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ANTdrew's Camponotus Species Journal

Started By ANTdrew , Apr 25 2019 10:29 AM

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145 replies to this topic

#21 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 7 2019 - 5:58 AM

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Update 5/7/2019

 

 My C. castaneus colony seem to be doing pretty well in their new home, but I am eager to get them out of their test-tube ASAP. I ordered an 8x8x12 plastic box to create a terrarium for them, which should be coming in the mail any day now. Only three of the workers ever come out to forage, and they are super cautious about everything. They drag food pieces into some of the extra tubes to feed on for extra safety, I guess. They really liked the mealworms I gave them along with dubia roaches.

 

Last night I was using the restroom and there on the floor was one of the castaneus roaming! I put her back in their container and promptly reapplied fluon. I think some got rubbed off while the colony was being transferred last week. These ants aren't as clumsy as I thought in any case!

 

They have a bunch of brood in all stages along with a new clump of eggs you can kind of make out to the left in this picture:


  • TennesseeAnts, rbarreto, Acutus and 1 other like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#22 Offline Acutus - Posted May 7 2019 - 8:40 AM

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Lookin' good!


Billy

 

Currently keeping:

Camponotus chromaiodes

Camponotus castaneus

Formica subsericea

#23 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 7 2019 - 12:06 PM

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https://www.amazon.c...y case &sr=8-26
The plastic box I ordered to fashion their terrarium arrived. I like the size of it and the tight fitting lid. I think this could be useful for a lot of ant keeping applications.
  • Canadant and Boog like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#24 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 10 2019 - 9:57 AM

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Update 5/10/2019

 

I'm happy to report that three of my C. chromaiodes queens have good egg piles now. One took off her wings, while one still has her wings on. I'm hoping for nanitics by the end of the school year, which would be a fun way to kick off my summer! They're still up on the wine rack at between 77-81 degrees. It gets hotter whenever we cook. :whistle:

Possible names: Bestla, Embla, Idunn. Feel free to suggest other crazy sounding Norse names.


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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#25 Offline Acutus - Posted May 10 2019 - 1:12 PM

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I'm naming mine Lagertha so you can't take that one!! LOL!!

 

I'm hoping I can get this colony I collected going. I got 5 more workers today and all seems well. I got 3 formicariums coming but I may just do like you are and use another acrylic box for now. :)


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Billy

 

Currently keeping:

Camponotus chromaiodes

Camponotus castaneus

Formica subsericea

#26 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 10 2019 - 1:33 PM

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Follow up:
The queen my buddy teacher delivered to me half dead last week has laid three eggs! I’m naming her Christine in honor of his ant-hating wife who found the queen. The way things are going, I’ll have Camponotus out the wazoo soon unless I can pawn off some of these colonies.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#27 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 10 2019 - 3:16 PM

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I'm naming mine Lagertha so you can't take that one!! LOL!!

I'm hoping I can get this colony I collected going. I got 5 more workers today and all seems well. I got 3 formicariums coming but I may just do like you are and use another acrylic box for now. :)


Excellent name! I would totally steal that, but I won’t.
  • Acutus likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#28 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 22 2019 - 5:30 AM

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Update 5-22-2019

 C. chromaiodes

It's been a little over a month since I found my C. chromaiodes, and they are all making steady progress. All the queens have eggs and at least one of them has some large larvae. I'm also optimistic about the queen my buddy found. She's tending a neat pile of eggs. My kitchen where they're stored has warmed up a lot, and I'm holding out to turn on the AC. They're at a constant 80-84 degrees natural heat.

 

C. castaneus

Not much has changed with this colony. A few foragers will come out every once in a while in the evenings, and they've accepted all the insects I've given them. I dropped in a ripe mulberry, but they didn't show much interest. I'm hoping to set up a woodland terrarium for them over the long weekend. Who wants to bet they refuse to leave their tube, though?


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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#29 Offline NickAnter - Posted May 22 2019 - 5:48 AM

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I'll bet they will refuse to leave the tube when you are watching, andblater, they will move. PS Nice job posting at 6:30, very diligent.

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#30 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 22 2019 - 6:17 AM

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We're three hours ahead here on the East side. I'm here at work pretending to be busy  :lol:


Edited by ANTdrew, May 22 2019 - 6:18 AM.

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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#31 Offline NickAnter - Posted May 22 2019 - 6:23 AM

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Haha!

Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#32 Offline Acutus - Posted May 22 2019 - 10:55 AM

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 I'm hoping to set up a woodland terrarium for them over the long weekend. Who wants to bet they refuse to leave their tube, though?

 

I know who will be pissed if they don't refuse to move!!!  :lol:  :lol:


Billy

 

Currently keeping:

Camponotus chromaiodes

Camponotus castaneus

Formica subsericea

#33 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 24 2019 - 9:30 AM

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Update 5/24/2019

 

All of my C. chromaiodes are doing very well in my warm kitchen. One of the them has several cocoons already! :yahoo:

I'll probably name her Bestla because she's obviously the best.


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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#34 Offline NickAnter - Posted May 24 2019 - 2:04 PM

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So lucky!
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Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#35 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 30 2019 - 10:40 AM

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Update 5/30/2019
My twin brother who is also somewhat into ants found two Camponotous castaneus queens this week. One was in the back yard of our parent's house on May 27th, and the other he found biking to work today in the middle of downtown Washington DC!



Hopefully we will be able to found these queens successfully. My other castaneus colony, Gunnlod, is doing well. They had several new workers eclose, which brings them up to 14 ants. Their brood pile is getting pretty big, too. I'm still hoping to set up a nice terrarium for these girls.

Edited by ANTdrew, May 30 2019 - 12:10 PM.

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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#36 Offline Acutus - Posted May 30 2019 - 12:12 PM

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Awesome!!! 


Billy

 

Currently keeping:

Camponotus chromaiodes

Camponotus castaneus

Formica subsericea

#37 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 30 2019 - 4:41 PM

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My brother says that the DC queen is looking stronger and recovering. She was limping a bit, but isn’t anymore. I hope she does well!
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#38 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted May 30 2019 - 5:06 PM

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Is he going to bring her back to you?

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#39 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 30 2019 - 6:00 PM

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We’re not sure. I think he should keep them during the founding time.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#40 Offline ANTdrew - Posted May 31 2019 - 4:05 AM

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Update 5-31-2019

Camponotus chromaiodes:

I checked on these queens last night, and steady development continues. One of them has lots of cocoons maybe eight or nine? They don't get upset when I check on them, really. The tubes they're in have been used a few times and are pretty scratched, so this photo is pretty poor:


Edited by ANTdrew, May 31 2019 - 4:06 AM.

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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
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