#myrmecology

The birth of a new colony.

Ants. You have to love them. Under a pot I found a small group of ants with a cache of seeds and eggs.

An adventure of an adult ant

When I first saw one of the queens with 1 antennae, I though that it was an accident. Then I saw her being pulled by the antennae. Tough Love? Well now, I think she is just a reproduction machine. She

I had thought that one of the Queens had been assassinated back when I could only see the Ine Antennaed Queen. I had thought this may happen as this species is normally a Monogyne style colony. I had read

Amongst the pile of brood I was able to capture some footage of the Queen. The other Queen doesn't seem to be around anymore. I haven't seen any signs of the other Queen on terms of living, or any bits

I could only see one initially. I'd read, and been told, that Camponotus species generally have only one Queen. But there, hiding behind the batch of brood, doing her job, was Queen #2! And the cockroach...

As the weather changes into Autumn, as we had a very warm beginning, the ants seem to be smashing out the eggs. The tube gets filled and unfilled during the day. Mainly filled with pupae. Inside is packed

After the majority of eggs & larvae went upon the water reservoir, so did one of the Queens. The other Queen remained where they both had been before, although, she is in a spot I cannot get a good

There was alot of activity with 3 openings to the colony being made quite big. My initial thought was that they were making room for some food or airing out the tunnels from today's rain. Nuptial flights

A work colleague dropped this little gal on my desk this morning. I do not think she is a queen but I'll let her stay in the setup for observation. Bullant species hunt by sight. She is huge compared to

I dropped in some left over meat from lunch. It must have been the taste that was so alluring. They moved most of the eggs and larvae to the water reservoir where they brought the food to. The little

The Queens keep themselves busy all day. They have their little chats and then spend time checking out the eggs. The nearby couple of ants are like royal guards keeping an eye on their liege. Next to the

The 2 Queens continue to work together. Here they are communicating with each other. This type of interaction lets me know that all is well with them. This species seems very active with the upkeep of

Sharing is caring. It demonstrates acceptance. It can mend and heal. It allows respite. It shares the burden and social delight. Once again nature shows us a way. I'm @jagged Have a good day!

When you first mention that you like ants to people, they normally think that you are either joking or that you're weird. However, curiosity tends to get the better of them and they start finding ants

Brood production is serious business.

The new big queen has added a few more eggs. She seems to move them between the back of the chamber and the front glass. I think to get the right level of temperature. Also, the glass may collect moisture

Here is a snapshot of the formicarium lair. Here she is just holding her little egg in her mouth. The formicarium (ant farm) has 2 water areas. One in the top right chamber and one in the bottom right.

Excited to receive from, @focuss, a queen ant, delivered in a beer bottle. She is quite big. Probably, a bit bigger than an inch. Today, she had her first egg!! She is just settling in. She was in the