[milant]

Have you tried taking clipings when the plant is healthy then boost growing it by packing it with fertilizers and nutrients and then you can replace the plant theyre nesting in whenever it looks a bit worse for wear?

[Leafcutter]

Might be time for a different plant species. Any pesticide free citrus plant will be okay.

[veektoor]

I think the next tree I'm going to get is a calamondin tree.

[veektoor]

So I've decided I need to sort the tree out asap as Xmas is just around the corner and getting anything done during that time is going to be a nightmare.

I'm going to be buying a "Giant Calamondin tree" Citrus mitis from the link below. More leaf cleaning :/.

https://plants4presents.co.uk/Giftoptio ... 146&sit=18

While I'm having a change around I'll be installing a mini irrigation system to help the tree stay hydrated.

I plan on using little shards of slate place between stems to act as feeding platforms.

[Leafcutter]

Looks good, just make sure that you clean the leaves as much as possible to get rid of the pesticides. Also email the seller to ask if the pesticides used are systemic or not?

[formica123]

How will that fit inside your tank?!

[veektoor]

I've asked them for the shortest bushiest tree they have in stock. Keeping my fingers crossed that it fits ok :/

[veektoor]

This weeks activities.

[veektoor]

I received the Citrus mitis tree today full of fruit. It looks rather large so if it doesn't fit I'll find an alternative. The main problem with the tree is the small leaves.



As you can see the pachira aquatica tree needs removing and time to recover, I'm hoping it will be fully regenerated by the time I need to upgrade the enclosure.



Ignore the dirtly glass, my daughters are fascinated with insects.

Cheers, Veektoor.

[Leafcutter]

Wow, the Pachira tree looks very damaged, I personally had little problems using Pachira.

[veektoor]

As soon as they build a nest the leaves start to die, since I've had them they must have made 10-15 nests.

[Leafcutter]

As soon as they build a nest the leaves start to die, since I've had them they must have made 10-15 nests.

That is odd, I think there may be an issue with conditions for the plant as mine didn't do this. Leaves did die rarely, but that was when they had constant light beaming on the plant all the time. When I turned it off and just kept the heat bulb on, the Pachira plant didn't lose many leaves. I think it's too late for the Pachira plant in your case as it is looking very rough indeed.

[veektoor]

The pachira aquatica tree is alive and will recover but I agree, the last picture is rather bleak. Il take some pics of the new shoots but they are too small to be of any use to the colony.

Its strange because as soon as they have built a nest the leaves start dying, even if it's in the centre of the leaf it will start to die where it has immediate contact with the nest then it radiates out.

I'm going to be taking a huge gamble with the citris mitis tree as there is no way to clean all the leaves of the tree. Not only that but the leaves are smaller than I expected.

Cheers, Veektoor.

[Serafine]

I'd say your ants carry a fungus, bacteria or virus that attacks the roots of the plant. You should try another plant that does NOT have an evolutionary relationship to the plants you've used before, maybe it is resistant.

[veektoor]

When I get time to swap the trees over I'll check the roots.

Cheers, Veektoor.

[veektoor]

The pachira aquatica tree does have some life in her...

[veektoor]

The colony is getting extremely agitated due to the lack of nesting sites.

Expect a big update tomorrow.

Viktor.

[veektoor]

:o

[Sirnight]

What happened?

[veektoor]

Its been a crazy busy day and I'm too tired for a full update so I'm just going to leave some pictures and a short video.

Cheers, Veektoor.

[Sirnight]

Amazing

[veektoor]

So..... I swapped the trees over also made and installed a mini irrigation system.

I removed all the decor then heavily misted the ground until most of the colony returned to the tree/nest. Once I was sure the majority of workers had returned, I lifted the tree straight out of the viv making sure not to bury any stray workers. I then went round with the mister and some cotton wool picking up any stragglers. I placed the new tree in the old ones spot and backfilled it with LECA , spagnum peat and vermiculite to try and raise the amount of water the island can hold. I placed the irigation system on top of the base of the tree and covered it over with rocks and bioactive substrate.

I made the irrigation system by getting some small tubing and melting holes in it every 10mm with a pin. The reservoir was made by using the top (clear part) of a birdfeeder similar to the picture below, I turned it upside down and drilled a hole in the side for the tube to connect to. I siliconed some mesh over the top to prevent workers from getting in there and drowning when I fill it up. I didn't take pictures of it during construction but I will include a picture of it in place.




Now for the problem... I saw a small group of workers swarming over some leaves but they didn't end up weaving a nest which i thought was odd. Today I came home from work to find loads of brood in one test tube and the queen and more brood in the other. I'm hoping this is just a transition from the old nest but I'm slightly concerned as they didn't do this when I received them.

Shaky cam.

[veektoor]

Queen Jaha has made an appearance although its hard to capture on video but I gave it a go!

Also looks like there is nest construction going on :).

[veektoor]

It's been a while since the last update so I decided to take a video of them subduing a locust.

They have made two nests that they still use since I replaced the pachira aquatica, so it looks like this tree should last a while. They appear to have trouble manipulating the leaves of this tree so the nests have been a bit unorganised and in awkward places to photograph.

Cheers, Veektoor.

[Precision08]

Awesome video. Very powerful ants these are.

[veektoor]

They had already dragged one I accidentally crushed, halfway across tree in about five mins.

[Precision08]

Wow! Fascinating, one of my dream species, you're lucky.

[veektoor]

Some more feeding vidoes.

I think I'm going to make wax worms part of their regular diet as they are very "juicy" making them easier for the workers to subdue. I don't think I'll be feeding them mealworms again due to their lack of appendages and hard exterior.

Cheers, Veektoor.

[veektoor]

I think wax worms are going to be a regular part of their diet.

[Leafcutter]

How are they doing with the leaves of the Calamondin plant? Do they wilt as quickly?