# nepenthes' Ant Colonies



## nepenthes (May 13, 2013)

I caught a C. pennsylvanicus alate on 05/09/13. I had seen what looked to be a Camponotus pennsylvanicus alate dart under the gap of the concrete steps at the house earlier that day. I didn't have any vials as I had just gotten off work, and they were still in the car. Knowing that they were flying, my girlfriend and I went out for a walk with the dog to a park. She knew my intention was, "lookin for bugs," I'm just glad she came along. Well after a few "watch where your stepping!" incidents with some beetles (they always look like C. penn alates in the dark), I found my first de-alated reproductive of the summer. So I thought I would share her progress with every one. Hope you guys enjoy!

Here is the first (rather crappy photo) of the queen I had gotten.






She is enjoying some honey






And here she is with her first eggs.







Updates to come!

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## Silberrücken (May 13, 2013)

Very nice! I will be watching this thread for updates!


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## omgitznicki (May 13, 2013)

awesome!! good luck, keep us updated!


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## nepenthes (May 21, 2013)

*More eggs!*







She now has more eggs, a total of 13. Pretty short update I guess!

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## SandDeku (May 22, 2013)

nepenthes said:


> She now has more eggs, a total of 13. Pretty short update I guess!


Awesome. I'm so jellin! I'm hoping to catch a queen with the bug napper since I have crappy vision. xD


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## nepenthes (Jun 1, 2013)

The reproductive has some larvae now. Her brood has increased quite a bit. Maybe 15 eggs with ~5 larva. Its difficult to tell.







And here is one with the brood more in focus. 







nepenthes

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## Galapoheros (Jun 2, 2013)

Hey pretty cool, one of my fav ant sps, some are very big for ants around here, seems they are bigger in some locations.  Of course I know there are diff types in colonies, but I've seen some colonies in e tx where they all look pretty big.  The tend to camp out in tree trunks around here.  What are you keeping her in?  I kept a queen in a deli, there was a little hole, some matured.  They all decided to move one night, never seen one since then.  I have too much going on and didn't pay enough attention.

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## nepenthes (Jun 2, 2013)

Texas has some really neat Camponotus, and ants in general. Depending on where you are there are some Fungus Nest keeping species in texas Atta and Acromyrmex I believe. Those would be so neat to keep! I'm keeping her in a test tube set up. Which is Essentially just a piece of cotton plugging up water. Less likely they will up and move on me 
.

You can see photos of the test tube setups behind this old photo of my aspirator.

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## Galapoheros (Jun 2, 2013)

Hmm, interesting setup there.  I tried to dig up Atta a few times when I was kid to try and find some of their farming chambers.  I know where some are on the side of the road about an hour east of here.  I also have access to some land around Bryan Tx. and have seen they are pretty common there, HUGE amounts of dirt they have moved over the years, I've seen them in the same place for 30 years.  The common Camponatus around here is Yellow with some slight dark banding.  Wouldn't it be hard to raise something like Atta?


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## nepenthes (Jun 2, 2013)

Yea It would be neat to dig up a nest, but the fungi they keep is so deep in the earth. Im sure a child would be hard pressed to dig far enough to find the chambers! The Camponotus you described sounds like C. amaricanus, but their are a few species it could or could not be. If your really curious, check this out http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=genus&name=camponotus&project=texasants.

As far as keeping Atta, they are easy, they tend to take care of them selves! What would be difficult is maintaining the proper conditions to keep the fungi healthy (proper humidity in the nest and heat), and finding the proper food source for the Atta to bring to the fungi. However, I do believe most of the Texas Atta have had their nuptial flights already if you were interested in keeping them. I would be very jealous of you if you did! Their are allot of ant keepers in Europe who have figured out how to keep Atta properly, seeing as how they have an awesome ant trade. If you are interested I can dig up some information for you!

nepenthes


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## nepenthes (Jun 6, 2013)

She has two cocoons. Shes almost got her first workers!


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## nepenthes (Jun 13, 2013)

So I know this isn't a C. pennsylvanicus colony, but I figured Instead of posting a bunch of other ant threads, I would keep them condensed into one.

