This category is for posts dealing with Myrm’s ant colonies
Thursday 20 February 2025 Last week, when checking up on my one remaining captive ant colony, I noticed that the Myrmica rubra had removed so much sand from their nesting box, that there seemed to be more space than sand. This is very typical of this species; they like to create very large chambers. The […]
21 June 2024. Wow, life has been busy for me over the past one year, including having to have a hernia repair operation and a bit of a cancer scare, which fortunately turned out to be negative. Phew! So why the title “Farewell Lasius niger!”? Long term visitors of this website of mine may remember
Farewell Lasius niger! Read More »
24 November 2023 Hello ant fans. The second half of this year has been very busy for me, including having to undergo surgery, which went well, but I was very ill with an unpleasant side effect of the general anaesthetic, and from which I am still suffering. Not too much to say about my ant
Two Wingless Queen Myrmica rubra Read More »
Welcome to Flying Ant Day 2023, when all those lovely winged ants take to the air. I was walking to work the other day during the mass flights, and there were swarms of them on the ground and up in the air. It took me longer to get to work as I was trying not
Flying Ant Day 2023 Read More »
7 April 2023 It’s now Spring and my ants are waking up from their winter hibernation. As is usual, the Myrmica rubra stayed a little active during the cold months, whereas the Lasius niger tended to stay in the nest. Both colonies seemed to have fared well during hibernation, with both queens looking healthy, and
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,
Stung by a Red Ant! Read More »
Spring Wakening 2022. Welcome to Spring 2022, ant lovers. Lasius niger I am pleased to say that this colony has survived it’s winter hibernation phase, and they are now very active as they forage for food (and escape from their tank! Typical Lasius niger!) The colony has grown in size during the winter, and there
Spring Awakening, 2022 Read More »
As summer draws to a close and Autumn begins to show itself, here’s an update on my colonies. Lasius umbratus Today on checking this colony, I saw what appeared to be an empty nest. But no, wait. There’s the queen moving about in one of the chambers. Sadly, there appears to be just one worker
Sad Demise of the Lasius umbratus Colony Read More »
In my previous blog entry I stated that my Lasius umbratus had not produced any eggs this year. Well, I was wrong. Lasius umbratus I wanted to check on the soil within the nesting box, to make sure it was not too dry. As I lifted the lid I received a nice surpise; there were
Ant ID Request and Colony Update – Eggs and Flying Ants Read More »
I think I have ants under my house. Yesterday morning I found perhaps 50 dead Lasius niger ants on the floor of my Ant Room. On checking my own Lasius niger colony I was satisfied that they were not my ants. I noticed a live ant on the floor. She was much bigger than my
Ants Under My House Read More »