Myrmecology - Keeping and Raising Ants

Pogonomyrmex subdentatus Queen Colony Founding Study

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 05:10:00 +0000

Introduction:
On a hike October 22nd I came across a recent Pogonomyrmex nuptial flight. It had likely taken place just after the rains had begun a few days earlier. Most queens were found in the process of excavating claustral nests though a few were still wandering on the surface of the dirt looking for somewhere promising to dig. The substrate was loose sand near old sand mines in Northern California. There were several large established nests of the same species in the immediate area. In a location the size of a football field I would estimate 10 - 12 established colonies interspersed with colonies of Messor sp.

I collected 11 newly inseminated queens and the following will be an observation in colony development from a single queen. This species is known to be fully claustral and I will be attempting to provide food to determine if that has an effect on colony size and growth. I have also somewhat convoluted the study by adding small bits of pine resin as an attempt to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria in the vial.

Photos of the species from Ant Web via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pogonomyrmex_subdentatus

Methods and materials:
Each queen is housed in a small plastic vial with snap tight lids. The vials were previously filled 1/3 with plaster as a substrate and allowed to fully dry over a week to ensure a solid flooring. Before the queens were introduced 4 drops of distilled water were added to the plaster to provide humidity.

The vials are enclosed in an incubator made from a small 5 1/2 gallon glass aquarium that has been partially filled with distilled water and heated by an aquarium heater to 31° C. This establishes a 30 - 31° C relative temperature in the incubator and vials. The incubator is covered with a fit acrylic lid and encased with posterboard to create a dim environment. The poster board is attached with tape to create a hinged door to allow for observation.

Each vial is labeled with a unique ID allowing for notes to be taken on each queen during the colony founding stage.

As food items I will be using sources of protein (dead and previously frozen termites) along with seeds (mixture of grasses). It appears most grass seeds are highly nutritious and lack toxic chemicals. I found seeds in a garden supply store that had not been treated with any chemicals.

Baseline data:
In various papers and on websites I was able to find some general information about studies of Pogonomyrmex species. Most scientific studies kept colonies in the laboratory at approximately 30° C. This was shown to provide the best level and speed of brood development. Some studies seemed to suggest marked decline in the speed of brood development at 25° C. It was also shown that high levels of humidity were necessary during colony establishment with most studies keeping newly inseminated queens at 60% humidity. I should call out two things - one this is a hobbyist website and I don't have time to cite sources and two I don't have several pieces of technology I wish I did so I am trying to get approximate levels of humidity in the vials. I have been keeping an eye o the visual cue of condensation on the inside of the vial and balancing that to ensure the queen and brood won't drown in droplets that may form.

General observations:
The queens show signs of aggression when disturbed by movement. Upon collection until they were settled in the vials for two days they paced around with open mandibles. After two days they were more subdued though aggressive behavior resumes in bright light or with any strong vibrations or movement.

11/16/10 - Noticed that while some queens were picking at the seeds, most didn't show signs of eating however vial DP-IN6 had shelled all seeds and had eaten the contents. I added an increased number of seeds to this vial to see how she would react.

11/20/10 - Much more noticeable picking at the seeds this time but not enough time had elapsed to see if they would eat the whole seed or were just nibbling. As the egg and larvae counts show there are significant changes in numbers and my assumption is that the larvae are consuming eggs and at times other larvae, or the queen is. DP-IN8 had signs of chaotic scattering of the eggs about the vial. This may be due to the movement of lifting the vial out of the incubator and observing but none of the other vials had the eggs scattered, they were all in nice piles.

I should also note surprise at what happened in DP-IN10. Last time I added the 25 or so eggs from DP-IN7 after that queen died. I had expected her to adopt the eggs for the most part and to see more larvae and eggs present this time. Now the egg count is 3 with 1 less larvae than last time.

11/24/10 - Most seeds were either completely gone or picked at and eaten. I noticed one uneaten fruit fly in DP-IN2 but the others were missing (eaten) or so picked at they were unrecognizable. Due to colder house temperature the incubator was hovering around 28° C. I upped the heater to the max and will watch where it stabilized again. According to the thermostat it has a max of 89° F.

12/2/10 - Constant temperature of 31° C established since last edit. Most seeds were missing or showing signs of obvious eating. When disturbed, queens with pupae defend those first by picking them up and running around. Vial DP-IN8 still had scattering of eggs not in a well formed pile.

12/7/10 - I'm beginning to wonder what's going wrong with this study. I found 4 more dead queens today leaving me with 4 living queens remaining. I wonder if the artificial heat is to blame since these were fall flying queens who would be in chilling winter weather. While the vials are not too small I wonder if they are not providing adequate oxygen or perhaps the humidity in the vials is too low. Perhaps the resin is to blame?

