Our New Green Weaver Ant Colony!

[@sonniisticklen9576]

when they get larger, make up a reptile enclosure and uvb lights, put dwarf umbrella trees in the terrarium. make sure the terrarium is bio active.

[@TheAntKeeper]

That is actually a dream goal of mine to make one day!

[@antsandmoreaustralia]

Awesome I have mine in a temporary tubs and tubes setup I am making the natural setup now they have around 20 workers

[@TheAntKeeper]

Wow I'd love to see pictures of that, if you ever get the chance, send me some on Instagram!

[@antsandmoreaustralia]

@@TheAntKeeper I’ll definitely send photos of there naturalistic setup I just have to wait for the spring tails to arrive

[@Unwashedscripts]

If you get another Weaver ant Queen you should wrap up a big leaf and put it inside the test tube so it looks really for the Queen and less stress for her

[@TheAntKeeper]

That's a great idea Theantworld! I would try that

[@mcallahk]

I love the colors on the queens! Especially since they can be different shades of green, like the more bluish ones. I think they're very pretty!

[@TheAntKeeper]

I totally agree!

[@alexiofranciscoyoulioIII]

WOW! That colony is by far one of the most beautiful colonies I’ve ever seen!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Oh I couldn't agree more Haiyun You!

[@posaycat7222]

That war gave you an opportunity to get new colonies that you werent able to have due to the lack of space and not be able to sustain them

[@TheAntKeeper]

It's been bitter-sweet for sure! After I made that video, I became focused on rebuilding and learning from my mistakes. I'm really looking forward for sharing the ants in our collection!

[@johnhaymaker5825]

Some successful setups are a vertical reptile enclosure with at least 3 "trees" for them to choose from. They will eventually kill a tree and move to another one at which point you can put a new tree in.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Great suggestion John, I have seen some setup that are quite similar to that recently. Thanks!

[@rakuyazukami2626]

Wow, i did not know weaver ant is hard sensitive to vibration and known to be hard to keep. I just caught one last week while im on a vacation, luckily she survived after i bring her home after a long road.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Wow that's so cool! Great fine RakuYazukami :D

[@tinyants1559]

What a lovely colony 😍would love to keep one,sadly I cant...

[@TheAntKeeper]

I'll post regular updates then to make it feel like you own a colony!

[@tinyants1559]

@@TheAntKeeper tysm

[@paulstingray]

Any update?

[@Jeremyveale]

haha happy there your fav species, there my fav too! i hope mine and your colony thrives! :)

[@TheAntKeeper]

Aye that's awesome! I hope so too!

[@abstractants8132]

Very cool, I love green weaver ants it's just fascinating how they make their nests.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Honestly It is really underrated! I can't wait for us to see if happen with out own colony!

[@abstractants8132]

@@TheAntKeeper Me too and I wish the best for the growth of the colony.

[@Torheeseternity]

One time in Mississippi I saw a big alate ant I didnt know much about ants so I was so scared ant thought it was a "super ant"

[@TheAntKeeper]

Ha! That’s so cool that you even knew it was an Ant in the first place. I don’t even remember seeing alates before I learnt about them!

[@aussieantkeeping2825]

awesome addition, cant wait to see the colony grow :)

[@TheAntKeeper]

I'm glad you think so too mate! I'm super pumped!

[@birdantics2053]

I envy the green gasters of these workers, mine come fully in brown…

[@TheAntKeeper]

The green colouring is out of this world too!

[@JumpcutJams40]

I would use a small tank slim and tall and put a leaf or a tree if you do this you can move you colony in the tank very quickly you could put a colony of maybe 10 to 20 workers. I have a weaver ant colony and I did the same thing. also I moved them in the tank at around ten workers the are doing very good in captivity.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Thanks for the tips! It's great to know what colony size worked for you! Thanks J's Insects

[@Antymatters]

I keep my risky colonys secret to, lets you not disturb them for filming to much at the beginning :)

[@Antymatters]

BTW in the nest front, I've heard if people putting them in large houseplants and theyl live in them and not run off, could put a saucer of water under the pot to moat it as a precaution.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Aye exactly Anty Matters!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Wow I haven't considered that idea!

[@birdantics2053]

Weaver ant colonies cost a lot in singapore, so I caught a queen myself!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Nice job! Was it hard to find one?

[@birdantics2053]

@@TheAntKeeper not really, but I heard its rare to come across. found it on the fence of my house, now it has shed wings and laid 14 eggs!