On the C. pennsylvanicus colony, she has 3 cocoons now, and I feel like ones going to eclose soon! Also I dont know if I mentioned it here or not, but I have found another C. pennsylvanicus queen as well she has a small pile of eggs.

I recently caught a Temnothorax curvispinosus colony, (6/11/13). They have started to settle in, and seem pretty content. I've seen 2-3 queens and there might be more, but they aren't much bigger than the workers. I do know I killed one while capturing them, but that's a risk you take catching wild colonies.

A couple poor shots, of a couple of the queens.











And some shots of the foraging area/enclosure and some workers. I started by tearing up some of the old nest that some of the colony was still in and setting in a test tube in the enclosure so they would be inclined to move in. Over the course of the next day I would periodically tear up the rest of the nest and remove the tore up pieces; knocking off workers from those pieces.





















This is how the enclosure now looks, these ants are tiny! I have also put in a second test tube in case they want to expand, but they might not. Temnothorax are commonly known as "Acorn Ants" because they will make nests in acorns! Colonies don't typically get much larger than a few hundred workers.






Within the same twenty four hour period, I caught two Tetramorium caespitum alates as well! They havent settled in, but I figure in a couple days to a week I should see eggs.











So, now Im up too 3 Colonies w/ brood and 5 queens! What a great start to the anting season! Hope you enjoyed!
nepenthes


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## Galapoheros (Jun 13, 2013)

I think you got it with your guess there, about the ones I find in my house and yard, Camponotus americanus.  I like the Carpenters and that's what I'd raise out of curiosity because the colonies in general don't seem to be so huge in numbers.  Yeah I'm curious about almost everything.  Sometimes I have noticed I might annoy people with questions and they say, "...is it important?...."  Well I see all knowledge as being potentially important, at least at some point, knowing that we can associate it with other knowledge you know.  Like look at the metaphor so many people use with humans and ants haha, really is kind of interesting isn't it.  I think when I was younger, only once did I see some winged atta, but I didn't know what to do, lol, it was back in the late 70's, early 80's.  I remember I was taken to a dear hunt once around 14 years old that I wasn't interested in at all.  Where I was left in the woods, all I did was watch the leafcutters on the trail, didn't even think about hunting.


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## nepenthes (Jun 15, 2013)

Some Camponotus colonies will have huge numbers, Im not famliar with C. amaricanus but they might to have smaller colonies. I know there is one that will get as big as a couple hundred workers; but they nest in subterranean wood; but they might not be native to your area I might be thinking of C. castaneus. I believe they hold their nuptial-flights in mid spring.

I agree, not enough people ask why! I know I was raised to ask questions, and that there is never a bad question. What metaphor about ants are you talking about? I would love to see some leaf cutters in their natural habitat!


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## Galapoheros (Jun 16, 2013)

There are some interesting ants around here, I don't know much about ants though.  What looks like C. americanus around here, they are big, I've rarely seen many in a colony and I've seen countless colonies.  Though occasionally, when I used to look under rocks more, there have been 100s of them.  I usually find them under rocks but have nested in the walls of my house too.  I see Trapjaws and there is a sps around here that is pretty interesting, "very long and thin", a good size too, fast.  I never tried to look it up, you may know the sps.  They are a dark red, almost brown, small colonies, has always looked like it to me anyway.  Their larvae look like they pupate in a brown casing, I've often watched the ants them carry them off when disturbed.  I think that would be an interesting sps to keep and watch, I've just never tried.


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## nepenthes (Jun 16, 2013)

You should get some photos of the ants in your area, Im always interested in seeing ants from another area!

There are a couple types of "trap jaw" species/genus'. 
Theres Odontomachus clarus, which sounds like the species you are describing.
http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=genus&name=odontomachus&project=texasants .
There is also, Strumigenys sp's. Though these guys are typically smaller.
http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=genus&name=strumigenys&project=texasants .