At any rate, I hope the remaining queens make it to colony formation. I added much more water this time and left the vial lids loosely fit as to allow air and humidity levels from the incubator to enter the vials. I did note that of the remaining queens, none have resin and it is now 50/50 fed vs. unfed. One of the queens, DP-IN03 has only eggs and one, DP-IN02 has just a handful of eggs and larvae. Only one vial, DP-IN01 has a pupae which has colored up slightly. Fingers crossed this study ends with a successful colony...

12/9/10 - Slightly nervous so I am checking on them more frequently now. It appears the humidity has risen with the lids ajar. I state this since the plaster is now able to be dug in slightly whereas is was was solid and not possible for this before. DP-IN03 is trying to dig a bit. All the queens are still active and moving and today the first worker eclosed in DP-IN01.

Specific vial observations:

DP-IN1 -- No Resin
10/30/10 - No eggs present. Added 1 termite and 1 grass seed.
11/6/10 - Approximately 15-20 eggs visible. Added 1 grass seed and 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 28 eggs and 2 larvae visible. Added 2 grass seeds and 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 10 eggs and 1 larva visible. Added 1 dead fruit fly and 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 25 eggs and 1 larva visible. Added 2 seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - 35 eggs, 0 larvae and 1 pupa present. Added 2 grass seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 5 drops of water.
12/7/10 - 35 eggs, 0 larvae and 1 pupa present. Added 4 grass seeds (no traces remaining), a pin tip droplet of honey, 8 drops of water and 15 eggs, 1 larva and 2 pupae from DP-IN10.
12/9/10 - 12 eggs, 0 larvae, 0 pupae and 1 worker present. Added 2 grass seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey, 1 dead fruit fly, 1 small dead cricket and 6 drops of water.

DP-IN2 -- No Resin
10/30/10 - No eggs present. Added 1 termite and 1 grass seed.
11/6/10 - Approximately 10-12 eggs visible. Added 1 grass seed and 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 20 - 23 eggs visible. Added 2 grass seeds and 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 30 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 1 dead fruit fly and 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 25 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - 0 eggs, 2 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 2 grass seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 5 drops of water.
12/7/10 - 2 eggs, 2 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 4 grass seeds (no traces remaining), a pin tip droplet of honey, 8 drops of water and 35 eggs from DP-IN11.
12/9/10 - 10 eggs, 2 larvae, 0 pupae present. Added 3 grass seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey, 1 dead fruit fly and 7 drops of water.

DP-IN3 -- No Resin, No Food To Be Added
10/30/10 - No eggs present.
11/6/10 - Approximately 7-10 eggs visible. Added 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 20 - 23 eggs visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 25 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 20 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - 30 eggs, 0 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 5 drops of water.
12/7/10 - 25 eggs, 0 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 8 drops of water and 25 eggs from DP-IN08.
12/9/10 - 11 eggs, 0 larvae, 0 pupae present. Added 2 drops of water.

DP-IN4 -- No Resin, No Food To Be Added
10/30/10 - No eggs present.
11/6/10 - Approximately 15-20 eggs visible. Added 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 11 eggs and 4 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 7 eggs and 3 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 20 eggs and 3 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - 20 eggs, 2 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 5 drops of water.
12/7/10 - 5 eggs, 4 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 8 drops of water and 30 eggs from DP-IN05.
12/9/10 - 6 eggs, 4 larvae, 0 pupae present. Added 2 drops of water.

Following Vials No Longer In Study - Queens Died

DP-IN5 -- Resin
10/30/10 - No eggs present. Added 1 termite and 1 grass seed.
11/6/10 - Approximately 10-12 eggs visible. Added 2 grass seeds and 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 32 eggs visible. Added 2 grass seeds and 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 30 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 1 dead fruit fly and 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 30 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - 28 eggs, 0 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 2 grass seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 5 drops of water.
12/7/10 - Queen was dead, no mold present. Pile of 30 eggs added to DP-IN04.

DP-IN6 -- No Resin
10/30/10 - No eggs present. Added 1 termite and 1 grass seed.
11/6/10 - Approximately 20-25 eggs visible. Added 2 grass seeds and 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 11 eggs and 3 larvae visible. Added 6 grass seeds and 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 7 eggs and 3 larvae visible. Added 1 dead fruit fly and 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - Queen was dead, slight mold on the discarded seed husks though none on queen. Pile of 12 eggs and 3 larvae added to DP-IN8.

