File :-(, x, )
Ants! Anonymous
New official ants thread!
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I know some guy who keeps his Messor barbarus colony in a cd-box, ants are badass
>> Arutima
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f52_1216852324
>> Anonymous
>>286244

In real life, there would be thousands of ants so the spider wouldn't stand a chance, but of course against a couple of them this professional ant killer is very effective!
>> Anonymous
>>286245
derp derpa derp
>> Anonymous
>>286242
wow...they cant get out?

thats interesting... how does he feed them? Can we see a zoomed out pic??

I tried to restart this the other day and it wouldnt let me make a new topic. Thats ok though. I knew it wouldnt be long till it was reborn. I thinki a topic is only bumpable for so many days or somthing. Like 3-4 months.
>> Anonymous
Remember on Mr. Wizard when he made that huge ant farm.

That was badass.
>> Anonymous
>>286244
poor ants.
>> Anonymous
>>286374

He has a little tube going to the forage area where he feeds them seeds ;)
>> Anonymous
>>287014
Thats pretty cool. I'd love it if you could get a shot from further away though.

I'll post some pics of my queen later. She just started laying
>> Anonymous
Glad to see the thread went up. I had some internet downtime and work, so I never did get around to putting it up.

I'd love to see more of the CD case design. Sounds incredibly nifty.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Here are some more pictures from the cd box nest, I don't have any more though.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Last one
>> Anonymous
>>287281
sweet man. Thats an idea I might look into. Lord knows I got enough cd cases. I could stack them on top of each other. That'd be pretty neat and lighter then carrying around a block.

Did he glue cases together? I see that theres more then one.
>> Anonymous
>>287305

Yes, he glued them and made a small hole in the middle where he puts some water every once in a while, but do realize this only works with ant species who only like it dry (Messor sp., Pogonomyrmex sp., Cataglyphis sp., etc)
>> Anonymous
>>287308
oh. yea thats somthing i didnt think about. thanks for the info.
>> Anonymous
>>287781

np, how are you colonies doing by the way?
>> T.T.T.
>>287918
As for mine, nothing exciting. My original colony has a couple dozen workers at my best guess. The others are all egglaying with no workers yet.
>> Anonymous
BUMPFUCKERS
>> Anonymous
for some reason it wont let me upload images.

i got a queen with 3 pupae who are about to emerge this week I hope. Then last friday she layed a few more eggs.
>> T.T.T.
Oh thank goodness we're back. Did anyone get to see this on MySpace? Was a front page deal the other day. I laughed heartily at his misfortune.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=40183695&searchid=96568
4cb-25b3-4386-8c61-efa024e9656a
>> Anonymous
Well I imagine that that would suck. I hear that the crazy strawberry ants love electronics.
>> T.T.T.
>>289722
Shame though! What a perfect little ant farm he had started. Save for the fact they can get out and explore of course...
>> Anonymous
Ok i need to know. About how long did it take for your guys' ants to emerge as adult ants.

My queen laid 3 eggs which developed into pupae and look like they are in the end phase of metamorphasis. They are all clear and still immobile but look like mini ants. I can make out legs and stuff.

They've looked like this for about 3 days and I just wanna know how much longer I should expect to wait or if maybe they died.

The queen has layed about 7 additional eggs which are still small at this point.
>> Ants in a guys printer/scanner namco003
     File :-(, x)
This is creepy


http://www.maniacworld.com/ants-vs-printer.html
>> T.T.T.
>>289467
>>290138
Same video. :P
>> Anonymous
>>290129

15 days for each stage - eggs, larvae, pupae
your ants are in the last stage
>> T.T.T.
>>290347
One thing I remember. I once looked in on my ants and there was a white ant in there. The workers were grabbing it's legs and pulling at them.

I assumed it had just emerged an adult and they were helping to shape it as it's exoskeleton dried?
>> Anonymous
>>290347
15 days is alot more then I expected. But I'm sure that # can vary alittle between species.

From what I've seen I dont think that they make shells like caterpillers do. They just slowly develop. Mine look like tiny ants but are immobile. They should start moving probably in the next 5 days. I'm not sure for how long they have been like this though.

They arent fed while in this final stage are they? I gave the queen some syrup which she ate alittle bit of it. But I dont think she fed any of them anything.

But shes now got about 8 eggs laid 4-5 days ago. ....I should make a journal.
>> Anonymous
>>290445

Correct

>>290560

No, they are only fed when they are in larvae stage, you can sometimes see the larvae contract which means it's hungry.
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>290738
ok. I did see the larva squirm alittle bit.

I'm gonna use this name for abit. I have roughly 15 eggs. And 2 of the 3 pupae have started to darken. I anticipate there arrival soon.

