26 replies to this topic

[TheMicroPlanet]

Very good pictures

[sirjordanncurtis]

Hey guys!

 

No pictures today, but 4 queens now have pupae. 1 has as many as 5, and only only has 1 pupa, and nothing else. I have high hopes for them!

[sirjordanncurtis]

Worker pics!

 

They drank so much nectar that they drowned a pupa when they spat it back out 

[sirjordanncurtis]

Was trying to ID some of the major species in the area today, so i took out an infertile queen for some pictures. They came out better than I thought, so now it's my profile picture

 

Edited by sirjordanncurtis, June 27 2020 - 2:24 PM.

[Thunder_Birds]

Nice picture 

[sirjordanncurtis]

Update 7-14-20

 

It's been a pretty long time since my last update, but to be honest, nothing much has actually changed. I currently have a total of 5 maritimus colonies, and I'll start referencing them by numbers so you guys can get an idea of how fast they're growing. Since C. maritimus are so sensitive to light, I keep them under a foil at all times, although this makes it hard for me to actually see whether they've been eating.

 

The first 3 colonies all have red cellophane tape around it, but I might "graduate" them from the tape soon, since it's annoying for pictures.

 

Colony 1:

This was my first colony to get workers. They have 5 workers and 2 medium sized larvae, which I think should pupate in about a week or so.

 

Colony 2:

This is currently my most prolific colony. They have 5 workers and around 6 other pieces of brood, including pupae and larvae.

 

Colony 3: 

This colony would have had 7 workers, but I stole a pupa to donate to colony 4, so they currently have 6 workers. They have a lot of brood, although they are mostly eggs and larvae/

 

Colony 4:

I got colony 4 for free from Derykian on discord. He was having trouble keeping this species for a while, and at the end of last year, all of this queen's workers died. I boosted her with a pupa from colony 3. She's been laying eggs and eating them on and off, but hopefully she'll start laying more later on. 

 

Colony 5:

This colony was the colony that only had 1 pupa because all of her other brood died during a heat wave. They have 2 eggs, which I suspect may have recently just hatched into larvae.

[sirjordanncurtis]

I'm keeping 2 of my largest colonies for this year. They both have around 16-18 workers. I know the one with 16 workers has lain like 30 eggs. I'll try to get pictures soon, but they freak out so much with the slightest vibration.