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Post by Myrm on May 31, 2009 19:18:59 GMT 1
31 May 09, Sunday
Today I cleaned out my Lasius flavus ant farm as I was suspicious that something was not quite right. Lasius flavus prefer to stay underground, even foraging underground. Mine, however, just did not seem to want to dig in the sand. So I removed the glass tube that is attached to the side of the ant farm (they are still living in the tube) and emptied out the sand from the ant farm. Just as I suspected; I had made it too wet.
Now I have removed all the sand and put soil in this time (it's easier to see the yellow flavus ants against the black soil than it is against the yellow sand). I was more careful with damping the soil this time and I replaced the test tube with the ants in it onto the ant farm.
Already workers are rushing about and exploring the soil in the nesting box. Seems like I did the right thing.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2009 19:22:17 GMT 1
sweet wish you luck myrm!
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Post by Myrm on Jun 5, 2009 16:24:39 GMT 1
5 Jun 09, FridayI just gave this colony a large, fat and juicy fly that made the mistake of flying into my house. They are swarming over it now. Remember how I said they seemed to be digging into the fresh soil I put in their tank? Well, it turns out that they were not actually digging into the soil but collecting it to block up the entrance to the test tube they seem to like living in. sweet wish you luck myrm! Thanks, bhoeschcod.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 18:20:47 GMT 1
how Big is this colony
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Post by Myrm on Jun 5, 2009 19:07:48 GMT 1
Hi Troy It's only a starter colony; 12 workers, 1 queen, a few larvae.
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Post by Myrm on Jun 7, 2009 21:50:56 GMT 1
7 June 2009, Sunday
I got home tonight to discover that this young colony has moved out of the test tube and into the nesting box. I can't see them, but they are nesting in the soil now, like good little flavus. ;D
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Post by Myrm on Jun 13, 2009 19:55:10 GMT 1
13 June 2009, Saturday
A little foraging going on in this colony; I see two workers bimbling about and eating from a waxworm I put in there earlier.
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Post by Myrm on Jun 17, 2009 21:56:44 GMT 1
17 June 2009, WednesdayI have started to put food into a glass test tube which I have attached to the side of the nesting box of this colony, and already they have learnt that they can find food there. This colony does not have a separate foraging box as they are not above ground foragers. I have put in a freshly killed fat fly into their test tube and they are all tucking in.
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Post by Myrm on Jun 27, 2009 14:46:45 GMT 1
27 June 2009, SaturdayHave been fairly active over the past few days and eating bits of everything I put into their feeding tube. I just had two on my hand. They are so cute!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2009 21:58:26 GMT 1
i looked in my flavus nest today to find no movement...all of the ants (about 30 of them) are dead im thinking sabotage...there is no explanation
hope you have better luck than me myrm!!
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Post by Myrm on Jun 28, 2009 22:03:25 GMT 1
i looked in my flavus nest today to find no movement...all of the ants (about 30 of them) are dead I'm sorry to hear that Who would do that?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2009 22:14:49 GMT 1
my dad... he hates them lol but i dont think it was
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Post by Myrm on Jun 28, 2009 22:18:56 GMT 1
my dad... he hates them lol but i dont think it was Nobody better sabotage my Brummie Bin Lid's ant nest!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2009 22:23:55 GMT 1
lol i think its cuz theyre usually mistaken for red ants and he dosnt like them even more. he sees them as pests...such unenlightened!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2009 22:26:41 GMT 1
i was going to release them anyway soon and get a queen instead but they never got their freedom
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