I'm alittle anxious because tomororw I'm moving into my first apartment near my campus. They said I could have pets but I doubt they had ants in mind when I asked. But I'll be taking my turtles and iguana with me also.
>> Anonymous
>>290745

I really doubt they'll have rules on keeping ants lol
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
OMG I HAVE A BABY ANT!!!!

its kinda crawling around all wobbly but its a baby ant by alll accords. YAY!!!!

im soo excited about this. the other should hatch tonight and the 3rd prbly tomorrow while en route to my destination.

>>291045
I doubt they will. But I hope I never find out.


dang if i didnt have a crappy camera I'd take a pic of the cute guy.
>> T.T.T.
>>291109
Congrats!
Such a thing was what got me to start the first of these ant threads. It'll be fun to watch and see when new ones pop up. I'm curious, what kind of ants y'got?
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>291194
Honestly I dont know. The queen is redish but the baby ant is silverish-grey. And for some reason I can't upload any pictures. Not that I have any to upload.

I'm going to look around online abit. I might find somthing. And the 2nd pupae is emerging or whatever. Its trying to move around. So exciting.
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
This might be it. Its what the worker looks like.
Lasius Neoniger

http://www.antcam.com/pics/species/lasius/neoniger/Minimae.1.360x360.jpg
>> Anonymous
It's been more than a month since I have found my 4 L.niger queens. They laid eggs, which grew a lot since then. One queen laid some more eggs 1 week ago. Maybe the other too but I can't see them.

I found another queen, but I'm running out of test tubes, I'll have to find some more if I want to catch other queens this summer, particularly to try other species.

I wonder how long it'll take for the first workers to come out. I remember something like 3 months but it's not very accurate, and it was last year during autumn, maybe it's faster during summer - I don't have a lot of experience, it's been only a year I breed ants.

Speaking of that, my first colony's queen died in the beginning of february from unknown causes and I kept the colony to see how long they could live without a queen. They were something like 25 workers (L.niger again) and I still see at least one living worker, which must be something like 10 months old.
>> Porn forum TeenMan
I like This site!
Thanks!
>> Lesbian porn Medvedev
I like This site!
Thanks!
>> Anonymous
Hey, I missed the last thread (I'm assuming there was one) I'm VERY much interested in starting a small ant colony, is there like.. A website that sells ant queens? I use to have a giant fear of ants because of a traumatic experience but Now I'm just madly fascinated by them.Also how do you control population? I only want a small farm and I dont want to have to kill some of them.
>> Anonymous
Do not buy anything, find one. Buying ants is a scam and taking lots of ants to sell them damage biodiversity.

Wait for a hot summer day, when there's a lot of flying ants. Spot one on the ground, ripping her own wings and trying to hide. That's a fertilized queen.

Take it gently and put it in a test tube with water and coton to have humidity.

By the time you have done this, come back here and we'll talk again.

Size of the colony depends on the species. In 5 years, you can have a 5000 workers colony. If you want something smaller, go for camponotus sp., often found in woods, they are big and grow slowly. Search infos about which ants are living where you are.
>> Anonymous
>>291526
Could you point me in the direction of a few good resources to read? I live in North Carolina by the way. What would you feed ants in general?
>> oogabooga
>>291487
lame ass russian.
go back where u came from
>> Anonymous
>>291532

I am sorry but I'm french and I really don't know which are the good english ants forum and websites.

Anyway, what you feed them depends on the specie. Usually, beginners go for a Lasius specie, which are very adaptable and resistant. They eat pretty much everything, from sugar to insects.

Some other species are sometimes more specialized, like Messor sp which eat grains.

That's one of the reasons why it's important to know which are the species in your area, and to identify which specie is the queen you caught.

Anyway, as I said I don't know good ressources in english, but I bet someone here could give you usefull links.
>> Anonymous
relevant to my interest
i'm not set on a particular specie
i'd like a medium sized colony, with the biggest ants i can get but i don't know which are available in my area (france)
what is the best specie you ever maintained?
>> Anonymous
>>291885
apparently camponotus sp and messor barbarus are my best chances...

any feedback about those?
>> Anonymous
>>291885

I'm french too.
The best french forum about ants is by far http://www.acideformik.com/forums/index.php?act=home

Go there, read a lot, then eventually ask (not before reading and searching please, we alway get the same questions :) ).

It's a lot of passsionate breeders with a lot of experience, who helped me when I began and even gave me my first queen.

Check here http://fourmis.elevage.free.fr/noms.php for all the different species, you'll got some ideas about which species you might want to breed.
>> Anonymous
>>291885

You can choose for either Camponotus herculeanus/barbaricus/ligniperda or if you like small minors and huge majors choose for Cataglyphis velox
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>291326
I had no idea each ant lived that long. Thats really interesting.

