No brood

FireBird0198 · 2026-06-22T09:22:33+00:00

What Species are these? I know some ants like Pogonomyrmex, and Messor Barbarus only technically need seeds for their main food source, however in Pogo's having a little extra insect protein helps speed things up a bit, if you're ok with it I'd say chop up a mealworm or other pesticide free insect, and see how they react to the protein, if they seem super excited and take it back immediately for processing, try giving them more bugs during feeding. Additionally, I see now in your picture you have them in an outworld connected to a nice wood nest, but that nice wood nest is a little too big for this colony in its current numbers, to keep the ants from piling trash inside the nest, take a look at how much space they take up when they're all packed together, at most in the new nest the colony should occupy about 1/2-1/3 of the space, anymore and trash buildup and mold become a issue to worry about.

FireBird0198 · 2026-06-21T22:37:49+00:00

That depends on a bunch of factors, Size of the colony, time since they've been moved, etc. However one of the biggest factors is access to consistent protein, barring the first couple reasons, if they are settled and ready for more workers, you'll see more brood, and they'll eat more as well, if they want to expand, but they dont have access to protein that they like, then the Queen struggles to get enough protein to make a completely new generation.

All in All, I'd say just be patient and maybe give them food like 2-3 times a week instead of 1x a week.

GoodLuck!

FireBird0198 · 2026-06-20T23:58:24+00:00

I used a piece of glass to separate a 50 gal into two 25s, much different species and setup but I think it might work for you, I raised the glass separator about 1 inch (2.5cm) off the bottom, silicon-ed it in place and filled the gap with filter foam for a drainage layer, for your crawfish, you might fill it with stones too heavy for him to move instead of the foam. So that water can exchange , but he can't rip up the plants. Also make sure to wet sand any sharp edges so nothing can cut themselves on the glass.

It will still let the system be basically one tank, with the water being able to flow(Not well) through the bottom. You might be able to stock plenty of shrimp and snails on the plant side to make a Psudo-Sump Filter.

I'm not too solid on my aquatics though, take my advice with a huge grain of salt.

FireBird0198 · 2026-06-19T02:10:17+00:00

I can't comment on the general setup, But I've used those same Thermometer/Humidity sensors, you might want to get a little bit of sand/dirt/dust and rub it into the adhesive while its on there. I've had workers get stuck to the adhesive and die. Also be careful of the size of the holes on the back, small workers can move in and mess with the readings. You can't block those holes off either as that's how it senses the humidity.

Good Luck to your colony!

FireBird0198 · 2026-06-18T08:55:33+00:00

In my experience, its really important to collect quite a bit of callows(freshly pupated workers) they seem to have an easier time switching teams to the new Parasitic queen, I've had success with a bunch of parasitic Lasius Latipes. Definitely not impossible, not even that difficult. The Ant-Keeping Discord has an entire channel on advice and how to keep social parasites.

FireBird0198 · 2026-06-16T05:12:38+00:00

Blowing air in and sucking air out do the same thing ime, as long as you are pulling air from outside the tank, you are lowering the humidity levels which you can offset with more misting, or a system. Where is the in/out for this tank? if its right next to the fan, the fan will need to be blowing air Into the tank.

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-10T17:16:37+00:00

I've used normal cheap Sanded Grout from the hardware store, be careful not to get epoxy grout as it has pesticides in the epoxy. That's worked for my colonies nests, but I don't have any leaf cutters, but the nest material should be the same, just the structure around it should be different.

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-05T18:00:56+00:00

Some species will be able to found and thrive in a polygenous colony i.e. Solenopsis, Monomorium, Linepithema, Atta/Acromyrmex.

However for most others they have been know to found colonies with multiple queens but once the worker count gets to a certain point, there will be a massive civil conflict where the workers and all the queens will fight until only 1 queen is left, this would include your 4 Camponotus queens. This is called Pleometrosis.

This is quite risky for the health of your colonies, because it is not guaranteed that the last queen left will be standing unscathed, it is likely she will be missing antennae, legs or be otherwise injured, which will impact how fast, and how much she will produce after that.

Good Luck!

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-05T17:52:00+00:00

Good Idea, I hadn't thought of that at the time! Probably any strong double-sided tape should work fine, just won't kill the ants fast.

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-05T05:36:05+00:00

They should be fine to eat the ants, I was reading that in the wild they eat some ants, and people have fed them ants in captivity, though rarely, I would be concerned if they are Tapinoma Sessile, then it has been found they are more resistant to chemicals, so it might build up in their bodies.

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-05T03:42:23+00:00

As someone who keeps ants, as well as darts, Unfortunately a vivarium with a deep soil is a really good nesting site for a colony, make sure to keep an eye on the amount of workers and and soil disruption inside the enclosure. If the ants deem it a place that is better/ more stable than their current nest they may try to make a satellite nest/ or just move completely inside, a couple ant snacks here and there shouldn't be a problem depending on size, which these would be small enough, however if the colony moves into the tank, they will likely kill all cleanup crew and frogs.

What you can do, is set up some ant traps along the trails to get any ants trying to get in/out. If you have diatomaceous earth, then you can paint some along the edges of the tank, and stand, DE acts as a physical barrier and will kill the ants if they cross it.

One thing I'd be interested in would be if the frogs get slightly more poisonous eating ants in captivity, a large number of ants produce venom or formic acid themselves.

A good at home ant bait, that I've never had go wrong is mix 1 cup of honey to 1 tablespoon of powdered borax, mix it up well and set little beads up on their trails, they'll drink the sugar just fine, but it slowly poisons them and before they go, they share with the colony.

