Australian Oecophylla smaragdina - Skippy

[Mika]

I am so free to start a 'comments' topic on Skippy's Oecophylla smaragdina colony.

I have kept a Thai Oecophylla colony that refused to move to a 'wet' tube, and eventually died (recently), while 'wet' tubes were available. It doesn't mean that your colony is in danger, but apparantly the small weaver colonies sometimes refuse to move to a tube with better conditions.

[Skippy]

OK thanks , I was not thought that my own topic will be created.

Hm , yes ... but of course it was only plastic box on heating with tubes in:

... I have quite different - we will just see if mine is useful or not

Of course , I was chatting with my friend who traveled many times in jungle where he saw Oecophylla. He told that he saw colonies in habitat similar to savanna where they´re situated on dry bush tree. But ... also some colonies near to waterfall = always in fog. I do not know , but by me it could depend on region where queen or colony were cought for you/us.

[Mika]

It is obviously correct that there will be a spectrum in oecophylla, with species that require more moisture, and species whose larvae can tolerate much more drought. My contact in Australia tells me that the drier variant has a more deep green coloring than the moist variant.

In african species, there is definitely also a spectrum towards solar exposition.

But I would not dispose of my setup so easily. Because I have the heating situated on top of the water reservoir of the tubes, this creates a very high humidity in the tubes. Most of the time, the weaver increase this by sealing off the end of the tube with a silk membrane, as soon as larval silk is available.

Thes is a reflection of the function of living leaves, that evaporate large quantities of water, in normal conditions. When a nest is formed, these leaves obtain less sunlight, and accordingly, the plant gradually shuts down sap flow to these leaves (or the leaves attrect less sap flow, which has the same result): eventually these leaves dry out and die. Those tent nests may be used by the adult ants as bivouacs, but they are not suitable for rearing brood. This is ultimately also the reason why queens of well established weaver colonies still have to move on a regular basis; and consequently, why most (all?) of the weaver queens are green.

It would be interesting to see how this correlates to the visual brain centers of the queen, as it is known that these centers diminish in queens of other species that never return to the surface after the foundation of the colony.

[Skippy]

Humm gratz , articles as you wrote me I can´t find in any book about ants I have ... , damned that I was prepared for Paraponera colony and at last I found out that I will receive Oecophylla... - specie what I was not preparing to keep so much.

Okay ... so , larvae to develop need green fresh leafs. It mean , that they need only high humidity in tubes probably , not? When leaf produce wet , it is just air ... not a wet surface on leaf inside. Correct me if is it not.
So... I have this kind of terrarium , where is habitat similar to vivarium - there is wet air , really. But ... if is not enough for larvae , what to do then? ... - It is a bit hard to manually move this specie to another tube , if they do not like it - as I tried.

They have some brood there = ca 3 pupae , 10 +/- larvae and many small eggs or fresh developed larvae. Maybe I just need to try , if they are adaptable to live in simple plastic tube only with wet air , or not

[mn]

Sounds good! Is there any condensation on the windows? And how you become the temperature, is that with a heatmat or with a lamp?
Photo's?

[Skippy]

I put all in this picture

[mn]

Thanks Skippy, verry artistic. :p

I like the setup, but, they can't escape when you open it? Maybe not now, but later when there are more workers?

[Skippy]

I can still put PTFE on top of terrarium and then there is no escape during clean/feed to them

[mn]

I can still put PTFE on top of terrarium and then there is no escape during clean/feed to them

OK, just what I was thinking.

[Beffie]

First of all I want to say that the colony you have is one of my favorite species! Nice to read yours posts; well done! I have a question about the pulp on the bottom of set up: Doesn't the pulp getting mould?

Do you feed the ants fresh flies and crickets or out of the freezer?

[Skippy]

It does not indeed.

[Beffie]

That's good! And the crickets and flies? Out of the freezer or fresh?

[Skippy]

Flies are freezed ... (but sometimes I find on window at home hehe) ... , and crickets are fresh - killed of course. We have pet-shop and we keep crickets there so there is possibility to get all sized
I also give them sugar or honey water , but they prefer to lick whole water condensation from glass , sugar water only sometimes and mostly workers which take secure of enter of nest (so probably these oldest)

[Skippy]

Hello , ants are doing very well and I am proud of it. I wish to reach 100 workers this month - almost all old workers died and there are 90 percent of new ones which have born at my home

I have new camera Canon SX30 IS ... , still learn to make a makro with it ... I need to buy some Raynox DCR-250 on it , because this is max of that camera itself

[Martijn]

Nice picture!

[mn]

I like it!

[kjeld13]

Indeed, nice picture.

[Lvet]

That video of the ants drinking is amazing! I'm not sure, but the mite looks more like a springtail to me. Those are harmless, I believe. Actually they will clean up waste and mold if they are present in large numbers, so you shouldn't mind Jake at all.

What kind of moss is that? It looks very nice, but won't it turn brown someday?

[Skippy]

I do not know what specie it exactly is. It is specie what I usually use in my formicaries and terrariums. It do not lost green color after death or dry (other species what I´ve tried do )

[ProXi]

How is Jake doing?
Great video's!