Well I'm all moved into my apartment. I have a queen, 2 little ants, 1 pupae, and 15ish eggs. One of the ants seems to have somthing wrong with its back legs.

I shall name my queen Melony. The first ant shall be travis, the one with badlegs shall be willie. And the one about to hatch shall be colbert.

now to remember that.
>> Anonymous
>>292126

There are ant queens who live up to 75 years.
>> Anonymous
>>292126

If your species is Lasius neoniger you'll have 1000+ ants next year, are you gonna name each and every one of them? lol
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>292166
ima get a magnifying glass and dip a needle in paint and write names and numbers on the abdomens of all the ants.

^.^
yea right.
>> Anonymous
what is op specie?
i'd like huge soldiers with badass heads...
>> Anonymous
>>292163more like 28 years
>> T.T.T.
>>292163
I remember reading once that termite queens could live for 50 years, also.
>> Anonymous
>>292491

My source is 'The Ants' by Bert Holldobler, the best myrmecologist alive.
Look him up.
>> Anonymous
>>292275

The species is Pheidole rhea, one of the rare species who have 'super-majors'.
>> The Legendary Big Boss !!z8npwrX44I9
>>291324
>Neoniger
>niger
>nigger
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I hear you like ants...
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>292542
WTH? ..hobbies gone wrong.

Colbert has emerged!!! The four of them are now nursing the eggs and taking care of the queen.
>> Anonymous
>>292542
My coochie just closed up and hid inside my uterus.
>> T.T.T.
     File :-(, x)
My Argentine queen from the first thread (what is this, 4th now?) wouldn't eat until her first worker emerged. That was my first real successful queen.

My new stock of queens are different species than that, so I realized it may be wise to feed them now and see what happens.

Most accepted it immediately.
>> Anonymous
its a new game, called ant madness
>> T.T.T.
     File :-(, x)
Uh, what's this? Hmm, some of those eggs have dark spots... Er, wait! Workers!

She hatched hers already. I've had her half the time I've had the other black ones. Tiny species hatch fast I guess.

So I have two colonies with workers now. Okay, and yeah... these guys are freaking tiny. Look at OP picture to get an idea of comparison from my Argentine workers.

Before anyone asks, she's not missing a leg. :P
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
gnats and ants the perfect enemies
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>292673
HOORAY!!!!

the more the marrier. anyone know about heat? i moved into my apartment and i dont have the controls for the temperature. The a/c is on all the time, its not that cold for me but its about 70 everywhere. Should i get them a heat light or what?
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>292673

Looks like a Tetramorium sp.
The ants will not get any bigger and they will always avoid conflict.
>> T.T.T.
>>293103
http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=species&genus=tetramorium&name=caespitum

Species: Tetramorium caespitum
Taxonomic Hierarchy:
Subfamily: Myrmicinae Genus: Tetramorium

Biology:
An long-established tramp species, moderately invasive outdoors in Illinois's climate. Displaced in recent decades in St. Louis region by T. tsushimae.


Yup, you pegged it alright. That's my general area. :P

Interesting note: Her workers aren't entirely hers. I caught THREE of those tiny black ants and they immediately laid a pile of eggs together. When I finally obtained a spare tube I put one of them in, and dropped the eggs in with her.

I did so with the next one later, and the collective eggs that were laid.

The third one I believe I accidentally injured during the second's tube transfer. She's remained alive but inactive since then and hasn't laid as far as I can tell.

--------------------------------

Now to wonder what my equally tiny (if not more so) red ant is:
>>292670
Seen there on the left. The second Pavement Ant Queen is right of it, followed by my larger black ants...

Hopefully it hatches ones like the absolutely microscopic red ants that I found in a windowsill at work.
Some customer had left, like, TWO crumbs there and there were little red ants so small I could barely detect them when looking right at them. Neatest ants ever.
I found the tiny red queen a couple weeks later outside that window, so hopefully...
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>293515
thos little ants always freaked me out. they were soo tiny. it just wasnt natural.
>> Anonymous
>>293515

Don't do that to often though, after a while they sometimes attack each other because they have different genes.

Compare it with humans, two blacks and two whites, it will all be fine until there are suddenly 1000 blacks and only two whites, what will happen do you think?