DP-IN7 -- Resin
10/30/10 - No eggs present. Added 1 termite and 1 grass seed.
11/6/10 - Approximately 15-20 eggs visible. Added 2 grass seeds and 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - Queen was dead, no mold or other visible problems in vial. Pile of 25 eggs added to vial DP-IN10.

DP-IN8 -- Resin, No Food To Be Added
10/30/10 - No eggs present.
11/6/10 - Approximately 7-10 eggs visible. Added 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 35 eggs visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 35 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 25 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water + 12 eggs and 3 larvae from DP-IN6.
12/2/10 - 35 eggs, 0 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 5 drops of water.
12/7/10 - Queen was dead, no mold present. Pile of 25 eggs added to DP-IN03.

DP-IN9 -- Resin, No Food To Be Added
10/30/10 - No eggs present.
11/6/10 - Approximately 10-15 eggs visible. Added 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 33 eggs visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 20 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 20 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - Queen was dead, mold visible on gaster but no where else in vial. Pile of 12 eggs added to vial DP-IN10.

DP-IN10 -- Resin
10/30/10 - No eggs present. Added 1 termite and 1 grass seed.
11/6/10 - Approximately 10-12 eggs visible. Added 3 grass seeds and 3 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 11 eggs and 4 larvae visible. Added 3 grass seeds and 2 drops of water + 25 eggs from vial DP-IN7.
11/20/10 - 3 eggs and 3 larvae visible. Added 1 dead fruit fly and 2 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 6 eggs and 3 larvae visible. Added 2 seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - 7 eggs, 2 larvae and 1 pupae present. Added 2 grass seeds, a pin tip droplet of honey and 5 drops of water + 12 eggs from vial DP-IN9.
12/7/10 - Queen was dead, no mold present. Pile of 15 eggs, 1 larva and 2 pupae added to DP-IN01.

DP-IN11 -- Resin, No Food To Be Added
10/30/10 - No eggs present.
11/6/10 - Approximately 7-9 eggs visible. Added 4 drops of water to as plaster and vial were dry.
11/16/10 - 20 eggs visible. Added 2 drops of water.
11/20/10 - 17 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 12 drops of water.
11/24/10 - 20 eggs and 0 larvae visible. Added 2 drops of water.
12/2/10 - 23 eggs, 0 larvae and 0 pupae present. Added 5 drops of water.
12/7/10 - Queen was dead, no mold present. Pile of 35 eggs added to DP-IN02.

Incubator Exterior

Incubator Interior

One of the 11 vials

Pogonomyrmex subdentatus queen in vial with egg

Ant Nest Over Wintering - Hibernating

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 17:14:00 +0000

In order to ensure a egg laying rest break for the queens I have begun the over wintering process for my ant colonies. Many species of ants enter a state of diapause wherein the Queen stops laying eggs, the workers increase their food stores and their gasters swell in size, their activity decreases and they come together.

Both the Camponotus vicinus and the Formica transmontanis queens stopped laying eggs roughly around September 10th even though they had access to steady heat. The Formica ended up pushing all brood through the stages to workers by the middle of October while the Camponotus still have brood in larval and pupal form. I hesitated on over wintering the Camponotus as I was originally waiting on all cocoons to eclose but I noticed such reduced activity I decided it best to move ahead.

The Aphaenogaster have brood of all stages present and had not showed signs of reduced activity or feeding. I am attempting this process with them and will keep an eye on them. I may not over winter them for the entire period depending on how they react. They were found in the same area as the other colonies so I am assuming they deal with the same winter conditions.

I attached test tubes with cotton plugs stoppering water in 1/3rd of the tube and another plug with a bit of plastic tubing to each of the plaster nests. Within a week all ants and brood had moved into the test tubes where a constant supply of humidity was available. I removed the plaster nests but still gave the ants access to foraging areas. I also shut down the heating pad and they are currently at around a steady 15° C. As the temperatures continue to decrease in my area they should go down to around 10° C for a majority of the winter.

The goal is to leave them at less than 15° C for a period of roughly 60 - 90 days. If all goes well that would mean an end to the hibernation period of around March 1st. This takes into account the time it will take to get down below 15° C.

All colonies continue to access the foraging areas, albeit at lower rates, for honey and only the Aphaenogaster are still taking insect foods.

Nearly a Week in Food

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:05:00 +0000

I decided to start tracking a simple food stuffs list to see what levels of feeding I am giving my nests. This is the time of the year when they should start slowing down and eventually overwinter with no heating pad etc. I've already moved the Formica transmontanis colony off of the heater as there was no remaining brood. The Aphaenogaster don't appear to slow down egg production so I am on the fence as to how to treat them this winter, I'll likely just move them to no heat source as well.

