ACTUALLY thought it was a wasp...
They are normally quite friendly unless you poke around and look for cocoons a little in summer.
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Post by Myrm on Dec 27, 2011 9:28:54 GMT 1
I have to admit that 1cm does seem vary large for a Ln worker. I'm not saying you're wrong but have you actually taken a live Ln worker and accurately measured it? Or are you just estimating/guessing? If so then I think you're being a little to generous. Take a look at a ruler and see how large a cm really is where ants are concerned. Maybe from tip of antenna to tip of abdomen it could be 1cm, but not the body.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 9:31:05 GMT 1
Well no I havn't exactly measured it but they are the biggest Niger's I have ever seen and are atleast 8mm +....
But I have tried measuring them but they are too flighty.
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Post by Myrm on Dec 27, 2011 9:34:59 GMT 1
Well no I havn't exactly measured it but they are the biggest Niger's I have ever seen and are atleast 8mm +.... But I have tried measuring them but they are too flighty. I know what you mean, they are vary fast and never stop moving it seems >.<
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 14:33:09 GMT 1
They are interesting yet so very timid, A change from my myrmica's although they are not timid I have never purchased a bite or a sting of my fellow friends. They love me >.<, Maybe that's got something to do with where they were orginally found .
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Post by Myrm on Dec 27, 2011 14:43:41 GMT 1
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 19:04:53 GMT 1
<(^(oo)^)> Can Pig Haz Trollin?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2011 8:34:37 GMT 1
Haha sometimes I feel like I collect ant colonies. One of the things I've noticed about American ant keepers is that we have to learn how to find queens really well, we often end up with too many. I have ten species at the moment. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2011 12:09:15 GMT 1
0.0 I had 7 at september and ended up feeding 3 of the small colonies to my rubra's (I say colonies but I mean infertile queens) But my rubra's are my main colony so It works out best for them .
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