71 replies to this topic

[Xanuri]

Camponotus fragilis [001]

 

Summary (2019.01.26):

While digging for S. xyloni queens on Saturday January 26th, 2019. I seemed to have dug up a C. fragilis queen along with two workers. I quickly caught the queen and then a worker but before I could get the second worker the S. xyloni horde killed it. Needless to say it wasn't what I was expecting but I was happy none the less. I know that I caused her a major setback with the loss of a worker and her brood.

 

What happened next was awesome luck I must say...

 

The next rock I flipped over, not very far away and really not expecting to locate any ants that close by, to my surprise was a C. fragilis colony, they were warming their brood at the surface against the rock. I quickly scooped up a few of their brood, 2-3 larvae, this was a perfect find to help save my queen.

 

I quickly setup her test tube and placed the captured brood into it and then her and her worker. They quickly and easily accepted the brood from the other colony.

 

I have attached my first photos

 

Summary (2019.01.27)

The queen laid 3 eggs overnight! Yay!

 

I went out anting again and found a much larger colony of C. fragilis, this time I was able to capture a small mass of eggs and a few more larva before the workers hauled them all underground. So I did a bit more brood replenishment to hopefully increase this queens survival chances. I did not find any cocoon stage workers but I was able to get what I would say is a fully developed larva, so hopefully it will transition into cocoon stage soon!

 

Summary (2019.01.28)

I prepared a sugar water test tube today and connected it the worker took a long drink once she was done I disconnected it. I am hoping with a little extra feed boosting and such to make up for the losses, I can save these guys. I don't want them to perish because of the losses sustained.

 

Summary (2019.01.30)

Brood Inventory:

• ~20 eggs
• 5 larvae
• 1 nanite

I wanted to post a picture today for everyone to see, I got my lens kit for my phone today and I think the Macro Lens works well! Let me know what you think!

 

 

Summary (2019.02.04)

Brood Inventory:

• ~20 eggs
• 5 larvae
• 1 nanite

Brood inventory hasn't changed as far as I can tell, the only significant update is that one of the brood boosting larvae I was worried about because it "seemed" dehydrated, today however it appears instead of looking semi-deflated, it looks a bit more plump, not sure exactly why or what may have caused this, but the nanite and queen have continued to care for it so I "assumed" it was alive still but worried that it might die soon. Hopefully it is better now though.

 

Summary (2019.02.10)

Brood Inventory:

• ~20 eggs
• 5 larvae

As of today the nanitic worker died for unknown reasons. Not sure how this affects the queens chances of survival but I can only hope the larvae continue to develop and we get 4 workers soon

 

Summary (2019.02.15)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~6 larvae
• 3 Pupae Confirmed on 2019.02.16

So good news to report today, it appear 3 of the larvae have enclosed themselves into cocoons! Yay!! I am about 98% sure this has happened. It is a bit difficult to see them clearly right now.

 

Also several days ago I went to check on the wild colony of C. fragilis, when I picked up their rock they were warming their brood against the rock, I caught a few hoping to get some pupae to brood boost with but ended up with 5 workers and some more larvae and eggs. So I am now caring for these in hopes that they can get a few larvae into pupae state and then I can transplant them. I will keep you posted on any further progress!

 

Summary (2019.02.21)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 6-8 Larvae
• 5 Pupae

So if you have been following this story, you know that I have been doing everything I can to ensure the survival of this Founding Queen. In my previous write up I told you all about the 5 workers and the batch of larvae I caught and have been caring for them separately.

 

Well today I have some additional good news. The side project has produced 2 more Pupae and I have successfully transferred them to the Queen, these two Pupae are 5-7 days behind the other 3 but I feel like that within a 2-4 week time frame she will have 5 workers and we will be out of trouble!

 

Summary (2019.02.24)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 6-8 Larvae
• 4 Pupae
• 1 Worker

On Friday night one of the Pupae eclosed and we now have a very cute small worker for the Queen, Yay! I imagine the other 2 should eclose in the next couple days!

 

Summary (2019.02.26)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 6-8 Larvae
• 3 Pupae
• 2 Workers

This morning a second worker eclosed! Yay! She is another small worker, so it seems our chances for survival are increasing!

 

Summary (2019.02.28)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 6-8 Larvae
• 3 Pupae
• 3 Workers

Sometime during the night a third worker eclosed! This is so awesome, I really at one point thought this queen was doomed!

