Currently, my 11-year-old Lasius umbratus colony nest in two nesting boxes linked together by a short length of plastic tubing. The colony used to be quite a bit more populous than it is now. It is possible that the queen is ageing and, therefore, unable to produce as many eggs as she once was. Alternatively, she just did […]
Moving Ants into a New Home Read More »
Hello, and welcome to another update. Today, I bring news about my website with a new page called How Do Ants Communicate? I also have a new ant book that I have obtained called, Ants of Britain and Europe. How do ants communicate? First of all, a website update. Yesterday I added a new page which
Website Update. Ants of Britain and Europe. How do Ants Communicate? Read More »
Welcome to another Myrm’s Ant Colonies Journal update. In my previous journal update, I informed you that my four-year-old “Magenta” Colony of Lasius niger suddenly died out, during the night. It was a complete mystery to me then, and it remains so now. Well, I had another, similar, scare a few days ago. Myrmica rubra I
Myrm’s Ant Colonies Journal – 8 Oct 19 Read More »
A couple of days ago I gave my Myrmica rubra colony a new foraging box, as their old one was too small, and getting very messy. This new foraging box was actually one I found in my garden shed, one which had been part of a starter kit I purchased last year but had only used
Myrm’s Ant Colonies Journal – 30 Sep 19 Read More »
The Lasius niger colony continues to grow, with 18-20 worker ants now present. As I type this there are two new callow workers motionless in the test tube; they were born within the past hour. The queen is looking healthy and I can see the pale elastic membrane between her abdominal plates. This means that either her crop
Colonies Update – 26 Sep 19 Read More »
Last night I saw a worker from the new Lasius niger colony, emerge from the test tube and investigate the protein jelly I had placed in a small feeding dish, located right outside the test tube entrance. When I checked again about half hour later, there were two ants eating the jelly. This is great news as
Ant Colonies Update – 21 Sep 19 Read More »
I have updated the Setting Up page on this site, with a guide on how to set up your ant farm (using a large “Starter Kit” from AntsUK.com). The guide can be read on the page of the site itself or downloaded as a pdf file. You’ll find the link for the download at the bottom
Guide on Setting up your Ant Farm Read More »
My new Lasius niger queen now has 7 workers with her, with one of them having only hatched a few hours ago. There are approximately ten, maybe a dozen cocoons remaining, with some first moult larvae present too. A new ant farm I ordered specifically for this new colony was ordered on Friday, and dispatched
Approximately eight weeks ago I captured a newly mated Lasius niger queen from this year’s mating flights. I had not intended to capture any queens this year, but I was in my garden and saw this de-winged queen running about where I knew there to be an established colony of ants. Not wanting her to be caught
New Lasius niger colony – first workers. Read More »
I often see quite a number of dead ants piled up in the midden area of this colony, though the number of live workers seems to be at a steady constant. Good news, as it means the queen is doing well. I just took a peek into the nest and I can see two black, winged males
Myrmica rubra males Read More »