The Camponotus vicinus are slightly more complicated. They do need to overwinter and the queen stopped egg production some time back. I did some boosting by grabbing brood some 2 months ago from a nest of the same species in the wild. Some of what I grabbed was in pupal form and those have eclosed. The rest were larvae and it appears some part of them are moving through the growth cycle and differing rates. I count 9 cocoons in the nest right now with a lot of larvae in varying sizes. The predominant size is tiny -- how they are staying at the point after this much time has me thinking they are already prepped to overwinter but the continued heat and food makes some move on and pupate. They keep them all well fed with nice dark stomachs. I'll likely stop the heat source for them soon and see if my theory is correct.

Now to the feedings. Below I've broken it up by date and then abbreviated the colony. Should be pretty simple - A=Aphaenogaster, C=Camponotus and F=Formica. If you note feeding on subsequent days that is due to the previous food being eaten. All nests have a constant supply of pure honey available.

11/6/10
A - 12 dead fruit flies and fresh pure honey supply
C - 2 medium dampwood termites, 1 dead fruit fly
F - 2 dead fruit flies

11/7/10
A - 1 small portion (1/4 pencil eraser size) of cooked chicken, 1 small portion (same as before) of cooked carrot, a tiny crumb of dark chocolate 70%
C - 1 small dead cricket
F - No additions

Additional notes - The Aphaenogaster fed the larvae with the carrot turning them all orange. The Formica had only been taking termites to date but they finally ate the fruit fly and since I had run out of termites I tried out cricket.

11/8/10
A - 4 living fruit flies
C - 6 living fruit flies
F - 7 living fruit flies

Additional notes - The Camponotus brought the cricket into the nest and started consuming it which is rare, typically they only eat termites and they rarely take food into the nest preferring to eat in the foraging area and return the food in their social stomachs.

11/9/10
A - 1 small dead cricket
C - 1 small dead cricket
F - all previous food was gone

Additional notes - The first small cricket in the Camponotus nest got stuck in condensation to the glass. They had eaten most of it but once food gets stuck to the glass they seem to ignore it until it decays or dries out.

11/10/10
A - 1 small portion (1/2 pencil eraser size) of a Fig Newton bar
C - No additions
F - No additions

11/11/10
A - 1 small sliver (1/4 pencil eraser size) of a steamed pear
C- 1 small sliver (1/4 pencil eraser size) of a steamed pear
F - No additions

As you can see, the Aphaenogaster are pigs and will eat just about anything and don't seem to have slowed production of brood much. The Camponotus are still happily accepting protein sources at a impressive rate.

Camponotus vicinus Journal - November 11, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:01:00 +0000

On last count there were 32 workers which includes 1 major. The colony is still tending to brood despite it being time for them to begin the overwintering process. Several of the smaller larvae have been the same size since they were collected in the wild over two months ago. There is a steady amount of larvae that continue growing and pupating and while I was waiting on them all to eclose I believe I will turn off the heating pad in the next week or two.

Brood Pile

All nests and setup

California Academy of Science - Citizen science program

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 03:20:00 +0000

If you live in or near the San Francisco Bay Area and are interested in ants, insects and science in general there are a few exciting programs for you.

Obviously I am most interested in the Bay Area Ant survey project. I've been taking samples on hikes or walks around the Bay Area to send it. One of the best parts of this program is getting your specimens uploaded to Ant Web.

The goals of this particular project are:

Documenting the ant diversity of the Bay Area
Mapping the spread of invasive ants, including the problematic Argentine ant
Creating a permanent collection of ant species for scientific research and teaching
Allowing the community to experience scientific discovery firsthand

The Academy will provide you with kits that include collection materials and a data sheet to fill out and submit with the specimens you send in. You can get your kits from the Naturalist Center inside of the Academy of Sciences.

Here is more information along with links to more details from their website summarizing all of the progams:

By collecting ants from your house, backyard, local park, or hiking trail, you can help Academy scientists document the ant diversity of the Bay Area. Help us map the spread of the invasive Argentine ant, and contribute to a permanent collection of specimens for scientific research and teaching. The Academy provides free collecting kits, too.

Learn how to collect ants anytime, anywhere »

Bay Area’s Most Wanted Spider

Arachnologists at the California Academy of Sciences are interested in documenting the current distribution and spread ofZoropsis spinimana spiders introduced into California. Native to the Mediterranean coastal countries and northern Africa, this spider recently migrated to Northern California, probably by hiding inside someone’s suitcase or inside shipments. Although harmless to humans, this spider could be considered invasive if it competes with local species.

