ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Andie]

Cheers Bugsy Its amazing how clean the bottom part of the tube is so i'm lucky i can get some descent pics. The other end however has what looks like lime scale appearing on the sides so perhaps this is the "bread" they make or just pooh ? i don't know..

[adam james]

looking good Andie , fantastic pictures i will enjoy very much following this thread

regards

Adam

[Andie]

So today i decided to let them out into a small arena. I was suprised that they came straight out and within seconds were picking up dandylion seeds and taking them back to the tube. They totally avoided the sesame seeds. Its also interesting how they adopt an attack stance when they approach a seed as if they are going to sting it. Watch how they curl around their abdomen in the vid.





First worker carrying a dandylion seed.

[SteveUK28]

I think mate that motion of what you think is stinging is most likely them laying a chemical trail for the other ants.. so they know this food.. carry it back type thing

[Andie]

Cheers Steve. And just an update on queen 2, she now has a few workers :~)

[Andie]

Really pleased to see the first major appear just over 2 months after the first eggs hatched.



As you can see they are still mainly being fed with dandylion seeds and a small ammount of foreign finch seed which they have trouble carrying. They are also taking dry bloodworm and tetramin tropical fish flakes together with fruit flies and the odd roach.

[adam james]

Looks fantastic mate , really nice thread you have here , i will be checking it often


Adam

[SteveUK28]

great stuff mate... nice to see them doing so well

[Andie]

Here's how i have the small arena which is one of the boxes i bought for my leaf cutters when i get around to buying them ....

One thing about moving these into the arena and opening up the tube is that it probably changes the conditions inside which was worrying me, but looking at the video the ants have piled up the seeds perhaps to control the humidity. There is not much activity outside which also makes me think that opening the test tube was not necessary yet but makes feeding so much easier. Its suprising how big the waste pile is considering so few ants.

[Andie]

First time i have seen the major outside of the nest, really impressive size but didn't stay outside for long before dissapearing back inside.





The entrance to the Test tube is crammed with rubble with a tiny entrace just big enough for them to gain access.

[Markus]

Looks still like a Media.
One of the bigger Medias.
Perhaps one of the smaller Majors!?
But you could still await something bigger!

How does the inside of the Nest look?

[Andie]

Yay still something bigger to look forwars too :0

The inside of the nest is packed with mainly dandelion seeds and some bird seeds, also a variety of wild seeds ive been collecting. The water reserve is getting much smalle, should i think about offering them another tube or a y-tong nest?
my second colony is also doing well so i suppose ill have to get rid of one soon.

[Markus]

Of course you always have to compare the ants to the others, for example the head of the queen.
In the picture you can see some examples:
meny medias, often with big heads, but not as big as some Majors (with ?), and the puppets marked seem to get also bigger!

If her head is not as big as the head of the queen, its not one of the big majors!

[Andie]

@ Markus. I havent seen her out since and don't really like to disturb the nest with light, so i'm going to be patient and wait

On another note, yesterday the ants emptied the test tube of all the dandelion seeds and directly placed them outside but next to the tube, for two reasons perhaps
1: There is simply no room left inside ? or
2: The seeds are no longer viable because of their small size perhaps ?

I think its probable because of the lack of room as my second colony still keeps their's.

[Markus]

Well, you could simply look! ^^
Lack of Room could be a reason, I don't realy know, but bringing their seeds outside is often seen,
even their brood could be brought outside, often seen when the outside is warmer or if there is not enough light.

By the way:
Disturbing them is not so bad, every feeding means liddle panic by mines and one colony (the one, I look often after) got now 330 ants (some weeks before) much more important is the temperature and with 26°C you are on a good way!
I realy wonder, how meny they are, by seeing the activity outside and in the nest-entry I would say: 60 - 80, perhaps over 100...
what would you say?