Mites, Woodlice & Springtails

[scarletash]

Well first of all just to say hello once again as I haven't posted since my first introduction however a lot of my time has simply been spent tampering away at little bits in my formicarium.

The reason I am writing is in issue to the fact that I have an occupier to my otherwise empty nest. My nest is using soil as a substrate and for the past month I have been leaving it running to see how environmental controls are working. I am quite pleased with the results as my set up appears to be working well in regards to holding and maintaining both temperature and humidity while keeping the substrate not quite damp - wet but equally not dry however of course this has given way to optimum conditions for mites to move in... or hatch out.

I don't suspect these mites are harmful to the ants themselves and are simply just scavengers which found a bit of a haven to have all to themselves and reminds me of a similar issue I had with my millipedes where their home suddenly gave way to mite infestations. Not to the detriment of my millipedes but none the less swathes of mites exiting the set up certainly does not make for a particularly pretty site and are a pain to contain... and once they were there no amount of substrate replacement and freezing appeared to destroy the entire population which bred so fast the mites were soon back at it. In fact my attempts at sterilizing the environment seemingly did more to muck it up and promote growth of unwanted mold and fungus than hinder the mites in the long term. Back then I simply over came the situation by deciding to try a different approach other than destroy all living things which may have been so I introduced European woodlice and later spring tails. This added much needed competition and the mite population though still present is greatly smaller and have never became much of an issue since.

So of course now feeling in a similar situation where mites are beginning to fester (To a much lesser degree) inside of my leaf cutter set up (Yet to have any leaf cutters) I am afraid they're simply there to stay for the most part and not wishing harm to of course come to the ants (Though I am suspecting the mites will have very little interest in the ants) I also want to minimize chances that my room where the set up will be staying is going to suddenly have a few hundred thousand mites traversing the walls and furniture.

My inclination now is to add woodlice and spring tails to my set up. I have cultures of both Folsomia candida and Porcellio scaber which I could put in the set up to add competition but fear these may themselves be detrimental to the fungus garden which will be within their reach. Not wanting to create a problem in an attempt to solve a problem I was wondering if any of you had experience with keeping Folsomia candida and Porcellio scaber or other "Clean up crew" species with your leaf cutters? And what your opinions would be on me introducing the two species into the nest is? Any insight, thoughts and feedback are greatly welcomed.

Thank you,
Scarletash.

[Acromyrmexbob]

So, the problem with captive colonies is that , whilst the ants and the fungus are as they should be in nature, none of the commensals present in a wild nest are transferred with the colony. This means that there is an opening for other, non natural, guests to fill and these various mites and springtails tend to do so with lots of energy and enthusiasm! However what you are not seeing currently is the energy with which the Leaf Cutters control these populations, and generally these little inverts do not get that much of a foothold once the ants move in.
It is very likely that your two other decomposers, that you are planning on introducing, will be treated in the same way by the ants. They will be tolerated but not allowed near the fungus gardens. I would thoroughly recommend this approach, building up a population of decomposers, within a Leaf Cutting Ant set up. It is very natural and, primarily, this will prevent any one population from becoming overpopulous.
I have used Folsomia candida in the past with good success but not Porcellio scaber, which may be too big to affect your population of 'mites'. I do have a wild population of a tropical woodlouse in one of my greenhouses which is around 4mm long when adult and lives in the soil. I would be glad to send you some if you like.
Otherwise, keep us posted on your exploits as you get your nest ready for the ants. Could be the most thoroughly prepared and tested ant housing I have ever heard of, testing with everything in prior to the ants. Nice one!