ANTSTORE World of Ants

[AntsNational]

As of today I have received two Odontomachus sp. queens from an online friend. Unfortunately, one of the queens is half dead. I am hoping to resuscitate her so that I can have both living long lives happily with multiple workers. To resuscitate her, I removed her from the travelling container and I placed her in a freshly constructed test tube set up. I put a tiny droplet of honeywater on the tip of a pin. I gently placed the droplet onto her mouthparts. She actually ended up consuming it within the minute. This fluid going into her body will hopefully give her the necessary strength to get back on her feet.

On a side note:
Trap jaw ants hold the title of world's fastest bodypart and the fastest self powered strike: their jaws lock shut at 145 mph (233 km/h) with a force exerted which is over 300x their body weight . Put in perspective, this also means that this ant can strike 2300 times faster than the human eye can blink. It can use its powerful jaws to jump and escape from danger.

10/04/12
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You can see more updates from this queen also on my website logs,

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Here are a few pictures of the healthy queen.

[armyoforigin]

Hey theantman, those are some gorgeous queens you have there!

Are they in test tubes inside an arena? I ask as (As far as I understand it) founding Odontomachus queens are *not* claustral founders, they actively go and hunt for small invertebrates prey until their first workers arrive, a trait I believe is common in ponerine queens.

I doubt they have enough resources in those thin bodies to support a first generation of workers!

Just trying to help, perhaps someone with more experience with the genus will come along and offer some advice! :0)

Good luck with your queens

[baumarkthammer]

Yes, armyoforigin, you are right. They found semiclaustral, that means that they hunt during the founding.
However as far as I know from freinds who have raised Odontomachus queens it is not very hard and I think that theantman´s ants already have done the hardest part; they already have eggs and have larvae.

I don´t know any claustral founding ponerinae at and I´m pretty sure there are non.

@theantman, you said that one queen is nearly dead. If she is still alive you can try two queens together. Though I´m pretty sure that won´t work anymore since your queens already have layed eggs. It might however save her. Some Odonotmachus spp. do found with other queens.

By the way do the queens often drink the sugarwater?

[AntsNational]

These queens are allowed to forage, there is one pupa now in the nest and 4 eggs. The other queen was too weak to really do anything. They do like honeywater!

[armyoforigin]

That is good news theantman, I hope the colony does well :0)

[AntsNational]

Thanks ! I'll post updates in time!
Cheers

[AntsNational]

The queen currently has 8 eggs & 1 pupa. She forages at night and also at night is extremely active. She is kept warm alongside my Odontomachus monticola founding queen which I will start up a journal about as well.

[armyoforigin]

Very nice picture!

How big would you say the queen is in millimetres?

[AntsNational]

probably 10-12 mm

[AntsNational]

Could the moderators of this forum edit the name from "Odontomachus sp." as I've identified this species as Odontomachus bauri.
Thanks.


Updating: The eggs have begun to hatch, the queen is busy feeding them. There are currently two larvae, about 10-12 eggs, and the pupa (which should eclose soon).

[AntsNational]

The pupa has hatched as of last night!!!! The queen has a beautiful little worker who's tending to the three larvae and eggs. I look forward to seeing her hunt in the next few days to come!

[AntsNational]

Here is a picture of the new worker, and of the larvae.

[AntsNational]

There is good and bad news with this colony.

The one worker the queen had has died. I'm not too sure why, but I have been looking into it. I noted that she was always foraging very frequently (she was well fed, her gaster was extended). At one point before I went to sleep I checked up on the progress and the queen was foraging out with the worker, where she found her daughter and carried her back to the nest. I think perhaps the worker may have gotten lost and stressed. It is a small basin, so I don't see how this was possible to get lost.


The good news is that the queen has 2 new larger pupae, 7 larvae, and a large new pile of eggs. The 7 larvae are growing very fast and will all pupate in less than 5-7 days. Both the queen and brood are very healthy. The death of the worker was a surprise to me. Here are some pictures of the worker a few days ago before she passed. She was very fast, alert, and very healthy. These ants are very active at night.

[AntsNational]

The colony has now reached numerous larvae, 4 workers, eggs, and 1 remaining pupa. There are about 12-18 larvae stuck to the ceiling of the test tube. Once the colony reaches 5-6 workers I will place them in one of my nests.

[AntsNational]

I have recently received two more Odontomachus bauri queens from Brazil to restart / continue my research journal on these ants. I noticed that once again, the queens have begun to build unique half-moon founding chambers as seen in the photos. One of the queens have begun to lay eggs and currently has one egg. The other queen is yet to lay. I noted that these queens require a higher level of moisture in order to create their founding chambers which suggests that they probably found their colonies in the wild in a muddy environment.

The queens currently feed exclusively on a homemade mixture:

1 part dry organic cricket powder
1 part water
2 parts honey
1 part sugar

Heat for about 45 seconds and stir, then allow to cool to room temperature before use. One small droplet should be sufficient for approximately 2-3 days. Clean after 2 days.

Anyways, until more updates, cheers!