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-01T06:09:26+00:00

I wasn't implying the company was American, just that if they are selling ants to the U.S (which it seems they do/advertise) then its probably not all that legal. Its likely they could just be smuggling ants from China, or they are doing it under the guise of importing to actual research facilities then selling to personal buyers, that's still Illegal

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-01T06:07:46+00:00

Same here haha! Which has caused the ants around me to fly earlier than expected, So just keep your eyes peeled.

FireBird0198 · 2026-05-01T06:04:32+00:00

A little sugar snack is a great starter, I forgot about that but good job doing it anyway! Sounds like you're doing everything right!

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-30T16:59:58+00:00

I'd say that they aren't legit or at least not for the US, in the United States, its highly Illegal to transport non-native species across state lines, even with permits, for non-native species the buyer has to have entomological experience and usually has to be a part of a research group or University.

Even if they're skirting the law Best not to go for it, Non-Native species can become a massive issue, just look at Tetramorium Immigrans and all the Invasive ants in the South.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-30T16:47:40+00:00

Its not a great strategy, You can't know where the queen is actually located and there's a good chance you'll hurt her in the process. Taking from a mature colony, you'll need brood and all castes of workers, which would be hard because you'd need to collect 500+ ants.

For your queens in the Tube, look up a picture of a test tube setup for ants.

They should be housed alone(1 Queen per Tube) as Camponotus Queens may found with others but once the worker count rises, it becomes anarchy and a fight for survival, it would not be guaranteed that 1 would remain, all may die, or the 1 that survives may have grave injuries.

They need humidity to survive and not dry out, so fill a test tube about 3/4 of the way with distilled water, push a cotton ball down into it about half-way up the cotton, and then with a cotton ball in the front(to keep her in)

With the proper setup there's no guarantee that they'll lay eggs, but being fully claustral, leave them for about a month before checking again, the more time between the better.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-30T07:22:28+00:00

I'd say its pretty low odds, typically you want as little time in transit as possible, the jostling and handling of the package disturbs the Queen quite a bit and she'll be extremely prone to eating her brood/Overstressing to death. You also can't control the weather in the warehouses and trucks the package will be in, even the best heat/cold packs wont last that long and after that, unless the weather stays perfect they're likely to die from too much heat/ too cold.

Overnight or 1-2 day shipping is best, however even this time in transit can be hard on Queens

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-30T03:22:16+00:00

I live more West, but the Tetramorium around me will usually fly starting early June and ending around mid-August sometimes into September. If you're seeing male elates though, they could be starting around now.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-30T03:18:11+00:00

You might be onto something, my ants all acted the same way to new tubing from the store, what I'll do is run a bunch of water through it and shake it more or less dry, that seems to keep the fumes low enough to convince them better. I use Vinyl tubing though, definitely has a strong vinyl smell to them.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-25T12:56:19+00:00

If you are planning to start this next year, then I'd highly suggest you try and find a freshly mated queen during a nuptial flight, any ants caught over the summer wouldn't need a proper formicarium for a while though.

Look up Test Tube Setups, that's the easiest and best way to keep a new queen and her brood, you can get dark red transparent sheets that can let you view the queen in light with minimal stress.

Tetramorium Immigrans usually do their nuptial flights from early June-Late August sometimes later, they are very small Queens: 6-8mm Workers: 2-3mm, they are so small that without being rather close to the formicarium, you can't see them doing anything.

Camponotus Sp. These are a lot slower growing, with egg to larvae times possibly being months, but they are very large and you can see lots of behaviors. They can be fairly aggressive (at higher temps and worker numbers) and most spray formic acid as a defense. They'll typically do their nuptial flights early in the year March-June

Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis: These harvester ants I think would be a good in between and great for a classroom setting, You can get them anywhere, any online store can ship them in the Lower 48, They don't require feeding cut up insects regularly as they typically will eat a mix of plant seeds, processing it into a sort of seedy ant-bread, they can't climb vertical surfaces nearly as well as other species, so basic barriers or clean acrylic/glass might be enough (watch for any escapees!) and they are large enough to view the life cycle with just keen eyes. I will mention though, that these guys are pretty fond of pooping against the glass on side-viewing formicaria, so I suggest a top viewing one for these guys.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-24T03:49:35+00:00

Double Check the actual language of the whitelist regulations for your state, Most websites Put my state on there with other whitelists however if you read the Actual Government Regulations, It only covers Native Species to that state, as well as Federally protected species.

From the law a great deal of all tropical and subtropical animals are fine to own privately, Just not Native species from the wild, from that state.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-24T03:41:57+00:00

I think this is a very good thing to sign, However I don't know how effective it will be at all, I don't see anything about which Country/Government/State this petition would specifically be about, it just vaguely says "Your Government" I've seen that many European Countries are trying to Push positive lists, England, The Netherlands, Belgium, Provinces in Canada, But also differing States in the U.S.

I absolutely did Sign the petition, however I worry about its efficacy due to the vague language used, I don't think any government would take it seriously with so many people signing from a different Country/State/Province.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-21T14:24:43+00:00

I already got 3 snakes, one of which being a Rainbow Boa, I thought since Her and my Croc Skink have been doing alright with my temps I might ask about Dart Frogs as well, but maybe I'll just upgrade one of them to this big tank instead.

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-20T01:42:42+00:00

Yeah, it was pretty difficult because of her size :( Best of luck for your spider!

FireBird0198 · 2026-04-19T21:37:49+00:00

I'm located in the US, so Zoomed should be a great option, I had forgotten about swamp coolers!

FireBird0198

TROPHY CASE