My Ant Queen

[koolkid98]

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]

Cool! Can you post any pics?

 

[Zoltan]

Hey Cody, that's awesome, congrats!

 

[ZergFront]

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]

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]

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]

Any updates?

 

[bhoeschcod]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Malhavoc's]

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

 

[ArachnoBasement]

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]

Is that camp penn by any chance???

 

[Malhavoc's]

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]

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]

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]

Camp vag maybe??

 

[bhoeschcod]

Any new updates?

 

[koolkid98]

Nice pictures arachnobasement.