 

Summary (2019.03.07)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 6 Larvae
• 4 Pupae
• 4 Workers

Last night worker number 4 eclosed! Yay!

 

Summary (2019.03.12)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 8 Larvae
• 3 Pupae
• 5 Workers

Last night before bed I transferred a Pupae from my side project in with the Queen and 4 workers. When I woke up this morning and checked on them one of the Pupae eclosed and now we are up to 5 workers, this latest worker is a bit larger than the previous 4, I have thought about testing compatibility with the side project which currently has 4 workers taking care of the brood they have. Thought it might be interesting to see if they are "compatible" since it was a neighboring colony after all.

 

I was thinking once I get to 5 workers I could capture one of the side project workers and introduce it to the 5+ queen and see if the 5 kill it or accept it. Anyone have any thought's on that? or perhaps the other way around, introduce one of the queens workers into the side project and see if they kill it or not. If the test is successful then I would be up to 9 workers instantly.

 

Summary (2019.03.14)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 15 Larvae
• 2 Pupae
• 6 Workers

So I introduced one of the small workers from the Queen raised batch to the side project of 4 workers + brood! Fortunately no one got hurt, but I found out very quickly they were not compatible, so I decided to end the side project of 4 workers taking care of brood, since my worker count with the Queen now exceeded their count. So I returned the workers to their wild nest and poured the brood they were taking care of in with the Queen.

 

I have to say I am very happy that I was able to save this Queen from perishing and now we are marching forward with 6 workers and a sizable number of Larvae, overall I think it was a successful save at least up to this point anyway!

 

Summary (2019.03.25)

Brood Inventory:

• 5-10 eggs
• ~ 15 Larvae
• 3 Pupae
• 8 Workers

As of yesterday morning and this morning they eclosed worker #7 and #8. Several other larvae  pupated as well, so it seems we are on a good growth cycle now!

 

Summary (2019.04.07)

Brood Inventory:

• 10-15 eggs
• ~ 10 Larvae
• 8-9 Pupae
• 9 Workers

One of the earlier hatched workers was deformed and died a few days ago, but has since been replaced and we still have a net gain of +1, there are however this coming week a population boost as the 8-9 pupae eclose soon! which as it stands right now we may jump up to 17-18 workers this coming week!

 

Summary (2019.05.07)

Brood Inventory:

• 10-15 eggs
• ~ 10 Larvae
• 10+ Pupae
• 19 Workers

So, I haven't done an update in a while so I figured I owe the journal a refresh. The worker hatching was slow but we are now up to 19 confirmed workers and will likely add at least 10 more in the coming weeks.

I have posted a few live streams with a new digital microscope I haven't done any real editing so it is raw footage with blurry scenes and all but did a couple full videos of the C. fragilis colony and the new formicaria I made for them, in addition in one of the streams we took a tour of the S. xyloni colony as well!

 

I hope you Enjoy the footage!
https://www.youtube....17rInnXnG_LsqrQ

Edited by Xanuri, May 7 2019 - 6:19 PM.

[Rstheant]

Any pictures?

[Xanuri]

Any pictures?

 

here is one of the queen and her worker in the test tube setup, you can also see the first 3 larvae I boosted with in the background

[Rstheant]

My fragilis are in a clear container with sand on the bottom. I carved a cork piece to fit the test tube and cut a hole, because nests in the wild don’t have very large entrances. I also have a feeder. They are currently at 25+ workers. Use a heat cable for heat. Good luck with them.

[FSTP]

Congradulations Xan, Camponotus fragilis is one of my all time favorite Camponotus spp. They're so unique with their coloration and each ant seems to have its own distinct personality. 

 

 

My fragilis are in a clear container with sand on the bottom. I carved a cork piece to fit the test tube and cut a hole, because nests in the wild don’t have very large entrances. I also have a feeder. They are currently at 25+ workers. Use a heat cable for heat. Good luck with them.

 

 

Whoa that's exactly how I'm keeping mine right now, same sand on bottom in clear container with cork stopper with small hole for entrance/exit. Right now they only have 10 workers, but when they get more I'm going to move them into a proper formicarium.

[Xanuri]

My fragilis are in a clear container with sand on the bottom. I carved a cork piece to fit the test tube and cut a hole, because nests in the wild don’t have very large entrances. I also have a feeder. They are currently at 25+ workers. Use a heat cable for heat. Good luck with them.

