ANTSTORE World of Ants

[AntsNational]

Hi all,

I have received a 3 queen colony of Pheidologeton diversus last week which is an initial beginning to a multiple-queen colony set-up. This is my first time working with this species and I hope they do well. There's a good amount of minor workers as well as quite a few large supermajors which are currently acting as living food-storage containers for the queens. There isn't much brood as most of it probably died during the shipment and were eaten. I am hoping that with 3 queens there will be an explosion of eggs within the next day or two as the ants have been eating a new large roach and other foods each day.

The minor workers will have their work cut out for them in the coming month to survive as a colony and raise the next generation of workers. Anyways here are some pics.

[AntsNational]

Well the good news is that the three queens have finally settled into their new world and are happily laying eggs and getting back to their normal behavior. These queens are extremely prolific and are laying eggs at a healthy normal rate for what I've read up on Pheidologeton. Their feeding habits are becoming scheduled and they're taking in a variety of insect foods. They've been enjoying crickets, mealworms (and pupae), assorted cockroaches (Blatta lateralis & Blaberus discoidalis) and the odd dead Lasius ant queen. ALL foods given to them are submerged in boiling water for at least 10-15 seconds so as to eliminate any potentially harmful mites or bacteria. The largest of the soldiers act as living food storage containers with which they are filled up by the constant supply from the hundreds of tiny workers. Once they begin to fill up, these soldiers feed the queens. I've seen some of the tiny workers also feed the queens but I see more of the largest majors performing this role. Enjoy the pics! There's more pics on my Journal page on Facebook at Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar

[AntsNational]

Many workers have perished as expected after such a long distance voyage but the colony seems quite tough. The three queens now have laid a HUGE pile of eggs. The workers and soldiers tend to the queens but I worry for their longevity. I hope this new generation of workers arrives soon enough to relieve the colony and get a normal growth rate started.

[AntsNational]

The eggs are beginning to hatch!

[AntsNational]

Sadly, this colony has succumbed to the mite invasion. Only one queen remains. The person who had shipped it to me failed to advise me that the colony did in fact have mites when she sent it. I will try again!

[AntsNational]

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo... I'm back!


I acquired another colony of these ants, I'm really happy as to how they arrived. They arrived in good condition, this time I received around 15 queens for insurance purposes if they colony loses a few queens (like last time).. So after a few years I'm pretty sure that I've got the mite problem solved, which is a relief. I've had mites attack all of my colonies and through trial and error I've figured out almost a foolproof way to beat them back. I posted a comment on AntsCanada's YouTube page concerning mites which I've copy and pasted below:

1) Lemons

- Sliced lemons are a great external deterrent to the parasitic mites, but to win this war you'll have to attack them on an internal level as well. You'll have to put concentrated lemon juice into their honey-water, as well as a touch of maple syrup. When the ants feed on this formula, their hemolymph gets an acidic spike to it as well as a immunity boost defense system with the maple syrup. The formula will literally have your parasitic mites dwindle daily as the mites cannot handle the spikes to the hemolymph. The formula is also beneficial for the ants as it gives them an extra kick of vitamins, minerals and acids otherwise unavailable to them. The ants will refuse the formula themselves if it's not a sweet-dominated mixture.

2) Raisins

- With raisins, you'll want to cut them in half. The ants will love the sweet taste of the sugars in the raisins. As they feed on the raisins, mites will actually get pulled off from the stickiness of the inside portion of the raisins. I've used this raisins trick for about 3 years and you will literally see mites drowning in the raisins.

3) Clean, but do not purge.

- No matter how much you will clean your outworld, you will see mites. In some form or another, they can and will arrive. I believe in a Buddhist's approach to this problem --- the discovery of predatory mites of your parasitic mites. There is a guaranteed presence of predatory mites in your outworld, and maybe even in your ants' nest. Nature always has a way of balancing the tables, and I notice that with a lot of cleaning, one reduces the chance for predatory mites to take hold. Predatory mites will annhilate the parasitic prey mites. It's kind of like a mini war down there! Make sure to maintain the raisins and lemon solutions, but also give the other mites yet undiscovered a chance to predate the parasitic mites.

4) BOIL Your ant food!

- Literally for everything, you must boil the water before adding the ingredients to your ant food. Foreign mites, funghi and other substances have easy access into the nest if you don't boil beforehand. When the water is boiling, add your honey, maple syrup, sugars, lemon concentrate and food coloring (to record data).


- I put drop feeder roaches and mealworms into a cup of boiling water before I serve them to my ants. It may sound cruel, but it offers them a quick death and also cleans them of any parasites, viral or not. Remove after about 15-30 seconds and everything will be cleaned.


With this info, you should eradicate your mite problem. I've defeated every mite invasion that's ever attacked my ants!

Cheers!


........



Okay so back to the new colony:

It consists of about 10-12 queens (after the usual post-shipping die-off). A few queens died, loads of workers died but there's still several thousand roaming the tank. I will have photos soon of the colony, they've settled in already (it's been about a week now) and they're eating everything I give to them. The queens, majors and workers at first moved into the plaster nest but then moved out of it and underground. I will be sure to make a change to this later, but for now I just want them to settle. The tank is quite damp as well, so with carefully managing water levels I'm able to keep humidity up high.

Will post in some time with updates.

[AntsNational]

It seems as though the colony has finally settled into the nest. For a time, they will reside in this plaster nest until they grow large enough in numbers to chew through it. For now, they seem content in just altering which chambers to use and which others to block. They've blocked off most of the lower nest and I'm happy about it because I think that they'll grow into it steadily on their own terms. The great news is ... EGGS! The settled queens have begun to lay eggs, and at this time I will not disturb them in their production, except for taking quick photos. Yesterday there were no eggs so I'm very pleased by the surprise. Here are a few photos of the ants.

[AntsNational]

The colony hasn't taken much to mealworms or roaches, but have accepted at times seeds and sugar/honey water solutions. I offered them pre-boiled crickets (drop in boiling water for about 15 seconds) and they have accepted them. It's easier to drop the cricket in boiling water first, as this prevents any potential mites or unwanted bacteria to enter the habitat.

The ants are doing well! For the moment I'm leaving the inside of the nest undisturbed so as to not halt any egg laying by the queens. I also don't want to encourage them to move out. Will keep this journal posted with more photos soon.

[AntsNational]

The egg cluster is getting larger each day.