My strange pets! Large picture warning!

[WestMichiganSandslinger]

Hello everyone! I think I'll start off my first post with a few photos of my pets! These are just a few of my 20 or so colonies currently. All of these colonies were started from a single queen found shortly after her mating flight. I generally start them in a test tube with water until the first nanitics eclose. Without further ado, here they are!

Camponotus americanus with adopted Camponotus novaeboracensis daughters.

Prenelopis imparis


Formica subsericea




Formica subsericea queen from the colony pictured above. I found her in a sad state of affairs. The poor girl had a severe birth defect along the side of her face. Despite her disability, she has been doing quite well. In these photos you can see the deformity.

 

[Alpha1]

Very interesting and great photos, thanks for sharing! :coolpics:

 

[WestMichiganSandslinger]

Thanks! It's hard to find people who are receptive to my hobby. Glad to be here.

 

[Alpha1]

I think many insects are very interesting, and it's rare to see a pet owner with such nice close-up photos. Great hobby for sure!

 

[WestMichiganSandslinger]

I've got albums of photos of them, as well as video. I'm trying to learn macro photography so they're a great subject to shoot.

 

[Lipizzan]

Wow such interesting animals. I would love to see more photos.

 

[Plex]

Very neat!
I would love to keep ants someday, but as far as insects go I'm mainly into mantis species and the occasional beetle.
I did have a Dubia cockroach colony (both as feeders for the larger mantis and the tarantula I had at that point) at one point but the heater failed during a cold period this past winter- unfortunately not enough survived to replenish the colony without having to buy a couple hundred roaches. So I stopped keeping them until a later date when I have more money to spend on replenishing them and a better heater.