66 replies to this topic

[Rstheant]

Hi,

I wanted to start a journal on this species and here it is. I aquired this colony from nurbs last July with YsTheAnt. At first, I didn’t take good care of this colony. They were growing very slowly. Near December, I made an incubator and the growth rates started to speed up. I give them Sunburst Ant Nectar and crickets and fruit flies every 1-3 days to ensure maximum brood. This colony has 30+ workers, 14 pupa, 9 larvae, and a batch of 10 eggs. They also have two majors!!

Here are some pictures:









The photos were taken with my iPad, and a diffused flashlight. I was too lazy to get out my other equipment.

Edited by Rstheant, March 5 2019 - 3:20 PM.

[sirjordanncurtis]

Did you put them on heat before they were on the incubator? I'm debating whether I should put mine in one as well, since they seem to be doing okay just on a heat mat.

[Rstheant]

I used to heat them with a heat cable. They did okay. I keep them around 86-90 degrees Fahrenheit.

[Rstheant]

This colony has a new worker enclose. He was still white when I saw him. Other than that, brood count looks around the same. I also gave the some crickets. My Solenopsis xyloni escaped and attacked my Camponotus sansabeanus; they lost 4 workers. I’m glad they didn’t attack the golden colony. Here are some pictures of the majors:



As you can see, they are tucked close together.

Sorry the light reflected off the tube, even though it was diffused. Still hope you can see the majors, Billy and Bob.

Edited by Rstheant, March 4 2019 - 3:26 PM.

[nurbs]

Looking good. They respond well to heat. I purposely don't heat or feed mine too much because once you do, they grow fast for Camponotus.

[TennesseeAnts]

Are these NCC? I wish these lived in Tennessee... We have C. castaneus though!

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, March 4 2019 - 4:20 PM.

[Rstheant]

Yes, they are NCC. They have monster brood. Didn’t expect that much. If you lay all the brood around the cotton, it will be at least 1 cm ish tall!

[Rstheant]

One dark major pupa coming up. I’ll update once he encloses. Any names?

[Rstheant]

I dub my fragilis colony RsCC. Boo yah nurbs!!

[Rstheant]

Oh BTW, off topic, nurbs, the one of the tenuinodis queens that you gave me has a larvae. The other just has eggs.
I love this queen.

Edited by Rstheant, March 4 2019 - 9:23 PM.

[anttics]

This colony has a new worker enclose. He was still white when I saw him. Other than that, brood count looks around the same. I also gave the some crickets. My Solenopsis xyloni escaped and attacked my Camponotus sansabeanus; they lost 4 workers. I’m glad they didn’t attack the golden colony. Here are some pictures of the majors:



As you can see, they are tucked close together.

Sorry the light reflected off the tube, even though it was diffused. Still hope you can see the majors, Billy and Bob.

Oh man. Poor salsabeans. I had a colony of sansabenus with a 16mm queen, and 3 nanitics. This large camponotus did not need hibernation. Caught her on my spot. Which has a tiny micro climate. They where attacked by argentine ants. All workers were killed. The queen died a few days after the attack. It was a bummer. I will caught another one in a few weeks when they fly.

[sirjordanncurtis]

This colony has a new worker enclose. He was still white when I saw him. Other than that, brood count looks around the same. I also gave the some crickets. My Solenopsis xyloni escaped and attacked my Camponotus sansabeanus; they lost 4 workers. I’m glad they didn’t attack the golden colony. Here are some pictures of the majors:



As you can see, they are tucked close together.

Sorry the light reflected off the tube, even though it was diffused. Still hope you can see the majors, Billy and Bob.

How do you have so much brood. Does your queen lay in batches? When my colony grows really fast, it usually only has ~9 pupae, since the rest eclose before a new one is created. I think my queen just kept laying steadily. Cool to see different forms of growth in these ants though.

[Rstheant]

Secret is:

Surplus in protein every 2-3 days, and heat.

[Rstheant]

Thanks for the questions. It’s good to know that people enjoy my updates.

[TennesseeAnts]

The majors new name is BillyBobJoe.

[Rstheant]

Ok, new major named: Billybobjoe.

[TennesseeAnts]

Let me know when you need names! 

[TennesseeAnts]

 

This colony has a new worker enclose. He was still white when I saw him. Other than that, brood count looks around the same. I also gave the some crickets. My Solenopsis xyloni escaped and attacked my Camponotus sansabeanus; they lost 4 workers. I’m glad they didn’t attack the golden colony. Here are some pictures of the majors:



As you can see, they are tucked close together.

Sorry the light reflected off the tube, even though it was diffused. Still hope you can see the majors, Billy and Bob.

How do you have so much brood. Does your queen lay in batches? When my colony grows really fast, it usually only has ~9 pupae, since the rest eclose before a new one is created. I think my queen just kept laying steadily. Cool to see different forms of growth in these ants though.

 

My chromaiodes queen never lays in batches. She lays every day almost. 

[Rstheant]

Same, she lays steadily, sometimes more after recent protien. Also, a simple Nurbs formicarium v2. works well for this species.
I’ll name the other major: Dudeant2908.

[Rstheant]

This colony has a new worker enclose. He was still white when I saw him. Other than that, brood count looks around the same. I also gave the some crickets. My Solenopsis xyloni escaped and attacked my Camponotus sansabeanus; they lost 4 workers. I’m glad they didn’t attack the golden colony. Here are some pictures of the majors:

As you can see, they are tucked close together.
Sorry the light reflected off the tube, even though it was diffused. Still hope you can see the majors, Billy and Bob.

How do you have so much brood. Does your queen lay in batches? When my colony grows really fast, it usually only has ~9 pupae, since the rest eclose before a new one is created. I think my queen just kept laying steadily. Cool to see different forms of growth in these ants though.

That’s just some.