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about the mites I can only say it is a ngihtmare.
i have tried to keep the foraging area absolutely dry, so their dump os not moist, and the mites can not reproduce, but in a soil setup it is almost impossible.
i have used quite drastic methods to get their numbers down:
use a lighter, which is used to enlight gas ovens, to burn en out, sounds odd but the most efficient way to do so.
or, offer the colony a small atached area which is 100% dry, and watch them carry the dump there, the mites also do not like this and will be reduced in umbers quite fast
Thanks for the advice! :D I will try these methods if I need to but i've started putting bits of food in near the foraging area hoping the ants wont find it but the mites will, I done this last night and removed the pieces of food this morning and alot of mites have been removed by doing this. I do know the mites have entered the nest as I saw a soldier with a few of them on its back the other day, will the mites damage the brood in any way? In small numbers? I understand in a setup like mine I wont be able to completely get rid of the mites but i'm sure the numbers have already lowered alot by baiting them with the food. Thanks again :)
check very closely if the mites only ride the soldier or bite the gaster and feed on him. if they start feeding on the ants, you have to remove the colony from the setup i am afraid, otherwise chances are high it won't survive.
Thanks for the advice, i'll put some food in now and see if the soldier will come out, I saw the soldier earlier but forgot to look. Well i've removed alot of mites after baiting them with food there are obviously more still in the setup though.
For now here's a pic, the soldier i'm talking about is the one left of the roach.
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l623/Kentuckyfrogler101/IMGP0329-1.jpg
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l623/Kentuckyfrogler101/IMGP0334.jpg
Here's a pic of a soldier, I removed it so I could get a closer look and put it back with no issues, I think all the ants were too busy concentrating on the food. But these mites on the soldiers gaster are miniscule so I had to use a magnifying glass. I've never had a problem with parasitic mites before so I don't know much about them, but these mites didn't seem to be moving and I think I know what kind of mite that leans towards :x There is no way I can get a pic of these mites for anyone to confirm but they're the same colour as the other mites, pure white. I couldn't see any of these mites on the mandibles, just the gaster. I looked closely at the many workers aswell and didn't see any of these mites on them, it only seems to be the soldiers that these mites are on. Is there anything at all I could do to get rid of these mites? I mean before moving them if I have to? Would Hypoaspis Miles work or would they kill the ants too?
Thanks
You were right MajorSpud, I just noticed an odd looking soldier a moment ago stumbling around so I took it out and had a look. Completely plastered in parasitic mites, literally every soft part of it's body has a mite feeding on it. I'm feeling with how bad this ant is the colony may not last much longer, the even worse thing is I don't think I have a spare tank to put them in :x I thought I was doing well with these but i'm not feeling as good about them now, anything at all I can do? Any advice will be very appreciated to try and help my colony get through this!
Just as a matter of interest are the mites on the soldier the same as the foraging mites? i only ask because as we know there are 1000's of differnt mite species but normally foraging mites are more of a nucience than a danger. ( I'm led to believe ) I know there is another mite available that feeds on predatory mites but to use them with ants would be intersting. There is also a post here somewhere where a member was using mite treatment which was watered down and seemed to be effective. Maybe worth a search. I tried similar with my P.dives colony and killed the lot :(
This was the thread on my forum regarding the use of Hypoaspis http://www.ukmantisforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7107&p=58289&viewfull=1#post58289 chances are that these mites won't work as they also feed on insect larvae.
Hey Andie,
These are different to the foraging mites, the ones foraging are picking on the left overs walking around on the soil and not spotted on any ants. However the ones on the ants are properly latched and bulbous from feeding on the ant, the ant is cleary stressed trying to rub them off its head and body. I think i'm going to have to try Hypoaspis because it's not just a couple mites here and there on the ants, there covering the ants whole body and it seems to have gotten weaker in the last couple hours. I'll take a chance and get some Hypoaspis and stick some in with the seperated soldier assuming it's still alive by the time they arrive to see what happens. What I fear the most of using them is the ants eggs being in danger but I would use them in small amounts. I'm sorry to hear that about your colony also :( I'll try have a look for that post aswell.
Thanks!
The outcome will be interesting but i know Hypoaspis are used to rid scarid flies as they eat the larvae . I'm sure the guy who wrote about the treatment was a belgium but here in the english forum, ill try and look too.
There ya go, not much but might help. http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?f=200&t=16873&p=141286&hilit=mites#p141286