Antkeeping - The thread with Ants in it

[JonRowe]

Some people think ants are pests.

Some people like to keep ants as pets.

Last summer, bored, in the middle of the pandemic, I decided to start keeping an eye to the ground as I walked my dog. I would keep a trio of small containers to catch ants in, hoping to snag myself a freshly mated queen ant.

In May of last year, I caught my first big girl. She was just walking across the sidewalk. You might wonder, how can I tell if I have a queen ant. 1, they will be MUCH bigger than your typical ant. 2, they will have wings, or a large thorax with wing scars 3, they will be alone.

She was affectionally named “Dr Girlfriend” and identified to be a Camponotus pennsylvanicus queen.

She was then placed into a test tube setup with fresh water, and placed in a warm closet under a towel. Queen ants do not eat, as they will consumed their stored food and wing muscles for sustenence.

Very little happened for a week or so, then I noticed some small white specks underneath her. She had laid eggs, a few weeks later, in mid-july.

She looked like this (Sorry for the blurry non-macro camera shot)

Plenty of eggs and larvae.

By the end of July

Her first workers had hatched. They are referred to as Nanitics. It was time to start feeding my pets. They got a small drop of honey in the tube.

I will update this post further, as there is so much more that has happened since last summer. This is also just one of 4 colonies I have started. I found another C. penn queen, as well as 2 Formica sp. queens.

I am excited as this is the year of big growth for the colonies, as they have survived their first year of hibernation.

[Skipper]

Subscribe.

I’m all in, please keep going with this story. I know very little of ants and I think it will be cool to see how you do all this.

[JonRowe]

I decided I had taken a long enough coffee break at work to stop.

Queen # 2 - Kerrigan (Camponotus Penn)

In her founding formicarium last July

[JonRowe]

2 new challengers enter!

Formica (field ant) queens.

It is difficult to get the exact species of these, but as they have laid their own eggs, but I caught these in my neighbor’s driveway on 2 seperate days back to back. They are definitely formica, due to their size, as lasius species are smaller.

They are so much speedier and fiestier than the Camponotus ants, moving their tubes causes a frenzy of panic. So I try to leave them alone more.

Pen for scale

Middle of august 2021,

Both of the Formica colonies had their first nanitics.

Dr. Girlfriend and her merry moppets were enjoying a meal-worm

[Houngan]

You had me at Dr. Girlfriend. Ant on!

[Nightgaunt]

Incredible! I had no idea it was that relatively easy (with the knowledge and desire) to find and capture a queen ant. Excited to see more.

[JonRowe]

So, what do you feed your pet ants?

Most ant species have 2 food requirements, protein and carbs. Some species actually have more specialized diets. Leafcutter ants just need leaves, as they create a large fungus they feed off of using the leaves to feed the fungus. Harvester ants just need seeds.

My 2 species, Camponotus Penn and Formica spp. are omnivores. They require a constant source of sugars, which either commercial hummingbird food or honey works. As for protein, they require some sort of bug to eat. You also can buy other reptile-focused foods, I have used some jelly-pots for geckos, as they are both a sugar/protein source.

One thing I like giving them is apples.

They love them, both a source of water and sugar!

As of the end of summer 2021, here is what my ant-shelf looks like

Dr. Girlfriend on the left, my 2 Formica colonies in tube setups, and Kerrigan in a Tarheel ants mini-hearth formicarium

You can see that there is a brown cable running there, that is a reptile heating cable, often used in reptile housing setups, ants do better when you provide them a bit more heat than room temperature. Since I have 2 native species they don’t need anything crazy, but it is nice to have them about 85 degrees for optimum growth.

Everything went well all of last summer, then came the time I was dreading.

Hibernation.

Ants need a diapause of about 3-4 months to simulate their typical over-wintering. This means getting a special location set up to house them at about 45-50 F. Most hobbyists use wine-cooler / fridge setups, and I had sourced a mini-fridge to put the colonies in.

Preparation is pretty easy. Turn the heating cable off a week or so before hibernation time, and the ants will naturally slow down, as their internal clocks know it is about winter time. So, at the start of November, I put them in the fridge.

