Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone culture these successfully? IVe got a culture, but theyre hard to access (10 gal filled with wood). Was wondering what other people have done successfully. Hurry, Ive got winged allates!
C

The best way is to use layer of paper towels and when you need some pick it up and shake it into your dusting cup then feed your frogs. The paper towels are also easier for the termites to eat but they have to be replaced more often then wood.

The first thing you should do is mail some to me....
Or if not, definately get rid of the wood and use unbleached paper towels. Also, they don't need nearly that much room, they can actually maintain a colony in a 1 quart jar filled with paper towels.

Good luck
joe

LOL. You wouldnt believe how many people feel the same as you! Well, Ive now got 4 mason jars with 2 alates each, along with about 10 undifferentiated workers in each. Not having any idea of how one should go about this, I thought that was the best way. Any thoughts otherwise? I was pretty sure that I wanted to use unbleached paper of some sort, so I set up the jars with different "filler". Heres what I did:
1. Rough cardboard outer, with brown paper center. The paper used was a packing paper, similar, though finer grained than, the paper used in supermarket carryout bags.
2. All carboard
3. All paper
4. Mostly paper, with some paper towels. Had to use the bleached kind, but it was only about 20% of the volume of the filler.

Now, Ive obviously got to search out some unbleached paper towels in town, but I really dont like opening the tank more often than necessary. The 'mites get VERY disturbed (they make this cool scratch-thump sound thats obviously a distress sound to signal the rest of the colony). So, it will be a day or two before I disturb them again to look for alates. The good news is that it looks like Ive got about 2 or maybe even 3 separate colonies in the tank now, along with the 4 experimental jars. I HOPE the experimental jars work out. The thought behind the cardboard was based on the termite traps Ive seen/read described. It seems that they will readily inhabit a tube filled with carboard, so I thought "why not?".
ANYway, then I filled the jars about 1-1.5" with spring water (not RO, and definitely not tap). Put aluminum foil on the lids, poked a few air holes, and in went the 'mites. Tomorrow, Ill got get more mason jars and some unbleached paper towels (any suggestions where? None at the local supermarkets), and see how many more alates I can catch. They move to hide in the wood very quickly.....I honestly hope that Ill be able to make people happy in the near future.....

If you can start producing these colonies on a consistent basis, then SIGN ME UP!!
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Randy
Lawrence, Kansas
1.1 Azureus
1.1 Cobalt
1.1 Fantasticus
2.2 Bastimentos Pumilio
2.4.1 Bri Bri Pumilio

As you can see, this is a long and difficult process, the main problem is they pair up during flight, not sure how you would simulate this ? You also need quite a few years to begin harvesting any if you do get them to start a colony.

A typical scenario resulting in successful colonization begins with a male and female alate pairing after flight. The pair sheds their wings and selects a nest site such as a crevice in a damp log or untreated fence post, or a pruning scar, tree hole, or other entry into a living tree. The alates then crawl into the existing crack or crevice and seal the entrance with fecal secretion. A few weeks after mating, the queen lays her first batch of eggs. The eggs hatch and the first brood of larvae develop. Over the first few years, additional batches of eggs are laid and the first soldiers appear. After a few more years, when colony population numbers in the hundreds, the first crop of alates molt and the colony begins its own first dispersal cycle. Dampwood termite colony populations can reach several thousand individuals and gallery systems may extend many meters into the wood.

Good info, thanks. I had thought that maybe it was just the conditions under which I was keeping them that kept the numbers low. It still may be a factor, but now Im thinking that theyre just real slow to reproduce (I had heard that before, but this confirms it). So, Ill keep experimenting and subculturing, hopefully, it will result in multiple, stable colonies. In the meantime, Ive got to keep from disturbing the main colony....hard to do, theyre very interesting to watch. And, they freak my frogs out, they get SO excited!