I bet those Odontomachus are the species you find. Those are neat ants, I'm not familiar with there behavior, they might have a specialized diet. Worth looking into at least, those guys have some amazing mandibles. I believe another species in that genus actually has the "fastest" terrestrial movement when they snap there mandibles closed!

nepenthes


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## Galapoheros (Jun 16, 2013)

I tried to keep the Trap-jaws for while years ago.  I had found them next to a lake.  I was watching them, never seen them before at the time and never heard of them. I noticed one had it's jaws at 180 degrees.  So I put my finger in front of the jaws to see if it would try to pinch my finger.  That sucker disappeared!  It freaked me out for a few seconds.  To me it looked like that ant literally disappeared!  Of course what happened was that it slammed it's mandibles on my finger and sent it off somewhere like a boomerang.  So I went home and looked up the ant.  The other long skinny ones, those are pretty cool, I'll try to get some pics of those.


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## nepenthes (Jun 16, 2013)

If you try catching a colony, good luck. I think these guys have queens that look allot like the workers, only difference would be the oceli and wing scars (maybe on the oceli).


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## Galapoheros (Jun 16, 2013)

I just found my old thread from 2006, you commented on ant setups haha, seems like a long time ago.  I had a colony with 2 queens but I never did see them eat, I was having a hard time figuring out what to feed them.


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## nepenthes (Jun 16, 2013)

Thats crazy! I dont even remember that, lol!
If its just queens typically you just give them a bit of honey once or twice (some do it regularly) before they have workers and they are fine. It really depends if they are fully-clustural or semi-clustural. Fully-clustural species dont need to forage when founding a nest, semi-clustural species will found colonies and forage at the same time. I used to just feed mine meal worms and crickets. A pre-killed dubia would probably be nice too. At the OSU insectary they cut roaches up into 2-3 peices. It really depends on the size of the workers and the species.


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## Galapoheros (Jun 16, 2013)

I was referring to feeding Trap Jaws specifically, that's what that old 2006 thread was about, I had two queens and workers back in 2006.  You commented on "plaster setups" in the thread.  Do you know what to feed Trap Jaws?  I never saw them eat anything except a little honey.  Most other sps seem easy to feed.  What are you keeping your C. pennsylvanicus in?  You have wide-angle pics of that?, that'd be cool to see.


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## nepenthes (Jun 16, 2013)

Link me to that old thread!

I think they will eat almost anything they can catch, Crickets (these would be best to observe their trap jaw) and small meal worms probably would be a good try. You should also supply a source of sugar regularly, once a week. Ill ask around about there diets! Ill get some photos of my test tube set-ups in a little bit.

nepenthes


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## Galapoheros (Jun 16, 2013)

Here it is  http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?61611-TRAP-Jaaaawwwww!  My pics got fried in the thread because that internet server they were on at the time didn't survive.  I pre-killed stuff, they always ignored it.


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## nepenthes (Jun 17, 2013)

Oh then maybe they might like live insects? Idk what you feed, but theres supposed to be a roach that "behaves similarly" too crickets, some times jumping to get away. Non burrowers Paratemnopteryx couloniana. Did they take to honey?

Here is a photo of my test tube setups! 







nepenthes


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## Galapoheros (Jun 17, 2013)

I don't know, I haven't tried to feed any ants in years, that was years ago.  I just know I tried many things to feed those traps but I never was sure they were eating things in that terr.  Yeah, they ate a little honey, don't know if it was a casual satisfying thing for them or a desperate thing to eat because what they needed wasn't there.


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## nepenthes (Jun 17, 2013)

IMO this is why people recommend test tube set ups, and open foraging areas connected to formicariums. Maybe a fancy grout foraging area with sand embedded in it. That way you can be more sure of whats going on, you dont have a bunch of dirt, and cant see your reproductive's!


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## nepenthes (Jun 20, 2013)

The Camponotous pennsylvanicus colony has its first nanatic!

















nepenthes


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## nepenthes (Jul 3, 2013)

The C. penn colonies got 6 nanatics now, I figure she will end the season strong with maybe 20 workers! Good start if you ask me.







Its Formica Season in Central Ohio! I have found 2 Formica alates, not sure on the species just yet; although I have a good idea on what they are. 













And finally, My ant area. Its getting a little full if you ask me, I need to make a trip to OSU to unload most of these alates.
The "T" is my set up for the Camponotus pennsylvanicus, its a method I'm trying out before I have to give them an out world. Its working out pretty well. 







nepenthes


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## nepenthes (Jul 7, 2013)

Quick photo update, The tetramorium has nanatics with more to come!