 

I am going to try and mimic current weather conditions for my area once they are out of the test tube. I will get you some pictures of a nest entrance. On two occasions while looking for some brood to boost her with I turned over a rock and they were warming the brood against the rock, one of the nests had an entrance approximately 1cm in diameter, the other actually had two entrances one of which was 1cm and the other was about 12mm in diameter. In terms of the entrance from outside to under the rock, well I didn't notice one but my guess is that it was closed up as they were not active around the area.

 

I well see if I can get a few pics next time I am out there!

[Xanuri]

Congradulations Xan, Camponotus fragilis is one of my all time favorite Camponotus spp. They're so unique with their coloration and each ant seems to have its own distinct personality. 

 

 

My fragilis are in a clear container with sand on the bottom. I carved a cork piece to fit the test tube and cut a hole, because nests in the wild don’t have very large entrances. I also have a feeder. They are currently at 25+ workers. Use a heat cable for heat. Good luck with them.

 

 

Whoa that's exactly how I'm keeping mine right now, same sand on bottom in clear container with cork stopper with small hole for entrance/exit. Right now they only have 10 workers, but when they get more I'm going to move them into a proper formicarium.

 

Thanks! I am very excited and I am determined to do whatever it takes to help them survive the setback!

 

I would love to see pics of your guys setup!

[Rstheant]

Congradulations Xan, Camponotus fragilis is one of my all time favorite Camponotus spp. They're so unique with their coloration and each ant seems to have its own distinct personality. 
 
 

My fragilis are in a clear container with sand on the bottom. I carved a cork piece to fit the test tube and cut a hole, because nests in the wild don’t have very large entrances. I also have a feeder. They are currently at 25+ workers. Use a heat cable for heat. Good luck with them.

 
 
Whoa that's exactly how I'm keeping mine right now, same sand on bottom in clear container with cork stopper with small hole for entrance/exit. Right now they only have 10 workers, but when they get more I'm going to move them into a proper formicarium.

Don’t forget, I added some ventilation...

[Rstheant]

Congradulations Xan, Camponotus fragilis is one of my all time favorite Camponotus spp. They're so unique with their coloration and each ant seems to have its own distinct personality.

My fragilis are in a clear container with sand on the bottom. I carved a cork piece to fit the test tube and cut a hole, because nests in the wild don’t have very large entrances. I also have a feeder. They are currently at 25+ workers. Use a heat cable for heat. Good luck with them.

Whoa that's exactly how I'm keeping mine right now, same sand on bottom in clear container with cork stopper with small hole for entrance/exit. Right now they only have 10 workers, but when they get more I'm going to move them into a proper formicarium.

Thanks! I am very excited and I am determined to do whatever it takes to help them survive the setback!

I would love to see pics of your guys setup!

I am sorry, I can’t post pictures. You might want to ask YsTheAnt for more info. He gives me tips and advice. One thing: sometimes my fragilis go into a laying spree, and within two days, the eggs become larvae.

Edited by Rstheant, January 30 2019 - 5:55 PM.

[Rstheant]

For the cork stopper, take a knife, and shave a wine cork to the desired width, and drill, or cut a hole large enough for the queen.

[Xanuri]

New photos and brood update posted above!

[Ants4fun]

Real pretty ants. Love how light colored this species is.

[Rstheant]

Give them live wingless fruit flies, and small baby crickets. For sugar, mix 1 part hummingbird nectar, 1 part water, 1 part honey, and I like to add 1 part natural, raw Agave syrup, with a pinch of salt. Mix and use, or store. Lasts up to 6 months depending of quantity.

[YsTheAnt]

Crickets don't need to be babies. You can also crush up one adult and feed it's parts to more colonies.

[Rstheant]

Yes, but I just prefer to give them small crickets. And they eat it them all up.

Edited by Rstheant, February 1 2019 - 6:53 PM.

[Xanuri]

Updated Log Entry above!

[Xanuri]

Updated!

[sirjordanncurtis]

Updated!

 

It looks like you'll be getting workers pretty soon since the larvae pupated 11 days ago. Maybe less than a week?

[Xanuri]

 

Updated!

 

It looks like you'll be getting workers pretty soon since the larvae pupated 11 days ago. Maybe less than a week?

 

 

they are still in larvae stage, I am trying to increase temp and humidity to hopefully encourage them to pupate! I will feel a lot better if they would! They wouldn't be nanitic either since they came from a much more established nest!

[Xanuri]

Updated!