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Update:
Alright so a few things to update on..
Firstoff, I expanded their foraging setup and added a taller container packed with the same pre-boiled substrate. I'm hoping that the ants will move their entire nest there because there's lots more room for the fungus to grow in. I feel like I've restricted its size but we'll see about that.
Second, the fungus wasn't looking all too hot and the refuse pile was growing a bit. There's these tiny that I feed to my mite-specialist ants (Myrmecina americana & Ponera pennsylvanica) but they don't give the leafcutter ants much interest nor the ants to them. The mites stick to the refuse pile and I haven't found any in or around the living fungus or the nest chamber itself which is good. I'm not too worried. Nonetheless today I plan on cleaning out the foraging container after work. The fungus itself wasn't growing and was actually shrinking, and the only thing I could calculate was that the moisture was running a bit under the ants' regulations meter so I re-moisturised the substrate (little by little to avoid any potential floods). This morning, 12 hours later, I noticed that the ants had already begun to rebuild it upwards #-o
Third, I've discovered this "trick" to getting your leafcutters to cut more foliage when you want them to--especially if you're concerned that they haven't been cutting much lately. I was sensing that my leafcutters weren't cutting as much leaves as they usually do, so an idea popped in my head. Bait the leaves. In an experiment to record difference in cutting normal leaves vs. baited leaves, I collected a rose stem from outside with a few leaves on it. The difference is this time I sprayed the little stem with a concentrated mix (well mixed) of water, sugar, and apple juice (~100 mL of water, 1/3 more apple juice, 1/3 sugar). I skewed it to a toothpick as I always did, and left it in the foraging container. Within an hour of returning, I noticed there were about 10 foragers out constantly and those leaving to the nest were replaced by those leaving the nest as if they were on work shifts. They were very attracted to the coating that I put on the leaves. I returned about an hour later and I noticed that 4 ants were cutting on one leaf at the same time, whilst many others were cleaning other leaves on the stem! There was a pile of leaves left in the nest by the fungus, as the ants were already working on turning them into pulp.
By this morning, there was a noticeable increase in the size and height of the fungus, and it was peppered with dark pulpy leaf-fertilizer. This is a trick that I hope any other leafcutter ant owners give a try.
I have to report on is that there has been a disappearance of the eggs, larvae and pupae. The ants have moved them into the garden. Although I'm confident in my ants knowing what's best, I must admit I feel a slight concern with their "disappearance." They do emerge being carried by the workers periodically.
The last thing I'd like to note is that I've noticed that the smallest workers actually clean the larger ones from head to toe periodically. Really cool to watch.
Anyway here's a quick picture that I took before I set off to work of the ants this morning.
Thats all for now,
Cheers
Vas
Update:
The colony is doing fairly well. They have been cutting fresh leaves nearly every day. I noticed that sometimes they don't cut leaves though, and this worried me. I decided to buy two small indoor rose bushes, and although the care for these roses will be difficult--it's not impossible.
The ants took liking to these minature rose leaves overnight. I place only a small branch in every other day. At one point since my last post the queen had moved away from the fungus garden--I think that the heat was too high inside the nest so I moved the lamp further from the nest. This improved things.
About 10 new workers have eclosed in the last week which is great news. The total population is probably around 50 workers now.
New workers have eclosed and the fungus has been growing. The colony is doing very well. Here is a shot of inside the nest, keeping it as naturalistic as possible. One can visit my entire album on the facebook group 'International World of Ants.'
Cheers
Continuing the growth of an Atta cephalotes colony, entering and leaving the 12th month of the year of 2012, the queen and colony have been doing well. Many new workers have hatched and many new eggs have been laid. The colony is growing and in good conditioning entering the new year. First documented AntsNational footage filmed in 1080p HD !
http://youtu.be/Xx7KM3s1PZM?hd=1
Update:
I've been keeping an eye on my leafcutters and I've noticed that tons of new larvae have suddenly appeared. I also caught a few glimpses of the queen in the act of laying an egg. It's remarkable to witness. Anyways the colony is doing well still and larger workers have eclosed. Only one ant has perished and that was two days ago where the ants brought it outside away from the nest. The fungus has grown to the ceiling of their chamber and has now toppled over. At first I was a bit worried as perhaps maybe larvae may have been trapped underneath but it seems that the ants took care of this. Now a large pile of larvae and pupae of many sizes rest near the 'back window' to the nest. The fungus has begun to grow taller after falling on its side as well.
Feb 23:
New eggs, more leaf harvesting, the colony is about to reach their first birthday. More workers have been born, and the colony is well. The fungus is maintained at a controlled, stable size for the time being. When spring arrives and the leaves begin to grow, I will have a steady and diverse variety of foliage to feed to this colony.
Since it is ridiculously tedious trying to resize pictures here, those who wish to view them can do so on my website forum.
Go to http://www.antsnational.webs.com click on "forums" (For membership, it is free) > Tropical Zone Ants > "Atta cephalotes bicolor".
I will be updating more regularly on my personal forum but I will update here as well periodically. Photos will be on the other website as the website automatically resizes pictures for me.
So to update since my last update:
There is a LOT of action going on in the nest. There are TONS of new workers, brood and eggs are carried to different parts of the nest regularly. The ants have been busy building and shaping their nest founding chamber. It has been hollowed out to accommodate the fungus garden which is larger than ever before. It measures to ~10cm tall and 6cm wide and ever growing. Although the queen had disappeared for the last 3 weeks within the nest, I did not worry. Usually healthy colony and fungus means healthy queen. Until today I was a bit curious as to what happened to her, but yesterday some of the excavating workers reached another side of the container and this now allows me a "side view" of the fungus garden---- and the queen. There she was, perched up on the fungus, presumably laying or sleeping. Queen Attas have been recorded to be sleeping/resting for a good part of the day (I forget the source but I'll try finding it). This makes sense as the business of laying eggs at a monstrous rate must be exhausting. Our little antagonists (the mites) have been gone for a long time now. Not one mite has been observed in a few months. As it is spring outside I now have access to Raspberry leaves, bramble, rose leaves and more. All of these are growing in my backyard so there has been a LOT more to feed my ants. I will worry about the upcoming 2012 winter when it arrives (My research shows that these ants can survive easily on cornmeal, semi-cooked rice, various market produce etc.). For now though it looks like the colony will be undergoing a time of plenty in the upcoming warm months. No majors are to be reported yet but there should be one or two in the next few months. All is well.
Pics on other site.
& Here's a YouTube video of my colony (for those like me who can easily become "entranced" while observing the ant state)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9tHcCmr74&hd=1
Cheers
I noticed that the two fungus gardens in the acrylic nesting container were somewhat halted in their regular growth. The other evening I peered into the enclosure and noticed a large mound of earth. As I unearthed it, I noticed an absolute ocean of ants boiling out. There was a third and fourth fungus garden growing under my nose. The queen still resides in the nest container, but I must think of a way to put these ants in a more permanent, larger setup. When I peered into the nest box this morning I noticed two soldier pupae. One was white and the eyes were beginning to develop color, and the second one was an orange color. The first majors are about to arrive!
Correction* I have counted over 8 major pupae within the nest. I am quite pleased about this!
Great news to report, after exactly 8 months of having this colony I am happy to report the first major! She is absolutely gorgeous. I discovered her resting under the bottom of the fungus in the acrylic container. She is still quite light in color which means that she eclosed quite recently but she will darken over the course of a day or two. This colony has reached another milestone!