[@TheAntKeeper]

@@birdantics2053 whoa 😮 That’s a dream find. That’s so cool

[@jacobleong7812]

I have kept this species before although the methods were unconventional it kinda worked. I had rather large test tube setups and a container along with a lid with some holes for ventilation. A cotton ball and a smaller tube were attached to the entrance of the larger test tube to provide high humidity inside the test tube and an exit. I am pretty sure AntsCanada did something like that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoC1eZ9ppaynodU at 5:23 . I also placed the test tubes on the ground in the container which turned out fine if you prevent the tube from rolling around. This species can get the container quite dirty over time. I often see some sort of yellowish dots in the corners far away from the tube. It can be cleaned with some wet cotton. If you leave a liquid sugar source in the outworld for too long they will place their rubbish there. Dealing with insect exoskeletons is the same with the other colonies. I have tried using vaseline as a form of barrier. Technically, they can climb through the vaseline but would usually avoid it unless necessary. Try to place the container where around 30 - 40% receives sunlight, avoid putting the test tubes in direct sunlight. For the first few months, I find that the workers will be quite timid outside the tubes. At first glance, they would have their mandibles wide open ready to bite, but soon as you come closer they ran back into the tubes. This method wouldn't force the ants to use any silk so it can be quite bad if you want to show everyone the silk but you can get more workers as this saves protein for the colony. If the colony is big enough for 2 or more tubes, you can remove the cotton and smaller tube from one of the test tubes to get them to apply some silk. This can be helpful later on if you don't have enough protein as the workers would just tear off the silk and give it to their larvae. Once you see larger workers, it might be time to relocate them to a terrarium. Edit: Also for diet in the early stages they can consume most insects but they will generally go for those with a lot of joints or something small. So far, my colonies seem to be okay with flies and mosquitoes. I have tried placing caterpillars and mealworms, they attacked them but didn't bring it back to their nests. As for sugar source, anything that contains sugar and is dissolved in a liquid will do fine. Try not to move the container too much as well. You can also try putting leaves into the test tube to make them feel more in their natural habitat as well.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Thank you for taking the time to write this Jacob Long! If you have instagram message me @The_AntKeeper to send me pictures if you have any, I would love to see it - If you have any pictures of it! There's a lot of great tip in your comment, I'll definitely be referring back to this when I decide on how to make the setup. Thanks again Jacob! I really appreciate all your help!

[@jacobleong7812]

@@TheAntKeeper Welcome. I don't really have an instagram account but I'll see what I can do.

[@attaenjoyer4092]

Hell yeah!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Heck Yeah atta enjoyer!

[@animalworld619]

You deserve more subs

[@TheAntKeeper]

Awe Thanks Blade Gaming ;) I appreciate that a lot mate!

[@antsandpets]

very cool, They are very beutiful

[@antsandmoreaustralia]

A reptile one enclosure will work well you should use a umbrella tree (SCHEFFLERA AMATE) or a money tree (Pachira aquatica) as I have seen them nesting in those before you will need to check the mesh in case the holes are too big you should check the doors for holes as well hope that helps I would also recommend using some ivy, drift wood or tree roots as vines for them you should also ad a cleanup crew as well like spring tails worms and isopods this is a video by ants Canada that should help kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJbcdZidh65jmbM

[@TheAntKeeper]

Great Suggestion Ants and More! Thanks for the detailed explanation and link for ideas. Your input will go towards this setup for sure! Thanks again!

[@giorno9589]

I think you can use money tree for the ants

[@TheAntKeeper]

Great suggestion JPS! I think I'm going to look into getting one of those if I can. Thanks!

[@sasonian7073]

(T_T) I want a weaver colony like u and become a KZbinr like you . Sad to hear about ur second colony.....

[@TheAntKeeper]

Thank you Sasonian 😊

[@sasonian7073]

New subscriber

[@TheAntKeeper]

Your Awesome! Thank you!

[@Ryuzakifujioski]

Will the queen still lay eggs even though my queen only have 5 legs

[@TheAntKeeper]

As long as that's all she's missing!

[@Ryuzakifujioski]

@@TheAntKeeper thank u.

[@Ryuzakifujioski]

@@TheAntKeeper my queen keeps falling down, i don't think she will survive when i put her on a test tube. (Just concered)

[@TheAntKeeper]

@@Ryuzakifujioski It's possible that she may not make it, you're right. They're quite difficult ants to keep. Good Luck!

[@mrmooz3565]

can you find them in wa

[@TheAntKeeper]

I don’t think so, only around far North Queensland in the rainforests

[@mrmooz3565]

@@TheAntKeeper oh ok thx though