Leaf Cutting Ant Forum

I will try some different types then!

Sorry the pictures are not good! My colony is doing well, there are a lot more ants running about and they are frequently demolishing lots of leaves. The setup is not the best but it works! I am planning on changing the setup sometime in the future!

Hi Eloise, good your colony is doing well.I would allow the soil to dry a little. Seems very wet. That might lead to a population explosion of the mites. Otherwise looks great.

I was worried the vitopod was drying out the soil, So I guess I went a little overboard when wetting the soil!

Just keep an eye on it.

Hello, I apologise for not posting anything in ages!!! Preperation for my mocks has sadly taken over my life

There are loads more ants running about now, the colony has definitely expanded! I offered them another tub of soil, in case they wanted more space, but instead they decided to make my life more difficult and take soil from the second tub and pile it up on the first tub, they create a mountain of soil which reaches the lid of the vitopod and I'm scared that they will escape from the vitiopod and seek to make their home elsewhere! They consume large amounts of leaves quite quickly! But apart from causing me problems they are still amazing and fascinating little creatures.

I got a bigger vitopod yesterday!



I set it up today and moved my colony in


I put the small tub that they are in, into a bigger tub and I'm hoping that they will move into the bigger tub instead of piling up the soil!

Looks great Eloise, like the look of those vitopods. No mass escapes yet?

Deansie26 wrote:Looks great Eloise, like the look of those vitopods. No mass escapes yet?

Thank you Jamie! Not had any mass escapes yet, but I forgot to feed them one night and In the morning, because the level of the water in the vitopod was low they had managed to form a short trail across the gravel and out one of the side vents. I found them trying to cut a dead lettuce plant that was on top of a draw next to the vitopod. I managed to get them all back in, but I have learnt my lesson, never forget to feed them!

Looking good Has the soil dried out a bit now from how it was. And do you loose many from drowning ?