Hello.
Apologies for the lack of activity from over the past 9 months (I can’t believe it’s been that long). I have been very busy with life and such stuff, including starting a new job, and time simply ran away from me.
Both of my ant colonies (Lasius niger and Myrmica rubra) are doing well, and going strong. They have been very active this summer, and the Lasius niger colony has expanded very rapidly. The Myrmica colony has kept a steady level of ants, numbering 200-300 workers and one queen. This summer the rubras produced winged males and females, but, as usual, these are killed off in the nest towards the end of the year.
I actually got stung by one of my rubras the other day, for the first time in so long that I cannot remember. I was removing some old food from their foraging tank and had not noticed two rubra workers climbing onto my left hand. One of them must have got caught between two of my fingers as I was moving about, as I suddendly felt a sensation like having a tiny piece of hot ash land on my hand; the type that singes but rapidly fades. I have to say, though, that I had had my Covid booster and flu jabs that morning, and the sting hurt more than they did. Right on the webbing between two fingers. Ouch!
The colonies will start to slow within the next few weeks as winter arrives, meaning that their activites will slow too. I’ll do my best to be more active in 2023.