Shamual's jumpy ants.

Shamual
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Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Shamual » Fri Apr 22, 2016 1:16 pm

Thought leaf cutter looked a bit lonely on this forum alone, so I decided to join him.

I recently acquired a young harpagnathos venator colony from marco aka "antkeepingshop" it contains 2 queens and about 12 workers. this is my second colony, after the initial failure of my first colony, and already they have settled in very well.

They arrived with 4 larvae and no eggs and already there are eggs appearing in their nest!

I'm keeping them in an antstore ytong nest, and feeding them solely on crickets. I will make a post later on with the build of the setup etc.

Not quite as interesting as Australian weaver ants, but hey... Something to read whilst on the can...

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Leafcutter
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Leafcutter » Fri Apr 22, 2016 1:37 pm

Great stuff, these ants are very primitive and look amazing.

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Formica123
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Formica123 » Sat Apr 23, 2016 8:49 am

They sound like they're doing good from all the updates you've been telling me - keep up with the good work
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Shamual
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Shamual » Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:21 pm

Right, they have fully setup shop in their new nest now.

One thing I do hate about carnivorous ants, is their meals. They generally like to bring their bugs into their nest, which worries me because I feel that the nest will start to mould over a given period of time.
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Shamual
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Shamual » Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:48 pm

Forgot I started a journal on these guys, I had a mild problem at the start of keeping them, as they ate the 4 larvae that they came with. However Ive noticed that they get stressed a lot quicker than any other ant I have on my "ant table" maybe this is because of their good eyesight. They can definitely see you approach through the glass of the tank, as even if you step towards them the workers in the out world "wiggle" their abdomens and walk backwards. I also found that they responded better to a much drier environment than I was subjecting them to, as since Ive started watering them only once every 3 days rather than everyday their egg count has easily doubled in numbers.

To prevent stress, especially on the 2 queens, I covered the chamber where they decided to nest, in a red film, Im not sure if they can see through it or not, because of their superior eyesight. But it definitely makes their chamber darker which is a good thing.

Since these changes, they now have about 10 larvae and a good size pile of eggs, no workers have died yet and things are looking good. :), I have also noticed that these guys are quick to move, if things aren't right. So I highly recommend putting a UNCOVERED large test tube setup, somewhere in their out world as a sort of emergency escape pod.

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:21 pm

Even although this is about blasted non Leaf Cutting Ants, thats a good update and you have contributed something to their husbandry thats useful and innovative. Good post.

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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Leafcutter » Thu Jun 23, 2016 1:46 pm

Acromyrmexbob wrote:blasted non Leaf Cutting Ants
Next thing you know, there will be Harpegnathos spp. colonies set up in zoos all around the globe! :D

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Thu Jun 23, 2016 4:42 pm

So cynical for one so young! When you grow up and opt for a nursing career, you'll be happy to sell some colonies to supplement your meagre wages also! Thats how it all starts!
By the way, major developments on the WeaverAnt front!!

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Leafcutter
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Leafcutter » Thu Jun 23, 2016 6:45 pm

Acromyrmexbob wrote:So cynical for one so young! When you grow up and opt for a nursing career, you'll be happy to sell some colonies to supplement your meagre wages also! Thats how it all starts!
By the way, major developments on the WeaverAnt front!!
The irony, "blasted non leaf cutting ants" then "major developments on the WeaverAnt front". It's all good though. Keep up the good work :).

Back to the journal in question...

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Formica123
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Re: Shamual's jumpy ants.

Post by Formica123 » Thu Jun 23, 2016 7:08 pm

Hey hey hey, Harpegnathos is my thing, I think it's only fair! Andrew has his atta, acro and Oecophylla, and I'll do the harpies. :D
I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
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