Learn how to spot one in your home »

Living Roof Project

The community is invited to help monitor the many plants, birds and arthropods that inhabit and utilize the unique ecosystem on the Academy’s Living Roof. After attending an engaging training session, you’ll be eligible to return as a qualified citizen scientist to help Naturalist Center staff monitor the roof on a monthly basis. Collected data is shared with researchers from both the California Academy of Science and San Francisco State University.

Check out the schedules for training and monitoring »

Visit the official website here for more information - http://www.calacademy.org/science/citizen_science/

Camponotus vicinus Journal - September 25, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Another small worker eclosed which brings colony count to 11 plus the queen. I fed them one more small termite and two large dampwood termites. They ate all three overnight. I've also caught them nibbling on the grape slice.

Today I went on a hike and had hoped to find more termites. All I was able to catch for them was a crushed and freshly dead praying mantis. It was on the main path and they are currently checking it out.

I've found they take the small termites into the nest but they eat larger food items in the attached foraging area and share in the nest what they've saved in their social stomach. I'm glad to see they are beginning to have a more hearty appetite.

Camponotus vicinus Journal - September 22, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:04:00 +0000

I woke up to find that my first major worker has eclosed. It's pretty extraordinary to see the different sizes in these workers already, even without a major. But now the caste is complete. Camponotus species don't normally get a major in their first year with a new queen but as I have mentioned before I boosted this colony with some brood taken from a nest near to where the newly mated queen was found.

It appears I was able to get at least one major in the group and if I am lucky there may be a few more yet. My understanding is that a new queen of this species has around 10 -15 workers her first year. Typically those start with some minums (very small workers) and gradually start to grow, first to more typical sized workers on the smallish size and then slowly a few larger workers. It's common to find established nests with many variations of size plus majors, the ants are polymorphic.

I'm not sure what the average worker life span is so there may be a point where her current worker force is all gone and she is left with only those she has raised herself from egg. Hopefully the numbers in the nest won't dwindle down to just a handful. I have a feeling that starting the nest off with a larger worker force will bolster her and provide her and the brood with nutrients to help strengthen the natural numbers of the colony.

With feeding I am starting to notice some trends; they abhor fruit flies and won't touch them, they love termites of all sizes and gobble them up, they like straight honey, they bite at but don't seem to eat mealworms, they leave sugar water and honey water alone, and they eat Argentine ant brood though not voraciously. I fed them 4 small termites tonight along with a sliver of grape to see if they touch that. I've heard Camponotus love blueberries so I will try some of those soon.

Here are some recent photos:

Aphaenogaster sp. Journal - September 18, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 04:46:00 +0000

This is a small Aphaenogaster colony I found on a hike in Northern California. I'm not sure whether I will be keeping a formal journal or not yet. In these photos you can see the queen and roughly 20 workers with brood from several stages. This queen lays large quantities of eggs. They are also very voracious eaters and have taken down a large dampwood termite, 6 fruit flies, honey, and a mealworm in just over a week.

The original nest had three queens.

San Francisco Zoo Insect House (Termites and Ants)

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 02:52:00 +0000

I took a trip to the SF Zoo and got some photos of the Dampwood Termite and Red Harvester Ant setups. The lighting is very dim so I apologize for the lower quality of the photos.

Dampwood Termites (Zootermopsis angustticollis)

Below are photos of the data sheets along with a snapshot of the heart of their nest which is made by placing a wooden frame around an acrylic setup. I wasn't able to see how they added moisture but from the looks of things I don't believe they open the setup much. Most of the wood was highly decayed with a few sections of harder wood still mostly intact. I also didn't see any soldiers nor did I see the queen or king.

Red Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex barbetus)

The setup is really well done. They've taken a cast set with a sand textured surface and created the nest. It is divided into two sections, one is kept at 76 degrees F and the other around 84 degrees F. It is attached by plexi tubing to a large octagonal foraging area. Today the colony was really active. There were several hundred workers in the foraging area with piles of fresh bird seed and a sliced grape and some other fruit. The warmer side of the nest had a lot of nice plump larvae and pupae. The cooler side housed the queen who you can somewhat see in the last photo surrounded by a mass of workers.

They aren't the neatest ant species and have what appears to be mold and or feces in the warmer side of the nest. I didn't take any photos of the Formica nest as I've never really seen any ants in there. The setup is similar to the Pogonomyrmex barbetus nest but instead of a cast nest it is made from wood and appears very dry. If I worked at the zoo I think I'd try a Camponotus species instead as over the last year the Formica nest has been relatively humdrum. I believe most of the ants hide in the sand of the foraging area.

