ANTSTORE World of Ants

[melk9]

My ODONTOMACHUS queen, drinking from a drop of vitamines and honey.

[Skippy]

can you put here also more photos of your colony? , because one worker ... humm , it is nice one , strong body , and I would like to see your setup if is it able

[melk9]

It's a queen drinking. And I'll do the picks of the set up. But I can tell you how it's already. I got a glass vase, like the ones we keep candies. Gardening earth inside, and Some decoration like peebles, piece of wood, etc. I made myself chamber in contact with the glass, where the queen of course made her egg chamber. This specie doesn't makes tunnels, they use what they find ready. And need a great deal of humidity, so it's possible to keep little plants inside. Observing the claws you see they are hunting ants, so you can imagine the kind of food they eat. But they eat everything.
Hugs

[gabranth]

you should stroke its head

[Kale^^]

Nice queen Where you got it from? Nature? lol. Oh i wouldn't like that species bite me..

[Skippy]

why not Kale^^ ? , I would be like when odontomachus queen bite me , it would be nice and new experience with ants again

[melk9]

Nice queen Where you got it from? Nature? lol. Oh i wouldn't like that species bite me..

In Nature. They are quite ordinary here in northeast of Brazil. Most of the time it comes inside the house, flying through the window, when it's raining. Actually the bite doesn't hurts. You know, it has a trigger that makes the claws to work like a trap that closes very fast. But doesn't hurts ours elastic skin. The problem is the sting, that really hurts.

[Ant mad]

you should stroke its head

know why would you want to do that.
very lucky Melk9 you can get them for free we have to buy them.

[Ant mad]

oh i see
does it work?

[Kale^^]

I'd try to catch more queens and post to european antkeepers

[Skippy]

yeah and all will keep odontomachus and not nice species from european´s nature , like very nice Lasius niger , or Tetramorium caespitum , Camponotus ligniperda is the best

[gabranth]

odontomachus are nice as they don't hibernate like european species

[melk9]

odontomachus are nice as they don't hibernate like european species

And it's really fun to see them hunting the flies. Or taking care of the eggs and spawnings. They are great nurses. Once I'd set a little roach inside the formicary and there were only two little nurses. They came out and tried many times to kill the roach, but it was to big for them. Sudenly the queen came out of the egg chamber, what was veeeeeery unusual, and it killed the roach itself. It was like the small ones sent a message telling that it was to much work for them, and mummy came along to give some help. Actually the attack diveded the roach in two... lot of food for everybody!!!

[aka ant]

melk9 did you hear clicking noise when the ants closed their jaws?
I didn't dear pick up anyone but winged queen in fear of the stinger hehe.

[melk9]

Yes Aka
It's clear the clicking noise.
They can even jump away, by biting the ground, have you seen this? The hit the ground with the clicking movement of the claws and the hit pushes them away.
Hugs