4 replies to this topic

[Aaron567]

Camponotus snellingi

 

Camponotus snellingi is a species in the Myrmentoma subgenus that is known only from the American southeast. They're most morphologically similar to Camponotus decipiens and Camponotus nearcticus, but are known for having black and yellow on their gasters. Some populations completely lack the black gaster coloration and are fully orange.

 

On May 1, 2019, at around 8:30-9:00PM, at my black light I found three weirdly small queens of what I'm currently identifying as Camponotus snellingi. I found a fourth one the following night. These queens flew at dusk (I think snellingi are usually day fliers like decipiens?) and are a much darker red than "typical" snellingi queens which seem to be more of an orange color rather than maroon red, with much less yellow on their gasters. They lack the head pubescence of discolor and caryae. They measure only 8-9 millimeters whereas normal queens can be 11-12 mm according to other people that have caught this species. A couple of the queens I caught have slightly more yellow than the others. 

 

One of the queens laid her first egg on May 6 and shed her wings on May 8. The other three have yet to do so but I expect them to lay soon. I doubt that only one is fertile.

 

May 1, 2019

 

May 6, 2019

 

May 8, 2019

 

 

Edited by Aaron567, August 8 2021 - 3:16 PM.

[NickAnter]

Good luck, and I too agree with your identification of Camponotus snellingi, the coloration fits perfectly.

[souljah212]

Nice. Is using a black light to capture them easier? Been waiting to get some since moving to Florida. I did catch what I believe to be a monomorium Pharaoh last week. And she’s Laid some eggs already. What camera do you use?

[Aaron567]

June 12, 2019

 

Two of the four queens were seemingly infertile and have died. The wingless queen's first worker hatched today and the other queen will probably have hers by tomorrow. Each of these queens will only get two nanitics.. perhaps the queens cannot store enough fat during the founding process to raise more than two or three.

 

This nanitic is slightly smaller than the nanitic of Camponotus decipiens. Even with her pale callow color I can still tell that she has the signature gaster coloration that characterizes this species. 

 

Edited by Aaron567, June 12 2019 - 2:21 PM.

[Aaron567]

I gave away the queens in the previous posts way back in 2019. They never got past a few workers. In the year 2020 I did not get any mated queens of this species.

 

 

May 9, 2021

 

On May 9, 2021 I found two Camponotus snellingi queens at my blacklight, and no more after that. One of the queens kept laying a single egg and eating it, and that lasted a few months before she died.

 

 

June 26, 2021

 

The other queen got two nanitics, and one of them died a few days after eclosing. The remaining 2-3 pieces of brood were eaten. After this, it was a repetitive cycle of the queen laying 1-2 eggs and then eating them, never allowing any to become larvae. Despite taking good care of them, it seemed like I couldn't get them anywhere near a path to success.

 

 

August 8, 2021

 

Recently I decided to boost this colony with some brood from a colony of Camponotus nearcticus I have. I don't think anything other than a brood boost would save them from inevitable doom. I've noticed the eggs of this species are larger than the eggs of decipiens and nearcticus, yet these snellingi queens are quite a bit smaller than the queens of those species. Combine those factors and you get slow egg production; I think that's one of the main reasons this species has been so hard to get going for me.

 

Since the brood boost, things are looking up. There are 6 eggs (by far the most there have ever been), two nearcticus pupae, and two nearcticus workers. The single snellingi nanitic is still alive. I think having larvae and pupae present promotes egg-laying.