By the way, if anyone at the SF Zoo happens upon this I would be happy to help setup a Camponotus nest for you or work with you to do so. I've often wondered who to ask about this but normally no one is manning the Insect house and if they are they are younger folk who get to handle millepedes and roaches and show them to visitors.

I love that the Zoo has these exhibits (and the bees!) I'm also a huge fan of the flesh eating beetle cage with the piles of skeletons. Those larvae can really munch down on corpses. It's morbid but fascinating.

Camponotus vicinus Journal - September 19, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Today two more workers eclosed, one of which I got to observe as she was freed from the cocoon with the help of two sisters.

They've begun to take down the pile of Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) brood and from what I can tell they seem to eat the brood in the foraging area and share the partially ingested food with the other workers, queen and larvae.

Full colony photo with 9 workers.

One of the newly eclosed workers.

Worker feeding queen.

Camponotus vicinus Journal - September 18, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:30:00 +0000

Since I posted yesterday, two new workers have eclosed and this morning one male eclosed. They started feeding him at first and then turned agressive. He made his way out of the nest into the foraging area where I scooped him up and preserved him in alcohol.

I also managed to find the mother-load of Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) pupae and larvae and I split them between the three colonies for food. The Aphaenogaster and Formica transmontanis started eating them almost instantly, sending workers out to gather them up. Thus far the Camponotus are oblivious to them though I am curious how they will react when they finally stumble upon them.

Here they are with the male in the top right of the photo.

A newly eclosed worker along side her adoptive mother.

A worker beginning to harass the male.

A nice pile of Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) brood for a delicious protein snack. You can also see the honey along with scattered body parts of dampwood termites and fruit flies.

A newly eclosed worker and a shot of first instar larvae, dark bellied second instar larvae and a small clutch of eggs which I assume to be newly lain between the Queen and the newly eclosed worker.

Here is a shot of the whole colony. Note the two lighter colored newly eclosed workers. They are exhibiting polymorphism with one larger than the other. There are still no majors but I have two larger workers.

General shot of the nest with a worker carrying a cocoon.

Camponotus vicinus Journal - September 17, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:30:00 +0000

I went hiking with a friend about a month back and we found a founding Camponotus sp. queen. He already had a colony of this species so he kindly gave her to me. In the area we were hiking, near China Camp CA we found several colonies of what appears to be the same species so we took a few pupae and put them with her. Those pupae were adopted and hatched and have helped her rear her own brood which until last weekend consisted of a single cocooned pupae and a small clutch (10) of eggs/first stage larvae.

We went back to the same area last weekend and I took some more brood from existing colonies to boost her worker force and brood. I didn't feel like I got that many until I got home and separated them to add them into the nest. As you can see in the photos below there are large numbers of brood of all stages and sizes though I do not believe I got any majors.

I moved them all into a larger plaster nest. Typically I don't use large nests for smaller colonies because they dirty it up and keep debris and waste in the nest itself. Camponotus are more tidy as far as ants go so they are doing a bang up job of keeping all rubbish outside of the nest in the foraging area.

They are peckishly feeding on insects I add to the foraging area but they devour honey with relish. They seem to shrug at honey water though and only take pure honey readily.

I keep the nest covered with a piece of red plexiglass since ants are not supposed to be able to see the red spectrum and feel nice and hidden beneath it. They don't mind light or vibrations for the most part but as I keep a light on the nest for added warmth I feel it's best to leave it there.

I also have a small reptile tank heater beneath the glass the nest rests on. Half of the nest is directly above the heater and the other half is off it it to allow for temperature variance within the nest. They keep most pupae on the warmer side and the eggs are split between the two sides. Some of the moisture is beading on the glass cover and they seem to choose the moderately moistened chambers to rest in. I've found newer plaster nests do this but as they age they hold the moisture better and the beading water starts to dissipate.

As you can see in the photo above this is my entire setup. The largest nest is the Camponotus colony and attaches to the front foraging area. The two smaller nests hold my Formica transmontanis colony and a newly acquire Aphaenogaster species.

Formica transmontanis Journal - September 17, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:12:00 +0000

Things have moved along nicely for my Formica colony. I've counted about 34 workers and 15 more pupae. There haven't been any eggs or larvae for a few weeks now so I think they are gearing down for the season. This hasn't kept them from having a hearty appetite. They are still eating about 6 fruit flies a week. They have also started to take on sweets like honey water and fruit juice.

Below are older photos when the first two workers eclosed. They came out tiny (minims) but the more recent workers are larger and more normal sized.

Formica transmontanis Journal - September 8, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

I wanted to wait a while before I posted an update. The main purpose of that delay was to ensure I don't jinx myself. She was eating all pupae before they could eclose and I was worried she'd never have workers. Then, when she had a few I thought - what if they die and she eats the rest of the brood.