They do not need any protein during the hibernation, but it is key to hibernation that they have the proper humidity levels, not too dry and not too wet. You can leave them with a bit of honey and water, but they are basically going to just sit and chill (literally) for 3 months. Hydration is key… Which will be the subject of my next post. Near-tragedy, tragedy and the most stress I have had as a ant-keeper.

This image may shock you, and it was one of my most stressful days as an ant-keeper

[rho21]

@JonRowe

Leafcutter ants just need leaves, as they create a large fungus they feed off of using the leaves to feed the fungus.

There’s an excellent display of leafcutter ants in one of the zoos near me. Their nest is connected by tubes that wind past loads of other exhibits to a container of leaves to cut. All in clear plastic so you can follow them all the way there and back.

[JonRowe]

That is my goal with my colonies eventually. I have a bunch of tubing ordered.

That is the typical way that most colonies get set up. You have the main nest area, which most people use formicariums or other ytong or ceramic nests. That is connected via tubing to an “outworld” which is where the workers will forage.

The tarheel ants mini-hearth and many of these formicariums have these all built in.

The typical size of a colony should be 20-25 workers before you move them from a test-tube or founding setup to a proper nest.

I should be hitting that this year with 3 of my 4 colonies. I had issues with 1 during hibernation.

[Skipper]

How is there not a band called the Nanitics?

Also, Jon you need a cool name for their hangout, similar to JPinard’s Frog Bog.
Ant Enchant?

And maybe a Patreon so we can partake in ant sourcing, like:
Ant Grant

[Timex]

This is super neato.

[Aleck]

Ant Grant University?

[mjgreeny75]

@Skipper

Also, Jon you need a cool name for their hangout, similar to JPinard’s Frog Bog.
Ant Enchant?

I’d go for HEX

[JonRowe]

SUPER happy news today.

Very difficult to see, because the Formica 1 colony has decided to continue to live in their very dirty original test tube, despite a fresh new tube attached that is covered for darkness.

The red circle is a clump of freshly laid eggs. Both Kerrigan and Dr. Girlfriend had a clutch of eggs/larvae that they over-wintered with. The Formica did not lay a second set of eggs.

Formica 1 has now laid round 2 of workers. To complement her 6 original workers.

Formica 2… however…

They are very lonely. And despite entering hibernation with 6 workers, have only 2 workers now.

This is my fault, and it is because the “antscanada” brand test tube adapter and mini-outworld portal became less secure during the temperature change, and the tube dropped to the floor, spilling workers and queen everywhere. I found 3 workers and the queen, and re-secured them in the setup.

Unfortunately one worker died. So, the queen has 2 workers. She was also very slow to wake up from hibernation, so I am worried this colony is doomed. I have been taking care of them, and the queen perked up, but they are nowhere near as active as the other colony.

That being said.

Formica 1 needs a name. It is clear they are doing well enough that I can become attached!

Any ideas?

[JonRowe]

Final story about my hibernation woes.

Aside from literally dropping one half of a colony onto the floor, Kerrigan was in danger.

You may see the photo above of her motionless and upside down. I found her in the formicarium after the first night in the fridge like that. Upside down, away from the rest of her workers. I was terrified! I killed my queen!

I went on the ant discord, and they said that I may have had the humidity too high, which made sense, I had the water reservoir a bit too full, and there was a lot of condensation on the glass.

So, i took her out, and as suggested put some paper towel in there to help absorb some moisture, and sure enough, after a few minutes.

Her legs started moving, antennae shaking around.

She righted herself

And walked back into the nest. I closed it up, and took that lesson of proper hydration to heart. Too much hydration can be dangerous!

So. That is where we are at now.

[JonRowe]

I gave them their first cricket feast earlier this week, and this was the result

Note the pieces of cricket from the outworld they had brought in, to work on.

The bottom left corner of the nest is the “food storage” area. When they are done, they bring it up to the outworld for me to take away.

You can see the trash they left in a nice pile up there, as well as some on the honey water I gave them.

Also, Dr. Girlfriend and her brood very much enjoyed the cricket as well.

[John_Many_Jars]

So when both species are thriving, I assume you’re going to connect their two nest systems, pitting them against one another in a WAR TO THE DEATH?

[HideousRex]

Fight Music Star Trek cue music

[orald]

This thread has me wanting to reread Theodore Stugeon’s Microcosmic God

[Tim_N]

I love this thread - please continue sharing more.