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## 1Lord Of Ants1 (Jul 7, 2013)

I have a bit of experience keeping Odontomachus. Had a thriving colony for around 2 years. They prefer small, lively insects. They're hunters, rather than scavengers. I never offered mine food larger then the ants themselves. I fed them earwigs, flies, roaches, mealworms, and other appropriately sized insects. The queens must feed themselves often, as trophallaxis does not take place in this genus of ants. Honey was taken, but only occasionally. Eventually the queen was killed off by her workers, which tends to happen occasionally with these lower order ants.

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## nepenthes (Jul 7, 2013)

Thanks for that useful bit of information. Im gonna remember that!


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## nepenthes (Jul 10, 2013)

Boosted what I suspect to be Lasius alienus de-alates, I have two. I found a Lasius nest under a concrete slab and stole some of their pupae.







I have seen one queen lay eggs, but havent seen them since!
nepenthes


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## nepenthes (Jul 11, 2013)

The first Lasius callow eclosed from its cocoon last night. This queen hasn't laid any eggs, hopefully with workers running about she will! The other queen I boosted, has laid a few eggs however. Hopefully all goes well!

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## Malhavoc's (Jul 11, 2013)

Nepenthes

What protein source do you use for your Campanotus? As of late, I am finding my coloney to be highly picky in what insects they will take if any at all, they seem to be living off honey/sugar water alone as of late and just discarding any food items offered.


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## nepenthes (Jul 11, 2013)

They turn down meal worms, are fond of crickets. And really liked the B. dubia nymph I gave them last week. Have you tried making Ant Agar, I hear that works pretty good as a staple food. You just take non flavored gelatin (or agar), and mix in proteins, sugars, and vitamins. Your choice on the proteins, I've heard of moderate success with whey protein, the stuff they use in protein shakes for people. Sugar could be honey or sugar, and take it easy on the multi-vitamins. I've heard spirullina makes a good source of vitamins and minerals. But it really takes practice to get the recipe right for your ants.


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## sr20det510 (Jul 11, 2013)

This is all so interesting!!
Keep the pics and info coming.

I found a few ant colonies while cleaning out and removing plants from my yard I should try to set up a tube chamber.


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## nepenthes (Jul 11, 2013)

The best method, assuming you have a queen in the dirt sr20det510, you will have to dry out the soil/substrate, and have test tubes set up where the ants can get to. You should, as well, cover the test tubes with foil; wild ants are used to doing things in the dark, so they will prefer it over a wide open test tube. Also, if you don't have test tubes, acrylic clear tubing will work just as well as a test tube. Same method just plug up some water like in a test tube.

good luck sr20det510.


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## nepenthes (Jul 13, 2013)

I've been toying with this idea for a formicarium for a while. I really like it, I might have to modify some sort of ventilation for the chambers because of all the condensation.





You can see, two tubes coming out; one is for the foraging area and the other is for an extension for another nest. If you guys know anything about the plastic containers, they sell them at Walmart and they are organizers for kitchen drawers. I got the little cubes at Hobby Lobby. But it will be very convenient to expand the colony. The move in is going to be slow going, until more workers eclose and they start foraging for food. I really hope this queen lays egg soon too.






I am covering up the first chamber to the nest so its dark and more "enticing" for the ants. Ill also be lighting up the test tube with an LED light to further push them out of the test tube!

And here are some shots of the queen and workers in their tube a midst the chaos of attaching the tube. 










And of course as I type this up, the decide to start checking out the new nest. Ill get photos if they decide to move in. The queen was the first down the tube!











But she turned around, they will get in there before too long! Their are workers going back and forth, I havent seen any pupae moved in yet.






nepenthes


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## nepenthes (Jul 19, 2013)

The Teminothorax colony is doing great, there are a considerable number of de-alates, 15+ that seem to have shed their wings. I'm not sure if this is a response to them being unable to mate, but I haven't seen as many males either. One of these days, when I get my pooter from my mothers house I will be collecting a few of these de-alates and some workers to see if I can start a new colony with them. It will be interesting to find out, but I'm sure it can be done.

You can see three of the reproductive's in this picture. There are so many, some actually forage quite regularly.






