ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Matt_LFC]

Hi,

Firstly sorry for making another thread but i don't think it fits in with my others 'ytong blocks and my new basin project'

I received them this morning, meant to be between 100-250 and i think i have around 100 but they are so huddled together its impossible to know for sure. So far i have not seen any queens as i know they said it may come with more than 1 but i take it there is a queen still alive otherwise they wouldn't be behaving normally. I think only around 20 or so died in transit which is why i made sure it was special delivery. Also great to see my water 'moat' working well as they seem to come over the edge the realize its water and go back as i haven't filled it right to the top, only about 3/4 up. (more than in the photos).

Had a few teething problems with the water as i had a few leaks inside and outside but fixed them all so now i can only hope they don't appear again but i will know for sure tomorrow. I have fed them 2 spiders and some honey which they seem to like. I have also purchased some mealworms as my Lasius niger colony enjoyed them. The only problem i see is if they actually will want to move out in to the block but time will tell. I will keep the block damp on one side and i will leave the heatmat on, on the other side so to encourage them to go in.

Any feedback is welcome.

Sorry for the poor images.


DSC01031 by J Potato, on Flickr


DSC01032 by J Potato, on Flickr

[Matt_LFC]

Just went back to watch them and noticed a big huddle of ants outside in the tub and what appeared to be a queen ant at first anyway as it is twice as big as the worker ants but it doesnt appear to be as big as even a Lasius niger queen or and other queens for that matter i have seen? Is this a major or a queen?


DSC01036 by J Potato, on Flickr


DSC01034 by J Potato, on Flickr

[Shiver]

Myrmica rubra do not have majors so it is a Queen

They are much closer in size to the workers than other species like Lasius niger that you seem to have experience with already.

[SteveUK28]

Heya dude...

Firstly i moved your topic here.. as its more of a diary than just pictures. Secondly... it is a queen and thirdly... you do not need the heatmat they will do fine without one.. and do not need one at all. especialy as you can find them here in the UK.

Apart from that all looking good mate, feed them often and they will grow pretty quick for you.. also watch out for the sting.. its not the nicest in the world lol

[Matt_LFC]

Thanks Steve,

Everything is going well with my colony but i do have 1 concern, that being that the colony spend all the time in the test tube like they are in hibernation but at 21 degrees. When i lift the cardboard i have over the test tube all the workers look asleep and all i can see is some movement at the base of tube where the queens are. They have plenty of food all scattered around in the tub, if not too much food. Is this normal for Rubra as i was use to Lasius Niger were they use to scout outside for whatever most of the time but this colony seem to be over 100 and only a couple i see outside at a time. When i first posted they all seemed to be outside but now its like they are in hibernation. Maybe they just have enough food so they don't need to come out?

[Matt_LFC]

They are still not moving, when i take the cardboard from over their tube they are all asleep? They must think its still winter when it's 20degrees.

[SteveUK28]

Very strange Matt.. mine are doing find at room temp... growing quite quick now too..

[Matt_LFC]

Still asleep, they have moved out of the tube and made a nest under the plastic in the moist soil, still hardly any activity, dont know whats going on

[Matt_LFC]

OK. I have just been on holiday for around 10 days and i come back to find all the food i put in had turned black and the ground was bone dry but the positive was that they i could see quite a few ants around on the surface plus they have made a new or extended nest under some slate i had put in. Do i just have a really inactive colony or is this typical myrmica rubra??? They are all back to normal now its damp and they have plenty of food, you will only see a couple at a time on the surface.

Would be good to get some feedback from people with experience with Myrmica rubra...

[Matt_LFC]

Still my colony are very sleepy. I thought they were all dead so i was prodding around in my setup and came across a healthy colony. I also put a ytong block in my setup and the night i disturbed them they have all moved into the block and i can see them all now.

There is approx 50-75 ants with 2 queens and a lot of eggs! They stay in the damp section of my block. Still like i said they are very sleepy, they all tend to just stay with the colony all day and a few will be walking around outside. Very strange from my experience with lasius niger which were very active.

[Ukantzz]

They will only just start to come out of hibernation at the moment, don't disturb them to much as they may get stressed. This is a small colony so expect little activity, tho they should be more active in summer months how big is your Lasius niger colony

[Matt_LFC]

I let them go into the garden last summer as the colony were just growing too quickly for the setup i had. You could put a bit of food in there and they would have dragged it into their nest in 3mins but with my colony since i got them last summer they have not been active. They dont really touch the honey and the insects sit there for days and i have to take them out.

I have watched many videos of rubra on youtube and they all seem to be very active.

[Matt_LFC]

Here are some photos i took today. I definitely miss counted, there are over 125+. The stuff on the underside of the plastic is condensation.

[Ukantzz]

The videos may have been in another time of year

But your colony looks healthy, keep us updated

[Matt_LFC]

Update on my colony. They are a very well established colony now. They use the 4 test tubes i have buried in a basin plus they have a number of tunnels in the sand. 2 queens and 150+ workers at present. The block didnt work out as they instead moved in to the pot i used to keep the block moist! I will be getting another colony which i will keep in the block instead, most likely Messor barbarus.

Heres a video of the colony in which they have moved some of their eggs out into the open, don't ask me why. I was pretty shocked to see it. I did check a few weeks ago and they have so many eggs its unbelievable.

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