# My Ant Queen



## koolkid98 (Jul 5, 2009)

Well after around two to three weeks of waiting and waiting i finally got my first queen ant I so far have her in a test tube setup and she has already laid around seven to ten eggs I will be updating this thread as this new queen and her first brood progresses:}


----------



## Thompson08 (Jul 5, 2009)

Cool! Can you post any pics?


----------



## Zoltan (Jul 5, 2009)

Hey Cody, that's awesome, congrats!


----------



## ZergFront (Jul 5, 2009)

*Awesome!*

I've only had luck with ant colonies sold as a kit and they never gave me a queen(for greedy purposes I suppose so you buy more of their ants  ) Only other ants I've tried raising that actually had queens (this sp. can have more than one queen and will welcome others of it's sp. from a different colony into their's!) have been the common Argentina ants we get a lot of. My mom tossed it out like so many other projects in my childhood.


 I'd like to see some pictures and see what kind of ants these are.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 5, 2009)

Thanks 
Zerg-It is illegal to sell ant queens in some places without a permit

Sorry but i don't have a good enough camera  i so far am in the process of figuring out the species.


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 7, 2009)

Damn, from experience I'd give you this advice.  In your test tube, plug the open end with a good tight ball of paper towel, but leave like a 4 or 5 inche "tail" of the paper towel hanging out.  I would keep the testtube poistion on it's side and have the "tail" of paper towel hang down into a bowl of water.  The tail will sort of wick the water up to the paper plug and maintain humidity levels.  Just make sure you keep the water bowl filled.  The female can handle dryness pretty well but just a few hours of it can cause you to lose the eggs.  Later on I'll post pictures of the claustral cells I make and use.


----------



## bhoeschcod (Jul 7, 2009)

Any updates?


----------



## bhoeschcod (Jul 7, 2009)

ArachnoBasement said:


> Damn, from experience I'd give you this advice.  In your test tube, plug the open end with a good tight ball of paper towel, but leave like a 4 or 5 inche "tail" of the paper towel hanging out.  I would keep the testtube poistion on it's side and have the "tail" of paper towel hang down into a bowl of water.  The tail will sort of wick the water up to the paper plug and maintain humidity levels.  Just make sure you keep the water bowl filled.  The female can handle dryness pretty well but just a few hours of it can cause you to lose the eggs.  Later on I'll post pictures of the claustral cells I make and use.


I can't wait for the pics!


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 7, 2009)

Yep i have some larvae [around six] my first pupae[looks like a white ant] and some more eggs around two big piles,Arachnobasement,id love to see your pictures also my tube setup has water so it retains moisrture and the cotton is always moist[not wet or that can cause mold proplems and can drown the ants]I'll keep you updated.


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 9, 2009)

Sorry, it took me a bit longer than I planned to get these pictures.  Anyway, the cell is made of a rolled up paper towel that is sandwiched between two pieces of acrylic. I also put soil in there with the queen as she moves it around all that time and I do think I makes her feel more secure.  The first two pictures are of the cell, and the last is a closer shot of the queen with 2 workers that have hatched.  I hope it helps!


----------



## bhoeschcod (Jul 9, 2009)

I'd use a cd instead it is easier to move.


----------



## Malhavoc's (Jul 10, 2009)

how exactly do you feed the queen in such a contraption? and when do you relocate here to a more perm encosure?


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 10, 2009)

I just remove the clamps and take off the top piece of acrylic to feed her.  Her and the workers have been enjoying a syrup made out of warm milk and alot of sugar.  As far as moving her to her new home, I'm going to do that after 2 more workers hatch.  Two of the pupae are black and I can see the figure of their bodies inside.  They should hatch today or tomorrow.  I'm not sure what to do with the remaining eggs though.  I might leave them in the cell to hatch, or gentle put them in the "farm" after the adults start tunneling.  The CD suggestion is a good idea.  In retrospect, I think I'd do it the same way as pictured, but use glass instead of acrylic.  The acrylic bows really easily and thats what I have 4 clamps on it.  If it were glass, only 2 should do.... or even just rubber bands around it.


----------



## bhoeschcod (Jul 10, 2009)

Is that camp penn by any chance???


----------



## Malhavoc's (Jul 10, 2009)

I was thinking of buying a few petree culture dishes. and using those. but I have horrible luck with queens and them dying on me. I figured a pitree dish would be easier. perhaps drill a hole in the lid for the damp towe. feed unti a few workers appear. then simpy open lid in the new home- however moving to one of those thin farms would be slightly more difficult i suppose.


