A day later, the situation didn't look much better. The mushroom was slowly being sorted. It was obvious that the workers themselves didn't really know how to make something useful out of it. It wasn't until the evening that the situation slowly improved. However, you can't build anything with a broken mushroom - so you need a replacement mushroom, right?

Here the entire mushroom is rummaged through. Brood is stored and everything that can be used is re-sorted. You can clearly see the plastic cover. The queen is underneath (dark spot). No trace of healthy mushroom.

On August 24th, the mushroom looked something like this. The grey-mottled beginnings on the tip of the mushroom were particularly promising. A replacement mushroom would be a good alternative for any regular ant keeper. Personally, I can manage with this basis. And that can be proven in the next post.

On Sunday, August 25, 2024, I was finally able to determine this result.I am happy to document it here: The colony has gray fungus and that without(!) replacement fungus.Now the colony has a chance to get back on track even without replacement fungus.The signs are good. The food supply has also been replaced.

I am pleased that the colony has survived the ordeal. If the queen does not suddenly die, you will be able to view the colony when you pick her up in the future. You can find out what happens next here. Everything will be fine! :-)

The health of the fungus is improving day by day. The ants are doing an incredible amount of rebuilding work. However, they are already benefiting from the nutrients provided by the healthy fungus.

The queen - you can still observe her daily activities. As the fungi grow, she will become increasingly invisible.

The brood units will hatch soon - I expect the amount of mushrooms to double. A new setup is imminent - and is currently being set up. If the colony is large enough, it will be moved.