Well, those days are thankfully far behind! While she was eating all naked pupae I managed to get some scrapings of plaster and sand in the nest. She used this to allow two larvae to spin cocoons and protect themselves. The eventually eclosed and began helping her mind the brood. Soon after, a few more cocoons were spun and then they eclosed. Now, quite a bit of time has passed and on last count there were 18 workers and a nice pile of nearly eclosed pupae and some fat larvae. At this point naked and cocooned pupae are eclosing with no issue or fear of getting munched.

I feed them very heavily. The main food source is frozen fruit flies and they eat roughly 10 - 20 a week. They also eat a few caterpillars (small) each month.

I made some Ant Jelly (see this post for more information) but they don't seem too hungry for it. I also use some honey water which they seem to drink from time to time but again don't rush to it. Every so often I see a worker with a very enlarged gaster so I assume they are drinking it and then playing water boy to the rest of the nest.

I've noticed a slight decline in new eggs but if all the current brood eclose I am guessing I will have around 50 or so workers in the next month or two. Many of the newer workers are noticeably larger than their sisters which is somewhat odd since I've heard it takes a while for new colony workers to start becoming more sizeable.

I'll get some new photos soon and perhaps another feeding video.

Formica transmontanis Journal - June 17, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:38:00 +0000

I added a third caterpillar to the nest today as they had again eaten and pushed aside the corpse of the other one. Caterpillars are messy so I think I need to find something more tidy to feed them moving forward. This one put up the most fight and the queen seemed annoyed with it but she prevailed.

At one point a stray larvae latched on to the still living caterpillar and was visibly wiggling about trying to eat.

Below are some photos of the feeding and the nest/larvae in general. I still count 9 larvae and no visible eggs. The chamber she had the larvae is was at 73F.

Formica transmontanis Journal - June 13, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:18:00 +0000

She's made a mess of things recently by eating her young pupae. To make things better she's laid new eggs and several have gone to larval form. TO reduce the chances of her munching on her young, I've been adding food. Today I put in a small caterpillar which she almost instantly grabbed and pulled through the tubing and into her nest. She bit it many times and then fed it to the larvae while she also snacked on it.

Formica transmontanis Journal - May 8, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sun, 09 May 2010 03:16:00 +0000

I've been counting a steady 8 larvae for the past week. The weird thing is that there is only one she pulls aside from the others and they are all roughly the same size now. I'm hoping that soon they will hit pupae stage and then become real live workers but it seems to be taking forever for that.

I'm also a bit worried that I don't see any new eggs. It may be that she's feeding them all to the larvae at this point but I'm not sure.

Formica transmontanis Journal - May 4, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:20:00 +0000

The queen moved into the nest proper today and is extremely active. She's walking around, then checking on the brood, then heading out to the foraging area, then checking on brood, waving antane all around, then checking on brood. She's hopped up for sure.

I managed to get some decent photos tonight of the larvae. I haven't seen any eggs in a while so I think she's focusing on the larvae and is likely feeding new eggs to them. I do hope to see some more eggs soon so I know she's ok.

Notice in the photos that one larvae is aside from the rest (the one near the blue thing). That one is the largest and I assume she's ready to move to the next stage and that is why she's been moved away from the others. That or fear of her eating her smaller sisters.

Formica transmontanis Journal - May 3, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Tue, 04 May 2010 04:42:00 +0000

The photos aren't very clear, but it's the best I could do. The humidity in the tubing made the camera focus incorrectly and I couldn't get it to manually adjust.

Small Nest Design Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sun, 02 May 2010 20:42:00 +0000

I've been playing around with little nest ideas. We've ordered several new mice at work and the tiny acrylic cases they come in seemed like something I could work with for claustral chamber type designs or for use with either a tiny colony like Leptothorax (not like I can find any locally) or just as an easy observation container for ants caught in the wild etc.

The first nest was done with plaster of Paris and sculpey with two microscope slides as the glass covers. This is intended for a claustral type chamber as it has no opening save for lifting the glass. I didn't like how the bottoms didn't have plaster due to the clay so I tried again.

The second set of photos is before and after. First, I poured plaster of Paris to fill the case up. Once it had started setting I placed a small picture frame piece of glass on top and shook it around a bit to make for a snug fit. That is represented in the top photo. After it set I removed the glass and used a Dremel to make the chambers and finally added a small exit to the plaster surface. This is to be used more as a starting nest that will eventually be connected to a larger nest once the colony is ready to expand.

