Kevin's Watch

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:42 am**

For those of you who don't know, I now have an active ant farm. I have sixteen highly active ants and one that's not doing so well. They are all named Cyndi. They are dark red harvester ants. I just unleashed them tonight so they are establishing boundaries etc. I'll post pics when they figure it all out. Whoo hooo! Ants are COOL!

Some fun ant facts that I learned from joining the ant farm club:

All ants in a colony are FEMALE, including the soldier ants. Males are only born when the Queen has a need to mate. In some ant species the female mates ONCE and holds a lifetime, sometimes twenty years worth of sperm in a specialized chamber called the crop so she can fertilize her own eggs.

Ants number at least ten quadrillion ants at any given moment on this planet. If you took all the ants in existence and all the humans and put them on a scale the ants would outweigh humans greatly. This is further eye opening in that it takes 500,000 ants to make one person.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:47 am**

ger thinks you're cool jenn.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:55 am**

I love you Lucimay and that's why I named my new babies, all seventeen of them after you. I want you to love them too.

They are currently establishing leadership and hierarchy. It's so cool to watch. "Not doing so good Cyndi" is moving around a bit more. I think it's touch and go but she might make it. I truly hope so.

Using my Uncle Milton's Ant Farm Club magnifying glass she seems to be drinking and eating and moving her legs a bit more.

It might have had something to do with the coldness of mailing. They were all hardly moving when I first got them.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:19 am**

Want some of my ants? I can't seem to get rid of the ones that are hanging around my kitchen.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:22 am**

I would say yes but according to Uncle Milton's Ant Care Packet I am not supposed to mix colonies unless I want a war.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:24 am**

I believe that.

Just try dropping a black ant on a red ant hill.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:09 am**

texas ants

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_ants

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:43 pm**

WOW! winged ants. I learned from Uncle Milton that generally speaking only the males and the queens have wings because they do it in the air! Flying Ant Noogie!

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:38 pm**

What do ants grow on their farms?

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:38 pm**

We've had flying ants in the house in the past. Not fun.

Though, in general, ants are fascinating.

Jenn, you should check out the book The Insect Societies by E. O. Wilson. Amazing stuff!

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:53 pm**

Wilson is the God of Entomology.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:12 pm**

so how are the cyndis today?

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:31 pm**

When I left this morning they were all grouped up in the corner with one or two strays and Cyndi not doing so good was still alive but hanging out alone. I'm a little worried about her.

But looks like they were having on conference and handing out jobs so I think things are going well.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:32 pm**

psst...Jenn...

...your strategy to get Luci to love the ants is working...

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:42 pm**

I know!

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:47 pm**

What a great thing to have. I bet they are great to just watch as they go about their activities!

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:11 pm**

Emotional Leper wrote:Wilson is the God of Entomology.

He's pretty amazing.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:22 pm**

Haha... I would get way too tempted to "play god".

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:36 pm**

Watch out with the magnifying glass on cyndi not doing so good, Jenn. If there's focused light behind you, you may torch her.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:41 pm**

hahahaha. I'll keep that in mind Damelon.

Kevin's Watch

Ants!!!!

Ants!!!!