SteveUK28: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (28. Mär 2009 17:40)

hey guys..
So yesterday i got my new colony of these really lovely ants. Prob around 50 of them.. When they arrived i had about 15 dead... then another 5 died after, but no more dead today. Guess they didnt like the long old trip.
Righty i found some time today and put together a quick ytong.. still need to do the glass for it tho..
Now as im new to these ants.. and i cant seem to find any decent info i wanted to ask a few questions...
1. Do i need to use a leg on the ytong to make it moist at all... not sure as i was told they are desert ants and didnt need it.. but i want to be sure.
2. Im gonna be putting some Cati into the setup.. and i was planning on leaving the cati in there pots.. is there any chance the ants might try and nest in them?? Im gonna be fillin the pots with some compost and sand mix.. but they will be burried under fine sand and maybe even some chippings?

I shall upload pics as soon as i can sort a new lead out for my camera.. my new puppys chewed my old one :twisted:

Anyways.. thanks in advance for the input :lol:

AndyB: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (28. Mär 2009 20:56)

hi steve good luck with them, the cheque is on the way btw

SteveUK28: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (30. Mär 2009 14:06)

Anybody got any answers.. Please lol... :o

JimmyVe: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (30. Mär 2009 20:53)

Sorry for the late response Steve.

1. They dont need a moist nest, they are desert ants so they are used to heat and dry climate, could harm them if you moist the farm once in a while.

2. They like ytong very much but i can not guarantee they will not dig in the sand. ;)

TimLarge: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (31. Mär 2009 15:46)

For me my Cataglyphis velox stay in their tube, even though I have the arena wired to an Ytong nest. So I am not that sure about them loving ytong very much ;) They do reorganise the arena a lot, and have dug at least 2-3 cm deep getting the soil to fill the entrance to their tube.

Good luck with the velox! Quite a lot dead during transport :(

SteveUK28: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (31. Mär 2009 22:44)

Mine do love the ytong.. a lot still in the entrance tunnel to it.. but they are in it.. seem to like the heat from the lamp. They really are amazing ants tho.. i got some pics to put on that il do tomorrow sometime.. but i think they are Great.. My Fav ants by far :)

btw Tim.. do you have pics of yours and your setup??

McK: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (1. Apr 2009 00:58)

Seems like xcom is selling his Cataglyphis velox colonies to everyone these days :/

SteveUK28: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (1. Apr 2009 15:29)

Pics as promised...

McK: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (1. Apr 2009 17:05)

Just a small hint; they absolutely hate test tubes.

TimLarge: Re: Cataglyphis velox, New Colony (1. Apr 2009 17:13)

btw Tim.. do you have pics of yours and your setup??
Yeah, I got a few:

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/IMAGE_016.jpg
The arena

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/IMAGE_013.jpg
The ytong

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/verbouwde_ingang_02-1.jpg
The ants (nesttube)

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/ingang_twee_werksters_02-1.jpg
The ants (nesttube, after a week of building a mound in front of it)

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/ingang_twee_werksters_01-1.jpg
The ants

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/velox_slepen_krekel_02.jpg
The ants (dragging a cricket into their tube)

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/waakpoes-1.jpg
The cats (1)

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/ttsgosadow/Signe_vindt_mieren_leuk_02.jpg
The cats (2)

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