Of course I won't know how well they work until I take them for a spin. And I'll need new ants or queens for that. I know that several people abhor plaster but I have used it many times with no issues of mold growth etc. One thing I have found that helps is to use a bleach water solution to clean them out. As these are smaller, non-permanent nests that'll be easy. Obviously using plaster for larger nest designs that are more long-term may become a problem.

Aphids, ants and a ladybug MACRO photos

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sun, 02 May 2010 03:50:00 +0000

I've been playing with a macro lens attachment I got a while back. It's not as amazing as I would like and proves I should save my pennies to get myself a real macro lens for my camera one day but it takes ok photos of tiny little creatures.

Here are some aphids enjoying my roses:

Here is a ladybug/bird and some Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) hanging out in the blooming mock orange:

Formica transmontanis Journal - April 25, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 23:56:00 +0000

With no ants it is hard to update an ant based blog. I had the good fortune of finding a few Formica transmontanis queens when I was hiking at at beach near Jenner CA last November. It was an odd time to happen upon a nuptial flight, but surrounding me were hundred of flying alates mating and running to start their new colonies.

I grabbed three and tucked them away into a few vials. Two of the three didn't make it but the last one started laying eggs about a month ago as the weather started to warm. This weekend I decided it was time to make her a proper nest and then allow her to move into it.

Here is the new nest and some photos of her tending her eggs and larvae.

The formicary is made from AAC or Ytong, the foraging arena is an old ipod nano case with a snug fitting hole drilled for the tubing to connect the two. The surrounding case is a water proof plastic case with a rubber bottom and rubber feet. I'm hoping this will allow me to keep the nest at a proper humidity level and reduce vibration from walking in the room. I've got it at around 70F - 73F right now.

I placed the queen in her current claustral vial and am hoping she will make the move with her young into the nest proper in the next few days. To encourage her I have blocked light out of the nest but left the vial and foraging arena exposed. So far she hasn't moved or explored much. If I have to, I will cover her up nest, vial and all and wait until the first nantics emerge so they can carry her into the nest. Hopefully I will not have to wait that long.

Formica transmontanis Journal - October 27, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:24:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to find a nuptial flight of Formica transmontanis this past weekend on the beach near Jenner, California. I caught a video of a freshly mated female shedding her wings along with a few females moving about trying to find a suitable place to settle. I even witnessed, though no video, a coupling of a male and female with them female going on to remove her wings and the male flying back up into the air for another chance to spread his DNA.

I brought three wingless queens home with me and have them in small containers with damp cotton padding. I'm hopeful at least one will successfully raise a brood and get my nest populated. I've been unable to find a suitable species for over a year and had almost given up on keeping another colony. I've got my fingers crossed I'll get lucky after this.

BTW, who knew dog poo bags would stand in for a small vial or collection container? I got out of the habit of carrying one with me and had to become resourceful when the moment was upon me.

If anyone has any species specific info on this species I would greatly appreciate it. Things like whether they are polygynous, how they go about colony foundation, if they are polymorphic, etc. I have only found a few bits of data online, one photo that shows them feeding on a dead moth, and that they are coastal and hypogaeic (live in the soil or beneath it).

New Nest

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 05:25:00 +0000

The ordeal of moving is finally subsiding. I had some time to get all of the chambers carved and poured some mortar into the foraging box to create a substrate I could keep humid and clean while also sealing the box bottom from escapes. I also took the opportunity to paint some mortar into the air bubble holes in the carved aerated cement block.

Here is the finished product.

I still need to drill the 3/4 inch hole to put the tubing into the nest and foraging arena. I also need to get a piece of heavy glass cut to fit the top snugly and then attach it with screws or silicone.

I wish I would have taken photos of the entire process but with the chaos at home I didn't. I will take some time this coming week to do a step by step of the steps I took to make it. I still want to make a mortar nest and I have all the supplies but it will take some time till I get around to it.

I also noticed I have a lot of Argentine ants in my house and around my yard. I need to figure out what precautions I can take to keep them out of the foraging arena. The nest itself should be pretty safe, but the foraging area has many small spots they could enter.

Settling In

noreply@blogger.com (D.G.P.) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 05:24:00 +0000

Ah, finally moved. Now I get to start the settling in process. I have my office setup and a craft area in the garage. Though I have yet to get the supplies I need for the mortar nest I wanted to make I did get my hands on some aerated concrete. I started carving out the chambers with my handy dandy Dremel and it has been loads of fun. My goal is to finish up carving the chambers tonight and then clean it off.

This weekend I will need to put the finishing touches on; get the glass attached, add a tube to the foraging arena, and maybe add some plaster to the tiny air holes in the concrete.