ANTSTORE World of Ants

[insanebe]

Just Testing the ability of my DSLR camera (no macro lense) to take some pictures of the big communal basin thats has

1 large Formica fusca colony with 3 queens +80 -100 workers (status hibernating, minimal activity)

1 well established Pheidole colony 20+ 2 soldiers many many brood, the heat from the tv means they move the brood close to the glass, (status thriving it is sand after all)

1 MB colony 12 a few brood ants in a buried but open test tube ( Status semi hibernating, i see one occasionally but only at night it seems)

1 Iridomyrmex anceps colony 8 ants 20+ brood in an exposed test tube unburied ( status smallest colony but growing fast, never seen them leave the test tube yet)

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the side of the basin, home of the pheidole in the middle, Fusca live either side in the larger tunnels

Pheidole moving through the centre tunnel

the surface littered with excavated yellow stones, seed basket for the messors, large cricket for food, watering hole to the right of it if the ants are thirsty, to the left you can just see the completely covered covered messor barbarus colony test tube, to the top is the Iridomyrmex anceps colony in an uncovered test tube, there is actually quite a few ants in that test tube but they have never left, the entrance remains sealed, to the right near the top u can see a tunnel into the sand thats another fusca satellite colony.

Iridomyrmex anceps colony

Fusca and pheidole coming to feed

Fusca and pheidole coming to feed

Fusca and pheidole coming to feed

[JimmyVe]

Still i find it wired you are keeping those colonies together. And i must say, that setup is not really that big for all these ants. Hope you don't get trouble when they grow.

[insanebe]

Still i find it wired you are keeping those colonies together. And i must say, that setup is not really that big for all these ants. Hope you don't get trouble when they grow.

well thats what i want to find out, if established colonies can live together and defend their nest without being wiped out completely, (camponotus are excluded im almost certain they would die :p)

Its just an experiment thats all, not a serious attempt at keeping healthy colonies.

[JimmyVe]

Well as an experiment it can count.

[Messorus]

Nothink counter to you, but this experiment´s a little bit stupid... You´ve putted several species which are in nature living in very different climatical and nest zones(fusca preffer highier humidity and it´s a bit forest habitating specie) and for example, Iridomyrmex is highly dominant and aggresive ant, if they will grow, they will atack the other ants...
Like an experiment it´s nice, but I just tell you, the ants can kill together. But just this, it´s interesting. Keep up good work and than tell us news

[insanebe]

Yes thats the idea, put in several aggressive foreign species with a native species to see how they compete, and the potential for them to become a biological hazard to native species, fusca was given a deliberate advantage in numbers to demonstrate that it is the native species, as for the environment i tried to replicate the environment of south western england, which unknown to most people has sand dunes, palm trees and and other such weirdness due climate bubble caused by the gulf stream. This area because of its warmer climate is host to alot of foreign species which are prefer warmer climates, such as the false widow spider whch arrived from the canary islands off the coast of northern Africa, they stay in the south but never come north.

As for news nothing much, did see a fusca looking in the entrance of the iridomyrmex, it was killed by the iridomyrmex worker even though the fusca was 10x its size, jumped on its face spraying it in the head, was dead in seconds.

[insanebe]

Update,

Fusca, awake very active eggs/larva/cocoons

Iridomyrmex anceps, status unknown, all workers, queen and brood are gone from the test tube, either they moved out or were attacked and destroyed by the fusca,

Pheidole, status in hiding, they moved deep into the basin away from the side glass, a few workers are still visible near the tunnel entrance but they are mostly hidden away.

Messor, status in test tube, a few brood, few workers

[insanebe]

Cocoonies

fusca are thriving at the minute