Leaf Cutting Ant Forum

Acromyrmexbob wrote:It genuinely looks great. A step up from the basic pod and possibly something that is scaleable for a really large Atta. I remember how traumatised you were at the Five Sisters colony. Is this your reaction?

Thanks!

Ha ha I was when I saw that army on the rope-jaw on the floor stuff, then to find they had broke out through a brick wall and you to tell me that that's nothing in comparison to them in the wild, what chance do we have!!!
I'm aiming at Acromyrmex, defo more suited to the hobbyist as you have always said. If someone fancied a bit bigger they could go for a two queened colony.
To take a good crack at really keeping Atta I think you need a heated room or along the lines or you will be culling/ restricting food alot with wires all over the place. They are amazing though and I find easier to keep than Acromyrmex, especially at the start.

Okay I get it. I agree. But I still wouldnt go past Atta for myself. They are just too good!

It is always interesting to see how the ants grow their fungus. Instead of adding uniformly across the garden here, they have concentrated on one area. That means the rest of the garden turns white and looks unhealthy. Strange. But after a month they must still be weeding it out and tending to it or else all sorts of things would be growing there. So its not that they are neglecting that part of the fungus, the are just growing another area.

I seen many times grow the fungus with very strange shapes , most often it ends up growing so that it collapses..

3 weeks growth pics and the fungus shape and position has really change, it does look very intricate. There are also many more workers. Quinoa is proving to be there top choice which is bizarre, they really can't get enough. It's not as nice to see as leaves being carried but it's good for growing them on quickly. I've put a 3 week comparison pic in to show you.
The colony had been in the new unit for 10 weeks so I'd say it's being pretty successful.

Looking good Jamie, I'm going to bring some quinoa in tomorrow to try....as things are perhaps starting to deteriorate for our colony now, I can at least try to help them with perhaps some resources that they enjoy and can use.....we'll see.

Looks great!

That's a no for the quinoa....and pretty much else...hardly any cutting going on because numbers are so low.

Looking great Jamie, shape of fungus is how it goes when the colony is growing and maturing. Nice to see the changes from small to medium colony.