Call me racist, but that's just the human nature, don't deny it.
>> Anonymous
>>293103

Pavement ants are EXTREMELY violent, dude. They're famous for their sidewalk wars and mass casualties with other colonies.
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
>>293591
Its not like he's running out of ants. I think this sounds like an excellent experiment. You should make the perfect ant colony by mixing eggs together.
>> Anonymous
>>293623

I meant avoiding conflicts with other species like Camponotus or Cataglyphis
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>> Anonymous
i want sum messor messor barbarus (most available where i live
what is the standard surface for a small colony (when the quen is out of the tube?
does the colony grow slowly?
can the queen regulate the number of workers before the nest is overcroded?
>> Anonymous
>>293812

don't know it depends
no, ants colonies double each month if they are healthy
no, the queen will continue to lay eggs even when the nest is to small, it's up to the workers to find a better nesting site
>> T.T.T.
>>293639
I really had no choice in the matter of mixing the eggs. At the time I had NO tubes and by the time I DID get one, there was a large pile with all three of them caring for it. I was half tempted to keep the queens together like that, but I figured it was a BAD idea.

However, I know the tale of ants that steal eggs and raise them as their own young, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem if one queen took them.

If this group ever makes reproductives, I'll try having queens live together and see what happens.
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
well my ants seem to not have any fears of wandering. They seem to be quite active and arent always tending the queen.
>> Anonymous
>>293827

Ant loyalties are based on the scent they get from the workers and the queen. So, technically, as long as your queens didn't start fighting, they could have been one big happy family.
>> T.T.T.
>>294240
The queens WERE all found together in the same place a few feet from each other. No doubt they're related anyway. But alas, too late now I'm sure.
>> Anonymous
I've been searching and I just can't seem to find any kind of list of the species of ants that live in my area. Does anyone happen to know a good site that says what species there are in the south-eastern area of Texas?
>> Anonymous
>>294619
Well, you'll have invasive native fire ants and even-more-invasive imported fire ants. I'd suggest giving them a try, if they die out at least you're killing something that deserves it.
>> Anonymous
>>293623
Holy crap. I grew up where there was a huge pavement ant colony living between the cracks in a old porch pavement. Those things always fascinated me. I know nothing about ants really... I might have to take part in this wonderful hobby.
>> Anonymous
>>294619

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?act=x_howto&guide=Ants_Central_America

Best you can get.
>> I DIDN'T KNOW THAT ANTS PRACTICE SLAVERY! Jonathan !q5cvt.Zu7c
OMIGAWD!
>Others are less expansionist but just as aggressive; they invade colonies to steal eggs or larvae, which they either eat or raise as workers/slaves. Extreme specialists among these slave-raiding ants, such as the Amazon ants, are incapable of feeding themselves and need captured workers to survive.[87]
>> Anonymous
>>295052

Yep.

MANY species do it, though.
>> Anonymous
yea its crazy. gotta love them ants
>> Anonymous
>>295052

There are even ant queens who are incapable of starting a colony without slaves, the Lasius fuliginosus queen will invade a Lasius umbratus nest, fight its way to the queen and kill it, she will than take over the nest scent and enslave the entire colony.
After a while she will start laying eggs and the slaves will nurture them until they hatch.

I am trying to mimic this process with a couple of queens I captured after a nuptial flight and so far they all have eggs and larvae - no pupae yet though.
>> Anonymous
>>295264
hows that going? are you moving the eggs around to different queens or somthing?
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>295276

No, I took some brood from my L. niger colony and I introduced them to my L. fuliginosus queen(s) so they can keep the queens alive by trophallaxis.
After a couple of days I introduced over 500 L. niger pupae who are brought back in to the nest and raised as sisters.
The only reason the queens need that many workers is because they need to be groomed the entire time in order to get a strong nest scent.
After four weeks the first queen laid her first batch of eggs, now I hope the L. niger workers won't kill the L. fuliginosus workers when they hatch.
The added picture is the first stage - I put two queens together to increase the chances the founding would succeed.
You can see the small abdomen and the strong jaws of the queens -100% built for the kill- while most other queens have a large abdomen to store fat reserves.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>295418

This is after I introduced the pupae.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>295423

And this the first batch of eggs.
The queens are starting to get more and more physogastric as they are constantly fed by the workers.
>> Anonymous
>>295418

Excuse me, trophallaxis is a process where ants give food to each other and physogastric is the abdomen that gets bigger and bigger when they are given a huge amount of food.
>> Anonymous
>>295425
wow thats pretty neat. but you should try and add some random eggs in to create a super colony of ants.
>> Drone !dZm2qfmgfo
Well my second batch of eggs are starting to develop into larva. So the 3 workers; Travis Willie and Colbert, have alot of work to do. No more siting around being lazy.
>> Anonymous
Wow. I've got ants myself, but you people are making it look REALLY FUCKING GAY.
>> Anonymous
>>295974

Are you talking about the anons naming their ants?
If so, yeah that's pretty gay.
>> Anonymous
>>295979

NO U
>> Anonymous
bump