8 replies to this topic

[Spencer70]

Hi all,

 

I teach a high school level Entomology class in the east Bay Area, California, and as we've been more generalists, learning about most Orders of insects, I have my social insects unit coming up in a month or so. I received a grant for my first AntsCanada setup (formicarium, outworld, etc), and in the next few weeks I'll be getting ready to introduce a few Camponotus quercicola (one mated queen and a few workers). I am starting with this species as they are endemic to this area.

 

This is the first time we'll have the opportunity to dive deep into one species, and I'm sure I'll be coming back to this web site and community frequently as I learn to care for our new ants. I'm doing a lot of reading on how to get started, and am excited to gain some experience with caring for a growing colony of ants. 

 

I welcome any and all tips and critiques of my setup, as I will likely post pics or journal entries. If there are any of you who are C. quercicola experts with tips on working with this species, feel free to contact me. 

 

Thank you, sincerely,

Spencer H.

Brentwood, Calif.

 

 

[Rstheant]

Look into YsTheAnt. He has a 20+ worker colony. You might want to check out his journal.

[T.C.]

If its not too late, I would go Tarheelants for formicaria over AntsCanada. Their equipment isn't ideal.

[Spencer70]

Thanks for the tips! I picked up my vial of C. quercicola today and have started keeping a journal. I can see that this hobby can become rather addicting. :-)

[dspdrew]

I think they might be happiest living in or with Live Oak. Some people like to give them Live Oak bark shavings or sawdust.

[nurbs]

Give them small bits of Oak bark in the outworld or test tube.

 

Which AC nest did you get? They generally are not ideal for many of the species here in CA.

 

 

[Spencer70]

I did get the AC Camponotus Hybrid Nest 2.0, and I have the large oval outworld as well as Ant Tower Deluxe (small). These were from a DonorsChoose grant for my classroom, before I discovered Tar Heel Ants formicaria, which I'm really salivating over. Right now the ants are in the garage, in a test tube within a larger plastic container. I have added small oak bark chips from the local hills (they were frozen for a week) and have fed them a drop of sugar water once.  The colony has one queen, nine workers, and about 5 larvae.

[T.C.]

Yeah, Tarheel Ants is for sure my favorite. Alot of work put into them, they are natural looking and quite beautuful. Best of all, each one is designed by him.

[sirjordanncurtis]

Hi all,

 

I teach a high school level Entomology class in the east Bay Area, California, and as we've been more generalists, learning about most Orders of insects, I have my social insects unit coming up in a month or so. I received a grant for my first AntsCanada setup (formicarium, outworld, etc), and in the next few weeks I'll be getting ready to introduce a few Camponotus quercicola (one mated queen and a few workers). I am starting with this species as they are endemic to this area.

 

This is the first time we'll have the opportunity to dive deep into one species, and I'm sure I'll be coming back to this web site and community frequently as I learn to care for our new ants. I'm doing a lot of reading on how to get started, and am excited to gain some experience with caring for a growing colony of ants. 

 

I welcome any and all tips and critiques of my setup, as I will likely post pics or journal entries. If there are any of you who are C. quercicola experts with tips on working with this species, feel free to contact me. 

 

Thank you, sincerely,

Spencer H.

Brentwood, Calif.

I also recommend that the colony is still kept in a test tube setup with maybe an outworld. It's not really helpful for the ants if they live in a huge nest with only a few workers, and it can also be a little hard to manage. My camponotus colony is at around 80 workers right now, but their nesting space is still just a 20mm test tube. 

If you decide to buy THA formicaria, I'd recommend purchasing a smaller model and then moving them to the hybrid nest later on.