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now I got it right?!
why should they do it???
Because ants love to explore and a large colony will take any opportunity to go some where new.
And of course it is important that you satisfy their feeding needs. If you forget to top up their leaves one day, leaf-cutters tend to get really focused on chewing their way and finding escape routes. Trust me on that :wink: .
hm...Then I wont forgett to top of their leaves..., it scares me a little if they escape= ! :shock: anyway.. I hope for the best. and I have arranged 20 meters of walkway, at least 4 pools, the "mainpool" is 125x50x50 hope it's enough?!
I have a question: If the colony grows to huge??!!, how do the ants solve it in the nature,.. just keep on growing or ???
" Trust me on that " phasmid sead.. did this happen to you???
it's enough?!
I have a question: If the colony grows to huge??!!, how do the ants solve it in the nature,.. just keep on growing or ???
" Trust me on that " phasmid sead.. did this happen to you???
In the wild they have lots of space as there are no boundaries (apart from egg laying rate of queen). But they have to put up with predators like army ants and local farmers :| .
Make sure that the nest box (for fungus) is not too big as it can put them off a little if they feel that they are out in the open (to start you may need to put a container, that is only 2-3 times bigger than the fungus garden, in the nest box until they are big enough). Unless of course they are in a tank of earth, then they will happily dig the correct sized chamber.
And yes, mine have escaped a few times. Usually because they are happily cutting away for a few months, then they find that there is no food left, then they start testing absolutely every possible scratch in PTFE etc. I came home one day to find trail of ants stealing frass from my phasmid cages.
Getting them all back in was surprisingly easy as all I had to do was block the escape route and wait for all the foraging ants to come back LOL.
Hi again & thanks for answer!!! you sead: "container, that is only 2-3 times bigger than the fungus garden, in the nest box until they are big enough). Unless of course they are in a tank of earth, then they will happily dig the correct sized chamber."... How do I preper my "Fungus nest box/ queen container/pool" best??? what floor substrat should I use, and how much of it? and can I just "drop the queen with her fungus in this box, and then she will take care of it all??? "tank of earth" is this the best way maybe? how much of what and so on??? I will provide a "waterwarmer" (sorry...) same they use in fishtanks, for humidity. and some other warming metod (?! eh.) sorry for all the question, but I need to know.
I came home one day to find trail of ants stealing frass from my phasmid cages.
:shock: :? :lol:
It is tricky to explain how you should setup the fungus box. This is why you really should be starting will a hardy Acromyrmex sp so that you can experiment with them until you have a suitable setup :wink: .
You could put a layer of a solid water holding medium at the bottom of the tank, such as plaster or clay granules, and the ants should build the fungus garden on top.
If you do this, it may be a good idea to put a smaller container in the fungus tank that they can use so that they feel more secure until the fungus garden is big enough to start filling the rest of the fungus tank (they like small spaces).
Alternatively, you could put lots of soil in to allow the ants to dig a chamber or build round the fungus. This way they can regulate air flow better to suit the fungus’ needs, and you don’t need to worry about putting a second, smaller, container in the fungus tank.
Also very importantly, as I discovered the other day, while the colony is very small they will dump waste inside the nest box near the garden and you must be able to romeve this waste.
I don’t have this problem with my large Acro myrmex colony but this happened with my queen less Atta colony:
Mites (well some sort of tiny spring tail) will breed very quickly in this waste with so much humidity and will gradually encroach on the fungus until you look at them one day and the fungus is four times smaller, the ants have abandoned it and it is just swarming with these mites :evil: .
At the size it was, and unable to grow (no queen); the ants had no chance against the onslaught.
I had to rescue what was left of the colony and fungus and clean the tank. Now the workers have taken back the fungus from the “mites” and are adding to it once more :| .
do appriciate it phasmid, real helpfull...OK I have some things to prepar before my Attas will arrive, Yes I do like the Attas! purhapse you have some pic's on your colony's??? some times it's easier to see it, insted of reading about it?! I you do and want to... you can mail me at: Dont put personel info here, use PM
Thanks once again, and If you can think of anymore usefull tip for a "newcomer" please let me know.
by the way... how can I lay hands on: "Acromyrmex"??? they don't have them at "Antstore"?!
Sincerely: Hakan in Sweden
Acromyrmex is usually more available than Atta, just not at the moment apparently.
There is an old pic of my setup in my thread on the photo section. It is not the best looking setup in the world, but it works. http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?f=133&t=8088&start=15
ok. nice...I now have a second tought (?!)... about the attas... maybe better of with Acromyrmex, to start with you say?!...hm.. I can Allways get this Attas later , when I'm better prepared! :roll: thanks for all your help!!! You have a true friend in Sweden!
Evantica, you have maximum respect from most experienced users of this forum. It is extremely rare that a beginner, listens to what people say and actually changes their mind. Acromyrmex will be cheaper, more tolerant of your errors (though still very challenging) and will also not grow to as big a colony (still huge). Also their behaviour is almost identical and the vast majority of people won't be able to tell the difference by looking at them.