1113 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Awesome!

[TennesseeAnts]

Yeah! I'm really excited for them to get alates this year.

[TennesseeAnts]

Update: 2/22/21

 

Camponotus chromaiodes | colony #1

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The large larvae are slowly pupating, one by one. A few of them stopped growing at what I would guess a male alate larva would be, but 2 or 3 are still growing and are about as large as their largest majors (15mm), and they don't really show any signs of stopping. Unless these are going to be some absolutely huge majors, they look like they might be female alate larvae! I grabbed some pics from today's feeding:

 

 

 

Camponotus americanus | colony #2

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The larvae have come out of hibernation for the most part, but there's still a few hundred that are still seemingly in the process of coming out. The queen is becoming physogastric like Freya, so I can only expect some large amounts of eggs in the near future! Their alates have been gathering in the outworld recently, so it looks like they're gearing up for flights. Kinda like a clock, counting down for the real flights outside. I also grabbed some pics from their feeding today:

 

 

 

 

 

Also, I apologize for the lower-than-normal quality of the pics. I lost my phone with the good camera under 6 inches of snow and ice in the middle of a 5 acre field, and I'm not sure where I dropped it. The snow and ice has melted, though, so I'll go out today in an attempt to find it...

[TennesseeAnts]

Update: 2/24/21

 

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis

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The colony has several larvae now, to go with their 150 or so eggs. I can try to get pics later today, but I moved them into a new, glass test tube so pics are possible now. They've just been eating fruit flies and mealworms lately, but some apple slices might be a good idea. 

[Canadant]

Wow. Hello Ant Dude! Just realizing h this. Late to the party

[TennesseeAnts]

Wow. Hello Ant Dude! Just realizing h this. Late to the party

Hello, haha. Yeah, I suppose it might've been a good idea to put something in my signature, lol!

[TennesseeAnts]

Ty Update: 2/28/21

Camponotus chromaiodes | colony #1
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Their eggs are now hatching, as are their older pupae. One new minor worker is roaming about their main brood chamber now, with several dozen more workers to eclose in the next few days before the younger pupae hatch. Their two massive larvae have pupated, and I now doubt they're females, but rather a couple very large major workers. Maybe this year's newest generation (the hundreds of eggs and small larvae) will contain a few alates? Their growth is surely to be exponential this year regardless.

Edited by TennesseeAnts, February 28 2021 - 9:19 PM.

[madbiologist]

Camponotus generally overwinter alates, so I wouldn't expect any until the end of summer at the earliest.

Edited by madbiologist, February 28 2021 - 9:24 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Camponotus generally overwinter alates, so I wouldn't expect any until the end of summer at the earliest.

I expected they would, but maybe I was a little too optimistic, haha.

[TennesseeAnts]

Update: 3/1/21

 

Camponotus americanus | colony #1

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They're growing pretty fast, actually. Their larvae are all getting very large, and some look like majors already! No pupae yet, but within the next week they should have a few hundred large larvae and pupae, as most of their larvae aren't even out of their hibernation-state yet, though they're getting there. The larvae all have dark blue stomachs, as I've been feeding the colony blue sugar water, so that's pretty cool to see, haha. I have been feeding them daily, and their appetite is about the same as Freya's colony, maybe a little more considering they have more developing larvae at the moment. The queen hasn't laid any new eggs yet, but soon I suspect. She is getting quite physogastric now, though.

Camponotus chromaiodes | Freya's colony

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Freya has laid 50-75 new eggs today, but they're white instead of yellow like the last batch... Interesting. In 6 years, I still don't know why that happens, but I'll do some research today. Their last batch of eggs (about 250) is hatching, and a ton of tiny blue-bellied larvae have emerged. A second new worker has hatched today as well, which is awesome. In total they've only lost 5-7 workers since hibernation, which is actually really good! 

[TennesseeAnts]

Here's a new video on a Camponotus subbarbatus colony:

 

[TennesseeAnts]

Today there was a flight of Prenolepis imparis, which I nearly missed. I collected 3 queens from a nearby nest that was releasing alates, and put them in a tube with some males and set them aside to do their thing while I grabbed 13 more queens and some workers from a neighboring nest for the next flight on Tuesday. My plan again is to keep the queens alive and healthy til then, and then repeat the process with new males.

[TennesseeAnts]

Update: 3/8/21

 

Camponotus chromaiodes | colony #2

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There will be no further update on this colony, as I have sold them to another keeper here in TN. They will be well taken care of!

 

Camponotus chromaiodes | colony #1

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They're still doing amazingly, though one of the huge major pupae did die. A few more minors have eclosed, dozens of eggs have hatched and Freya is still pumping out eggs! Right now they're eating 80-90 large mealworms a week... It gets expensive. Which why I've started breeding my own mealworms, and as of now the most recent batch has hatched, leaving me with 4-500 3-4mm baby mealworms, and more eggs are being laid. The colony is now occupying all four nests, with a small outpost containing 60-70 workers and a few dozen assorted brood items in the Discus satellite nest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camponotus americanus | colony #1

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They're eating the same amount as Freya's colony again. Their appetite has slowly decreased as the workers fill up their reserves. The queen has slowly started producing again, and there's about 20 little orange eggs in the bottom portion of their Mini Hearth. A few of the males have died, but that's to be expected if they can't have a nuptial flight. They're doing really well, and I hope it stays that way. They're one of my favorite colonies as of now, probably third in line. I'll try to get pics of them tomorrow for y'all.

 

 

[TennesseeAnts]

Also, ANTdrew, the C. americanus queen needs a name!

[NickAnter]

What is your estimate in terms of the number of workers in Freya's colony? 80-90 mealworms per week is a lot....

[TennesseeAnts]

I would guess about 600 workers.

[Kaelwizard]

What is your estimate in terms of the number of workers in Freya's colony? 80-90 mealworms per week is a lot....

at that point I would give them bigger foods.

[TennesseeAnts]

 

What is your estimate in terms of the number of workers in Freya's colony? 80-90 mealworms per week is a lot....

at that point I would give them bigger foods.

 

Once the Greater Anglewings start showing up at my light traps this year they'll have MUCH larger food sources.

[ANTdrew]

Brood X cicadas are showing up in my area this summer. My ants are going to get THICK!

[TennesseeAnts]

Same here! They're supposed to emerge by the billions. I already saw a few starting to molt into their final forms!