I also had an accident the other day, silly me. That "T" test tube set up I was trying out, didn't have good enough ventilation for the Camponotus, and I noticed it when all the workers and queen were "sleeping." They clearly were asphyxiating so I switched them back to a solo test tube set up. I think this would be an alright set up, if I allowed for ventilation. I think it would work well if they were directly connected to a foraging area. But 3 test tubes with no ventilation, well you get the picture!

They are doing fine now, active, and only two losses.






I am also updating on a colony of Tetramorium caespitum, I am so elated with this queens colony. She already has 10-15 nanatics, with a nice big pile of brood. She's started this season with flying colors. 






Here are some workers next to their tore up dubia nymph, feeding on some honey I just put in there! This colony LOVES there dubias, but Tetramorium caespitum aren't a very picky species, at least that is what I have found.


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## Galapoheros (Jul 22, 2013)

Interesting, more cool stuff, thanks.  I found a Camponotus queen with few eggs yesterday and scooped them up, it was good to read about the food here.


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## nepenthes (Jul 24, 2013)

Nice! You should try getting some photos of the queen, Ill try and help you get an ID if you haven't got one yet. You can try feeding her honey and some protein, but she might not even pay any attention to it. Less is more for the queens, they are incredibly efficient at using their own body mass for food. They can go with out, but it is always helpful for her if she is interested.


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## Galapoheros (Jul 24, 2013)

I think it's Camponotus americanus like you mentioned earlier.  I also read about the dubia nymphs, couldn't get them to eat anything else but they did tear up the roach nymph, watched them feed the queen and larvae, that's how it looked anyway.


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## nepenthes (Jul 25, 2013)

I don't think that's C. americanus. They have markings near their mandibles your queen doesn't have them. Camponotus vicinus, _Camponotus texanus_, or Camponotus semitestaceus are my guesses. I really think C. texanus is likely, but if you could get a better shot on the head of the workers that would help. How big would you say the workers are? I know they are nanitics but it would help with the ID. Do you have any plans on setting them up with a nest, or some kind of "secure" area that might be more comfortable for them? I love catching queens mid summer like that! She likely just flew and is founding her nest. Just make sure to supply a source of sugar and protein for them, and don't let it go moldy.


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## Galapoheros (Jul 25, 2013)

They are pretty dark aren't they.  I'll try to get a better pic later with my computer scope instead of my camera.  Yeah she was just starting out, no-brainer for me because of the small room she was in under a rock.  There are 3 nanitics now.  Is that the word for queen ant "nannies"?  Well I think I'll watch them for a while anyway.  I would really like to get a colony of some of those long skinny ants I was trying to describe that are around here.  They nest much like the local Camponotus, prob on the easy side, I don't know the species and haven't found a pic of them yet.

btw, I've watched them act like they are "shooting" prey with their abdomen, what are they doing there?  I read they don't sting, so are they shooting acid?


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## nepenthes (Jul 25, 2013)

Nanitic is a name for the first workers a queen has when founding. So the first seasons workers is essentially what nanitics are. Hmm, Long and skinny, Could be a number of things. Aphenogaster is the first genus that comes to mind that is "leggy" http://www.antweb.org/images.do?rank=genus&name=aphaenogaster&project=texasants . Myrmecocystus can be leggy, they are known as honey pot ants, I'm sure your familiar with them.

Camponotus do "spray" formic acid, as a defense mechanism. It can be really effective! 
nepenthes


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## Galapoheros (Jul 26, 2013)

Hmm, could be Aphenogaster.  I looked at a lot of pics of Aphenogaster and remember the abdomen being even thinner than in the pics I saw.  But they move fast and disappear in holes under rocks, it's hard to get a good look at them before that.  I'm going to have to get catch some of them.


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## nepenthes (Aug 6, 2013)

Hmm, its difficult for me to tell Galapoheros. I'm not to familiar with Texas Ants.

There really hasn't been allot going on. I have some excellent ideas for a nest, I will be following through once I have the funds. I ended up scraping the grout nest. I really didn't dig the way it turned out. The Camponotus pennsylvanicus colony has been taking it easy, I lost a worker when trying to feed them the other day. I really need to get them a real enclosure. >.<' The other ants are doing good, 2 of the Formica queens I caught not long ago aren't laying eggs, the other two are. It looks like it might be some kind of bacteria that is destroying one of the queens eggs, I'm going to try preparing her a new test tube and try feeding her protein to make up for all the lost eggs she tried laying. On a more positive note the Lasius nest, has its first pupae! Their are a whole bunch of them now and they seemed really settled into there nest. 

