123Lord_Of_Ants123's Colony Journals

8/25/08
Finally!
I've always had many colonies of Odontomachus in my back yard.
At times I'd find very many queens and males of this species,
but I could never find a mated queen...until now
I noticed Odontomachus love wet an warm places, such as rotten wood. So about 5 months ago I placed a small rotten log out in some bushes, hoping to attract a small colony seeking a new home, and it worked
I had captured the colony with 20 workers, 10 coccoons, a few larvae, and of course, the queen.
They now live happily inside a plaster nest where the queen has laid several new eggs. I always find it fun to place a cricket into the plaster tunnels, wait, and then hear a series of small but suprisingly loud clicks coming from the closing jaws of Odontomachus.
8/31/08
I had to move these guys out of their plaster nest for my fire ants who are growing rapidly. They now live inside a small container full of moist soil, they seem to like it and have made a few tunnels next to the walls so I can see em. I can also see 2 batches of eggs now so the queen must be happy.
9/10/08
Still doing great.
Even thouh they only have maybe one or two larvae.,

6/21/08
Flipped over a mat I had outside and found a new colony of Tapinoma melanocephalum
that had recently budded off from their main colony.
There was no brood and the queen still had a small gaster.
There was about 50 workers and I captured 20.
They are now resting in a test tube now feeding off sugar water.
6/22/08
The queen has already begun laying eggs and they have around 7 eggs.
3 injured workers have died.
8/28/08
These guys grow just as fast as fire ants!
They started out with 20 workers and already have 100+ workers. Thats pretty fast for a colony with only 1 small queen. I'd say there are now 50 pupae and larvae, and of course many, many eggs.

6/15/08
Captured Technomyrmex albipes queen (Florida's most common pest ant)
last night. This morning she has already laid an egg.
6/16/08
Looks like she has around 20 eggs now
6/19/08
She now has about 30 eggs, I didn't feel like waiting longer so I captured some
pupae from a wild colony. It should take 2-3 weeks for them to hatch...
6/20/08
Well, she didn't make it
A fungus had infected her and her head split!
Her eyes turned white and now there is a white stick of fungus
sticking out of her head.
Creepy!

6/14/08
Saw several carpenter queens running around outside, so why not start another colony?
Caught one and placed her into a test tube. I hope she'll survive.
6/14/08
That was fast, she already has 5 eggs after only 5 hrs since placing her in her
tube.
6/15/08
Was taking out the garbage early this morning and found several Camponotus workers
carrying brood, snatched some larvae and 1 coccoon to give to my queen.
6/20/08
First worker!
She has 20 eggs now, 3 coccoons, and 4 other larvae. All is looking good.
Hopefully the worker will start foraging soon...
7/05/08
All of the larvae have coccooned, and she now has 2 small workers.
I gave them a fly yesterday and now there is nothing left of it.
The queen's eggs have hatched so she now has are around 20 small larvae and 3 coccoons, it would be 4 but one of them has turned into some sort of egg capsule. Ant parasite? The
tube is starting to get very moldy, im gonna have to make a small plaster nest for them to move into.
7/09/08
The plaster nest that I had made broke, from being to dry maybe.

6-10-08
I managed to capture another Solenopsis invicta queen ant after a heavy thunderstorm
around 5 pm. She is now in a test tube and has laid around 20 eggs already.