Pheidologeton spec (possibly affinis)

[miszt]

strange tho, that link only talks about the Elaiosome being fed to larvae, makes sense as far as protiens go, but not as an energy source for the workers, hmm

[Phasmid]

Thats interesting, some phasmids have the same sort of thing on their eggs, ants find them and take them down into the nest to where it is warm and humid and, after a few months, it hatches and the stick insect casualy strolls out .

The ants may be eating the whole seed as that is one of the main uses for the majors (cracking seeds). But as the substrait is warm and damp, the seeds will germinate very quickly so only some of the seeds will be eaten in time and the rest will grow nicely.

[miszt]

Yep, saw that on Life in the Undergrowth a while ago, very kool the way our world works

[JimmyVe]

Off topic:

very cool the way our world works

In deed, and how insects play a major role in it. Such small animals doing so much.

[miszt]

indeed, David Attenbourghs opening statement for Life in the Undergrowth is, if Humans where to be wiped off the face of the earth tomorow, the world will go on much as it has for millions of years, but if Insects where to be wiped out, the entire ecosystem of the planet would collapse

[miszt]

Very pleased to say that my colony is doing very well, just fed them, and at least 300 workers and 7 soldiers of varying sizes demolished 2 wax worm pupas and 2 medium crickets

I'll have some new pics soon once I've attached their new foraging area, unfortunetly due to their tiny size, I'm having to be very inventive making it escape proof lol working on a micro 8 strip electrical barrier, which is pretty hard to do when the ants are 2-4mm

[JimmyVe]

I'm glad to hear they are doing so well. (Maybe you are wright, these ants are better not kept in a y-tong)
Waiting for the pictures.

[Ant mad]

has anyone ever tried aphids with pheidologeton as this could be a high source of energy or if not they might just eat them.

[miszt]

From what I've read, these ants do not really venture up plants to collect nectar from flowers or aphids, they eat mainly (60%) fruits and seeds...however it might be worth a try I suppose, but would need to find an aphid that likes high temp and humidity, and a plant for them to live on, might investigate it

[miszt]

more pics can be found, here... links are only visible for registered users

[badman]

wow, huge size difference between the majors and normal workers there

[JimmyVe]

Looks very nice, that picture and your ants.

[miszt]

wow, huge size difference between the majors and normal workers there

init! biggest recorded dry weight diffrence was 500x!


cheers jimmy I found myself ignoring the workers a bit and taking lots of pics of majors, but actually workers do most of the work, and have a really fascinating interaction with one another, unfortunetly its pretty much impossible to see without looking thru a macro lens lol they really are fearless little things!


Strangly, these ants are far more active when their nest is between 24-25C, I try to keep the nest at a steady 25C now, as this seems optimal, once I have got their setup sorted however, I will be making a cool section 24-25C and a hot section, 25-27C, and 2 sections on the surface at 26C & 30C, however I dont know when it will be ready, as escape prevention is still an issue, electrical barriers havent worked so far, but I have another idea I'm working on, once I've got a working solution I'll post a 'how to' up

[miszt]

o no...I think something may have happened to my nest, for some reason there are about 15-20 workers, and 3 majors, sitting outside the nest with a small bundle of eggs and larva, I'm wondering if something has happend and they've tried to move the colony, but theres no sign of the queen, or the rest of the brood, or the rest of the colony fingers crossed...

[mzfckr]

maybe they are warming them?