Formica Queens






 This queen likes to put her eggs up there on the cotton like that. Im not sure why, I have never seen a reproductive do that.





This queen tore the cocoon off her first pupae, I'm not sure whats the reasoning was for that.

Lasius alienus 
These guys are doing excellent!





The queen, hiding near the entrance of the nest.










The first pupae from the queen, (this colony was boosted).

Enjoy!


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## Spepper (Aug 6, 2013)

Wow, this is all very interesting!!!  I never knew you could keep a beginning queen in test tubes!


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## nepenthes (Aug 6, 2013)

Thanks spepper! The test tube setup is the most effective way, IMO, to raise the large majority of ant species. I am sure there are other feasible and just as effecitve ways, but with the test tube method you can see more clearly what is going on. Plus plastic test tubes are really cheap when bought in bulk. I will have some interesting Formicariums in the future, other than my typical gypsum nest I touted so much back in the day, lol. 

nepenthes


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## Spepper (Aug 7, 2013)

That's really cool.  I would really like to try that, except I don't know how to find any queens.  Our ants don't really "fly" like you've been describing.  They all live in the ground or dead logs, making it impossible to get the queen unless you ripped the whole thing apart.  And even then I doubt I could find the queen in the midst of all the seething bodies that would produce. :/

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## nepenthes (Aug 7, 2013)

The queens I am finding are flying for their nuptial flights, Its just a matter of finding them! I am always looking for ant queens when I am outside, and always carry a couple test tubes in case I do find some. If you look after a good rain, in the evening around sunset, in the morning when there is still dew on the ground, and on a day that isn't too windy, you are likely to find some. It just takes patience and time. If you are really interested don't fret, get some half inch clear acrylic tubing (a cheap and easy to get alternative to test tubes), and go out and look! The mating season isn't over for a few ant species.

Good luck, if you have any questions feel free to ask. 
nepenthes


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## McGuiverstein (Aug 7, 2013)

Got to say, I'm thoroughly enjoying checking in on this thread periodically and seeing your new updates . Been learning a lot. Keep it up!

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## nepenthes (Aug 24, 2013)

I've made another formicarium that I will be taking to OSU for a developed colony of _Camponotus pennsylvanicus_. It has two sides, that are inter-connected. I cant wait to get some ants in it. I tried painting the whole nest to get more water retention out of the material. This stuff likes to dry out fairly quickly, I might have to invest in a cheap hydrometer or something.













I will get some photos of them once they are moved in at OSU. But while I am waiting to get those, I am trying to get my personal _C. pennsylvanicus_ colony into its new nest (the first one I made). But they are stubborn and chose to stay in the cozy tube. 







In other news, my _Lasius_ colony has been doing GREAT. They have tons of pupae, and a good pile of brood. I am surprised at how efficient they are. I think they may have gotten 1 cricket and 2-3 feeder roach nymphs. It is interesting to note that the pupae (cocoons) are the queens alone. All the workers (well maybe 90%) are actually the boosted pupae I introduced to her. Also, the other queen I gave pupae too may have had 1-2 nanitics eclose from her boost; the rest died/rotted. Not sure why.







I am disappointed some mold has already started to grow in the nest. I may have to move them to a new enclosure all together. It is a good thing there is more workers, they would definitely move in quicker. 

nepenthes


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## nepenthes (Aug 31, 2013)

I have another video, this time of my _Lasius sp's_ colony foraging/eating a cricket at night. I hope you enjoy, there's no music so use your own if you need it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOvhcW4pMxE

nepenthes


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## nepenthes (Sep 6, 2013)

I caught a _[Myrmica_ species de-alate. I'm worried she might have already founded a nest before I caught her. She is a Semi-claustral species, I believe most _[Myrmica_ are (I'm not positive). I've always wanted a reproductive of this Genus, but they are difficult to ID, my best guess would be _Myrmica punctiventris_.








*Edit*
What is going on with my M's?


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