Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 11:06:39 GMT 1
You know when your L.Niger queen stayed at the top soil instead of digging a tunnel, mine's doing that now but she WAS in her tunnel laying eggs. . . is this a good thing or a bad thing??
|
|
|
Post by Myrm on Apr 14, 2010 11:08:15 GMT 1
Hi Lasius It is nothing to worry about. If the queen is happy where she is then I would leave her there. Once the first lot of workers are born they will expand into the farm. Many of my ant colonies have done this.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 11:08:58 GMT 1
Whew. . . <exalt>
|
|
|
Post by Myrm on May 1, 2010 8:45:31 GMT 1
1 May 2010, SaturdayWhen I checked on these ants this morning I was surprised to find a lot of workers running about on the surface of the sand within the ant farm. Thinking that perhaps that naughty Goblin had been up to no good I took a closer look and found the queen out of the nest and wandering around the surface of the sand. The workers were running about in a bit of a frenzy. I took the opportunity to peek into the nest itself (still only consisting of 1 chamber and a single tunnel leading to the surface), and saw lots of larvae in the process of being buried in the sand by the workers; this is the sign that the larvae are about to spin a cocoon around themselves (the final stage of ant brood development). There were also a lot of cocoons and eggs
|
|
|
Post by Thomas on May 12, 2010 7:58:23 GMT 1
Any updates?
|
|
|
Post by Myrm on May 12, 2010 12:12:25 GMT 1
Any updates? Hi Thomas and thank you for your interest in my colony They are doing very well and the pile of brood they bring out into the plastic tubing is increasing in number. They also tend to leave some of them there all the time with several workers tending to and guarding them. My biggest problem will be next year; I am going to be out of the country for 7 months and will not be able to feed them. I am not particularly worried as I have left my colonies for that length of time in the past (my job often takes me away from home for months at a time) and other colonies have survived.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 12, 2010 17:15:36 GMT 1
i have a idea it may be stupid but like i said its only a idea. well why dont you have a tank designed to have insects from the garden in it like i have with woodlice because most stuff will eat the rotting vegitation so if before you leave u put loads of vegitation in the tank the bugs will have lots to it and the ants can eat the bugs to there leasure?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 13, 2010 0:32:40 GMT 1
Liam, First of all, that is NOT a stupid idea. All (appropriate) ideas are welcome here.
Second, in my opinion, this would work for a couple months, but not for the full time. This is because the ants would most likely eat them all in the earlier months. Also, you want to discourage all mold growth.
|
|
|
Post by Myrm on May 13, 2010 4:58:58 GMT 1
Hi Liam Thank you for your ideas. It is certainly something I will have to consider doing.
|
|
|
Post by Myrm on May 15, 2010 19:05:55 GMT 1
15 May 2010, SaturdayI gave these ants a large fly today which they are eating as I type. Still loads of brood present.
|
|
|
Post by Myrm on May 22, 2010 17:31:12 GMT 1
22 May 2010, Saturday
I am away from 23 May to 5 Jun and so will not be able to update this journal during that time.
These ants are enjoying more fat flies; the hot weather we have been having here lately tends to bring those flies out.
Loads of larvae and cocoons in the nest.
|
|
|
Post by Myrm on Jun 5, 2010 15:47:58 GMT 1
5 June 2010, Saturday
These ants are very excited today as I have just given them a juicy fly; the first feeding in 2 weeks. Still loads of brood present. ;D
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2010 21:18:41 GMT 1
That is great to hear!
|
|
|
Post by thomas on Jun 6, 2010 12:36:54 GMT 1
;D Great News, as always.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2010 13:56:05 GMT 1
Also, you want to discourage all mold growth. Surely rotting wood isn't so much mold, and ants must come across it in the wild, many even nest in it! I might try a colony of woodlice (also known as "armadillo bug", "carpenter" (Newfoundland), "cheeselog" (Reading, Berkshire), "cheesy bug" (North-West Kent), "doodlebug" (also used for the larva of an antlion), "pill bug" (usually applied only to the genus Armadillidium), "potato bug", "roly-poly", "sow bug", "roll up bug", "chuggypig" or "chucky pig", "slater", "gramersow" (Cornwall), "butcher boy" or "butchy boy" (Australia), and "wood bug" (British Columbia, Canada)) in one of my formicariums. It would be cool if you could get a steady ecosystem going! If you had plenty of wood and a plant with aphids in there, you wouldn't have to feed them at all for ages! I don't think the ants would necessarily eat them all, there's plenty of hiding places in rotting wood, and woodlice have quite tough exoskeletons.
|
|