ANTSTORE World of Ants

[jackal]

HI to all,I 'm searching information about Pheidologeton diversus and I Have seen that soldier can be VERY big !Besides I have read that soldiers are so big that can transport many workers.
For understand I attach a foto from antstore.
Have I understood well?
Is what I have pointed out as soldier a soldier?is 1,9 cm long?
And are the other ants workers?or smaller soldiers?
Which is the workers's size?
Thank You

[TheSummiter]

Hi,

yes on the picture are 3 soldiers, they are at maximum as long as the Queen but the head can be a bit bigger than the Queens head and the little workers are abot 2-5mm long. Therae are also little soldiers wich are not as big as the biggest soldiers there are no fix castes.

Saluti da Münster!
Buona settimana!

[JimmyVe]

That is true. they have big soldiers and small soldiers like most species.
Are you going to keep them Jackal ? I would like to keep them to, but i heard they are very difficult to keep so I'm going to wait till i have more experience with exotic species.

Greets

[Darkness]

but i hurt they are very difficult to keep so I'm going to wait till i have more experience with exotic species.

The major difficulty with Pheidologeton diversus is the beginning phase. The workers are weak and could die soon you will need every single minor worker at the beginning!
If you can hold your colonie until the Number of minor workers has hightened, your chance that the colonie will survive without big problems is very high.

[jackal]

That is true. they have big soldiers and small soldiers like most species.
Are you going to keep them Jackal ? I would like to keep them to, but i hurt they are very difficult to keep so I'm going to wait till i have more experience with exotic species.

Greets

In the future I would like to keep them,but for the moment I'm picking up information.Then I'll build the ytong,the terrarium,I will put it in operation and than,when all parameters(temp,humidity...) are ok I'll keep ants.
I think that problems with exotic species is maintaining the parameters corrected,and this for me is not a problem because I have had expeience with exotic snake.
Meanwhile I'll do my experience with Messor.

Thanks to all for Your answers

[JimmyVe]

I have messors to, and at the moment they are doing fine. i also have some ants from Argentina.
That is the best way to do it. I started that way with my Pallidula's, i first build the nest and after a few weeks i ordered the ants.

@ Darkness: but until there are enough minor workers it is a risk ?
So you keep them ? do you have a diary of it i would like to read more about them. Thanks.

Greets

[TheSummiter]

Hello,

I have had Pheidologeton diversus, you can read about them here:
http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?p=22556

Sorry its in german, but I think the pictures are very good!
I had a Colony with 3 Queens and in about 4-5 months there were the first Males, abot a month later some young Queens. Unfortunally my Mother put too much water into the Nest an Arena - I married and wasn´t at home for about 6 weeks - so everything to save the colony was to late and all Queens, workers and Soldiers died.

Greetings!

[JimmyVe]

Very nice pictures ! my German is not so good, so here is a question.
I saw you had a cover on the farm, how did you feed them? did you always need to take the cover off ?

that is very sad to hear, i don't like it when the hole colony die's, but sometimes you just cant do anything about it.

Thanks

[TheSummiter]

No, in the cover wich was plexiglass there is a little hole about 8cm diameter where i put the food and after i putt a little cover on this hole, so no ant is escaped after i buildt this cover!

[JimmyVe]

so before you build the cover they did. lol

8cm is that not to small, how did you clean the (farm)area ? was the PTFE GP1 not enough (or what did you used?)

Greets.

[TheSummiter]

Yes, after some time when the colony grows more and more they try to escape and the PTFE is no barria for them. Before they are escaped once and they have build a street across my flat till my kitchen.
If I had to clean the Arena or Nest I removed the screws and the cover and there was no problem, only some ants were trieng to escape but theres no problem to catch them

Greets

[Darkness]

@ JimmyVe

@ Darkness: but until there are enough minor workers it is a risk ?
So you keep them ? do you have a diary of it i would like to read more about them. Thanks.

Hm, I have a diary, but im also german like the summiter. And unfortunataly my diary does not include any pictures.

was the PTFE GP1 not enough (or what did you used?)

I know that you have not wrote this question to me, but if you and the summiter do not mind, I will give also one solution I have practised.
This variant is very good to hold the ants Back from escaping and running over your floor. I practised this procedure with my colonie of Pheidole pallidula, too.
You need for this a bowl, which is longer and wider than your Formicarium. It should not be too high, its enogh if it is 10 cm.
After you have arranged such a bowl, you can fill it up with water that the ants can perhaps escape from your Formicarium, but they can not cross the water, so they have to go back.

[JimmyVe]

You also may answer the question.

But if your farm is 20 cm high, and the bowl is just 10cm they can climb on the outside of your farm (for about 10cm) and what if they fall in to the water, they drown ? (if i understand it, or am i mistaken)
Is this setup good for more species because i heard that some can cross water ?

Greets

[Purifier]

Yeah some can swim, but i believe they dont love it. And they swim back bevore they cross the huge river (seen on a ant vision ).
I think the combination of PTFE and water should work fine....

[Darkness]

@ JimmyVe

Is this setup good for more species because i heard that some can cross water

Some ants are able to cross the water, but thats seldom and it happens often if the water is old. Than in such a case, a lot of dust is lying on the water. Additional the ants are lighter than the surface energy.
But you can give some washing agent into the water to destroy the surface energy. That is always a good solution.

It is possible that a few ants will drown, but it is far better as if they would creep all over your floor.