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 10, 2009)

The only problem I've had with these cells are an escapee queen.  But, I'm not longer going to use the paper towel for the "walls".  It is too dense and if it does try at all, some of the folds and twists leave a gape in the perimeter.  I'm going to be using toilet or tissue paper from now on.  Once wet, it should form a much better seal.  Also bhoes, I don't think it's C. pennsylvanicus due to the queen's red colored thorax.  I'm thinking it maybe C. ferrugineus, but I completely suck at I.D.ing ants. :?


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 10, 2009)

Over the weekend I'll try to post some pictures of the new farm I built for them.  Hopefully the colony will take off.  It's all acrylic and probably going to be wall mounted, but I'm not sure yet.  I'm also planning on connection to several different "farm" stations thoughout the house connection by 1/2" acrylic tubing.


----------



## bhoeschcod (Jul 10, 2009)

Camp vag maybe??


----------



## bhoeschcod (Jul 10, 2009)

Any new updates?


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Nice pictures arachnobasement.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Updated the first post.


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 10, 2009)

C. vagus isn't found in America, as far as I know.  Mostly a european species.

On another note, I found a queen Tetramorium caespitum on her nuptial flight about an hour ago! I set her up in a cell like the ones pictured.  I've wanted to keep a much smaller species so hopefully she'll produce for me!  I'll try to get some pix up soon.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Well here are the updates so far the one pupae has turned into a adult callow[i think thats what they are called] and all the larvae are now pupae should get another worker soon.I have placed the tube into a kritter keeper so the worker can forage.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Hey arachnobasement that is the same species as this queen.


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 10, 2009)

Demon, that's pretty cool.  At least I have someone to compare my experiences with when it comes to this species.  I am confused though.  On the 5th I thought you said your queen has laid her first eggs, and in your last post you said a worker has hatched.  Does this species really mature that quickly? I've never heard of such a thing.  That'll be sweet though if it all happens in 5 days! I'll have a colony in no time!


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Lol no i boosted it with wild pupae XD!


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 14, 2009)

I now have three workers i have added the tube to a foraging area[a kritter keeper.]i have feed them too.


----------



## ArachnoBasement (Jul 14, 2009)

I just learned a lesson the hard way.  The queen and workers (in the previous photos) have all died.  I took the cell containing them from my pet shop, up to my apartment.  My apartment is kept cool via air conditioner and it caused my cell to condensate.  The excess humidity killed them off, possibly from drowning even.  Bummer.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 14, 2009)

That sucks i hope you can get another colony.


----------



## Goose (Jul 17, 2009)

I'm not familiar with the species you guys are talking about. But, we give our leaf cutter ants rice to soak up excess water. They use rice grains as sponges, then discard them in their refuse chamber. It might work for your species.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 17, 2009)

if your talking to me i got that under control BTW goose could you maybe post a picture of your atta colony[atta=leaf cutter ants]


----------



## DireWolf0384 (Jul 17, 2009)

Is it illegal for a person in one state to send another person in a different state a queen ant without a permit? I have always wanted a Queen Harvester Ant but can't find anyplace that sells them even if I DID or COULD have a permit.


----------



## ZergFront (Jul 18, 2009)

That's very cool. 


 Didn't know it was illegal to send queens in some areas. Makes perfect sense, though. Our Argentina ants are not native here, obviously.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 19, 2009)

Zerg that most likely could be because they came there by acsident.


----------



## Goose (Jul 19, 2009)

~demon said:


> if your talking to me i got that under control BTW goose could you maybe post a picture of your atta colony[atta=leaf cutter ants]


I have a pretty crappy camera, but I'll see if I can get some pics up. We have Atta cephalotes by the way.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 20, 2009)

Oh cool nice species though have you seen how huge the queen is to the first nantic workers?If not that is a must see i just can not put it into words lol!


----------



## What (Jul 21, 2009)

DireWolf0384 said:


> Is it illegal for a person in one state to send another person in a different state a queen ant without a permit?


It is illegal for any private party to ship/transport ant queens out of the state of origin.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 21, 2009)

What is right[that sounds wierd]


----------



## ZergFront (Jul 21, 2009)

ZergFront said:


> That's very cool.
> 
> 
> Didn't know it was illegal to send queens in some areas. Makes perfect sense, though. Our Argentina ants are not native here, obviously.


 That's exactly what happened. Think it was on a boat. :? 

 I didn't learn what sp. of ant they were until I saw Animal Planet's "Most Extreme" last year. I don't like them personally. They bring aphids to my corn and catnip.


----------



## koolkid98 (Jul 23, 2009)

Updates i now have around five workers and seems like camp penn will be flying soon!


----------

