Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Ideas, techniques, problems and issues associated with keeping Leaf Cutting Ants in Captivity
Formica123
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Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 12:48 pm

This is a translated journal, not mine so may not be very good English.:

a few weeks without putting news today I took a while and took a few pictures to illustrate how will each of the colonies of Acromyrmex lundi . I have eight , all of which are now in different stages of evolution but all seem to have conditions to thrive. A Queens occasionally see them, sticking out one of the holes of the fungus , I believe that the eight are alive, if not well and I find out . I go making a last photo of the status of each one while I tell them what was going on with them. The colonies are labeled with numbers corresponding to the numbers that once I put the queens , so they are going to see that some are very different .
I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 12:49 pm

Colony marked with number 1.
It is the smallest that I have , I have about 20 or 30 workers . Also the fungus grows slowly and the ants consume their daily ration of 180ml.'
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:01 pm

Colony marked with the number 2.
This also was advancing slowly but in recent days the fungus grew and now occupies two thirds of the container.
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
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Formica123
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:03 pm

Colony marked with the number 23.
This had a bad event two weeks ago. He had a Honguera container and an foraging, which showed as above. One day I saw that everything was as dry fungus. He went from one day to the other because the former was equal to everyone else. The next day there were no more fungus, were all the workers and the queen in the completely empty container and container Honguera foraging all crammed full of waste, were clearly the remains of the fungus. This was until then one of the most advanced colonies. The fungus already occupied before disappearing, 90% of the space of the container, which had many workers available for reconstruction. I took a small (really small) piece of fungus colony 15 (the preceding picture) and gave them to the colony 23. In addition I hit them a couple of containers more, so they could dispose of waste . Then they began to cultivate and after two or three days was already growing well again. Today after 15 days and occupies a third of the space of the container. The number of workers shrank enough, you see that made war economy and had many casualties, but the colony continues
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:04 pm

Cologne marked with number 4 .
This is one of the most progressed , surely has above 200 workers . The fungus already occupies the entire Honguera container. Calls for urgent change , which I did with three others show below , so this is the next .
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:06 pm

Cologne marked with the number 3.
This is another who needed more space for the fungus because it was already at the top of the container having. At the suggestion of my wife did this test, hitting a container with hot glue on the other, the move was made very quickly to prevent leaks and deaths in the process. My wife prepared me the upper container with four basis points tail and took out the top to put the top in a split second. Like any ant came out but none was crushed between the two bottles. Then with the hot glue I finished reviewing all the outside to seal well the new Honguera. Anyway the ants were responsible for putting material on the board of the two jars to seal well from the inside, you see that with this they manage well regulate moisture and oxygen within the nest. On the other side I put a second bottle to use of nest box, so as to leave a good area where to put the waste. The first two photos are of the day you did ten days ago. The second two are from how they are today, it is that the fungus is already growing up occupying the new space that account. Honguera as the sum was about 400 mL volume.
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:07 pm

Cologne marked with the number 25.
This was one that I moved, which means that instead of doing what I did with the former colony took the container with the fungus and emptied in a new bottle. In particular, this move I did yesterday. As you can see I put in a larger container Honguera, I bought these clear plastic jars with lids, I connected and put them in a jar foraging area within another, so as to leave a gap. I thought about doing this in order to open more comfortably and prevent leakage. The initial idea was to fill the pit with water in order to stop them. I assumed that some water may fall but I thought it would be a good leak-like method. When tested after only three or four hours I found about a dozen ants drowned. I guess they're not good avoiding water let alone swim, so I removed the water and I put a layer of oil on top of the pit wall. And not closer to the edge and I can open it without problems. It serves the same pit because they put in that space debris, use it to dump. The fungus emptied it into the new container and immediately closed it, they were in the old anthill have been about twenty of the past was leaving them in a new foraging area. It took a while madly rushing back and forth but while they calmed down and returned to work to put sealant material in the area of ​​the lid and then continue with the crop for cultivation. These photos show little progress because the transfer was yesterday, but something like fungus and grew. The bottle-Honguera again has a volume of about 450 mL. The container for foraging has about 1200 mL.
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:09 pm

Colony marked with number 10 .
This is the one that I moved , with the same technique I just described . In fact this is the first I did a week ago . The ant is exactly like I showed up here. The fungus already had a week to grow and is already taking a little more of the new space available . You see the Honguera have condensation on the walls . They do this by themselves , do not add more water them anywhere , just with the leaves they manage to regulate humidity , so the lid seal well and thus avoid leaks
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Posts: 596
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:10 pm

Cologne marked with the number 21 .
This is the one that ended in the red Bochita , commercial ant toy , adapted for them.
First a general assembly decision :
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

Formica123
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Posts: 596
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Re: Acromyrmex Lundi another journal :D

Post by Formica123 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:12 pm

Previous post continues::
I see them coming and going by that , perhaps like fat pipe I rushed a bit to put them there, was unsuccessful both at first this colony since the moved , but just a little grew and are now very well. The picture below is a small tube approach in which they made their mushroom growing barely moved here . They got in there and you see that they liked because they did not go . The left light ( no direct sunlight) to see if this forced them to move elsewhere but did not. Even within the tube that at first had a ball moistened cotton ( because that was the function of that site) but one day decided to take the cotton to have more space and were making strand by strand , appeared all cotton in the area of waste .

As seen many pupae are there, they are going to continue rising in the coming weeks. In the next picture is to back off a tube put them third container . This was initially placed to see if they wanted to move there, but never did , instead they used and still use today as trash . There continuously carry all waste, occasionally the emptiness and the next day you're back with waste inside.
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I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
Owner of AntKeepingShop (www.antkeepingshop.weebly.com)

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