Tulip, the eastern black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) is a median worker. She likes to hang out at the highest point of the driftwood branch. Like most elderly ants (she is nearly 2 years old) she no longer enters the main nest. (I think older ants avoid the nest chambers to prevent disease) she spends a lot of time looking up… she has escaped twice. On her first escape I gave her the pink dots.
#antVideo #withNarration #namedAnts #tuliptheant #petAnts
#withNarration
Frantic activity continues at the cone #ant compound. They are making a network of tunnels.
The species is Dorymyrmex bureni and they are the most tiny frantic ants that I keep. It's a big challenge keeping them inside an enclosure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50unYyz_Nbo
#antVideo #ants #antsOfMastodon #withNarration #Dorymyrmex #DorymyrmexBureni
My cone ants are… making something. They don’t like the size of the entrance to their nest… but why did they make tendrils?
Cone ants are getting creative:
https://youtu.be/ydcd1DX5InE
It's been a few days since I've opened the enclosure for her colony, so she must have been lost in the apartment for several days. She managed to not get eaten by a spider or by #pica! (yes Pica will eat ants)
I gave her some sugar water before returning her to her home. #antVideo #camponotus #ants #antkeeping #antsOfMastodon #WithNarration
Younger ants seem to make themselves very small when there are strange lights or vibrations. The queen was not bothered. #antVideo #WithNarration #shortVideo #ants #camponotus
Got some wonderful video of a carpenter ant major (Camponotus pennslyvanicus) eclosing from her cocoon. Ants can't free themselves without help. Their first moments of adult life are spent being fussed over, cleaned and fed by as many as 8 excited siblings.
The first thing they see is a world full of others who just want to help them. The first place they experience is warm, safe and made just for ants.
Breaking: Carpenter Ant, Daffodil Can Still Climb Stick, Rumors of Fat Gaster? Exaggerations!
Here is an important update on the situation at the Carpenter ant colony for all of you Daffodil stans out there. #antvideos #daffodil #carpenterants #camponotus #ants
#withnarration #verysilly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWM94MXRqWE
Strange things are afoot in the carpenter ant nest this afternoon. A group of workers have seemingly turned against this particular larvae. They are all just biting it over and over... though not doing much damage? What could cause this? Maybe the larvae has died? Maybe it's infected? I will see if they really dismantle it or if it's just a bite fest. #camponotus #antvideo #withnarration
Do you ever wish you could run like an ant?
I took her out to take some photos and she impressed me with her sprinting.
I took the male alates out on the porch for a photoshoot and because I felt sorry for them.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D-zd2t-c3WY
#antvideo #withnarration #ants #harvesterants #Pogonomyrmex #pogos #alates #flyingantday
All of the Daffodil-stans will be glad to know that the most popular carpenter ant has made it to the new outworld. #camponotus #antvideo #withnarration #carpenterants #daffodil #Bumble #dottie
Here is a video following one ant on her journey at the #AMNH leaf cutter ant exhibit. #antvideo #withnarration #ants #antsOfMastodon #fungus #invertebrates #entomology
I know it's hard to believe but I mostly keep this account to try to get people to watch my ant videos. (why I want people to watch ant videos is a question I can't really fathom...) I made a really good new video today with a time lapse that shows how heat sensitive Camponotus discolor are. They move their pupae constantly to maintain ideal development conditions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNwqwxhai_4
#antvideo #withnarration #camponotusdiscolor #camponotus #insects #entomology #ants #antsOfMastodon
The pogo girls dote on their little brothers. Constantly cleaning their wings and fussing over them. Male ants are not very useful until they fly to mate, I even caught a male alate *stealing* a shelled seed from a larvae. (Which is like mugging a baby for their bottle!)
The poor thing can't shell seeds on his own or collect food, so I guess that's what he's reduced to when his sisters aren't feeding him mouth to mouth. #withnarration #antvideo
I always have the NEWS* you need. Here is a quick update on what Daffodil, the eastern black carpenter ant, is up to today.
Her yellow paint has flecked off a bit, maybe #Bumble didn't go missing? Maybe she just lost all her paint? I will check the majors more carefully!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JuxmK38iWAY
*Where else can you find out about the life and times of a particular little ant?
I love early spring as an antkeeper. Outside you may only see a few ants as the wild colonies venture out for the first time, but as a keeper I get to see what's going on underground, in the trees and probably in your walls! This colony is about to have a huge population boom. All those eggs, pupae and larva are from ONE queen. Look at the empire she's making!
Video shows how the ants keep eggs clean.
#antvideo #camponotus #withnarration #camponotusdiscolor #ants
I made a video of the tree. Wasn't able to get a clear shot of every creature, but this place is poppin. #antvideo #bronx #nyc #southBronx #oaktree #oak #withNarration
New video short (with narration)
"Do Ants Think?"
(The sound on this was a pain, some error made it overlap before but now it is fixed. Thanks, @eclogiter )
#antvideo #ants #camponotus #carpenterAnts #consciousness #invert #invertebrates #antsOfMastodon #withNarration #fediverseExclusive #philosophy #philosophyofmind
When ants escape they get into trouble remarkably fast. This worker was lucky enough to be rescued. (Before you feel too sorry for her it's likely she got caught in the web in an attempt to catch and eat that little house spider!) #ants #carpenterAnts #antvideo #withNarration #spiders #arthropods #badants
Horrible! Lazy ants can't be bothered to take trash all the way to the curb. Dump trash right outside home.
For shame!
(with narration.)
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