11 replies to this topic

[Aaron567]

Camponotus floridanus

 

Last time I tried keeping this species, I gave up on them because they grew too fast and ate too much food. This has to be one of the fastest-growing monogynous Camponotus species in the world. They get very large colonies (10,000+) and are extremely aggressive, making it very difficult to feed them if you don't have the proper setup. The major workers are known to draw blood. I will attempt to keep them again and see how far I can get before inevitably needing to release them.

 

I found this queen in a pool on the morning of June 20, 2019. They have their nuptial flights right after sunset, so she was certainly in there for several hours. After a few days she shed all but one wing and laid her first batch of eggs.

 

Edited by Aaron567, March 6 2020 - 9:14 PM.

[Aaron567]

July 22, 2019

 

The original queen has larvae now but they don't really seem to be growing anymore... strange. Fortunately, I found three more Camponotus floridanus queens on the night of July 10 at my black light. All three of them have shed their wings and have nice piles of pinkish colored eggs. They also seem a bit larger than the first one I caught.

 

[dominatus]

How long does it take for them to reach a 1,000 plus workers from a new founding queen? At what point did you give up last time?

Crazy they grow so fast. My C. decipiens wild caught colony have gone from 100 workers to almost 500 in two months and show no signs of slowing. I thought that was fast after reading how slow growing Camponotus is suppose to be.

What kind of set up do you have planned out?

Wish you the best of luck.

[Aaron567]

How long does it take for them to reach a 1,000 plus workers from a new founding queen? At what point did you give up last time?

Crazy they grow so fast. My C. decipiens wild caught colony have gone from 100 workers to almost 500 in two months and show no signs of slowing. I thought that was fast after reading how slow growing Camponotus is suppose to be.

What kind of set up do you have planned out?

Wish you the best of luck.

 

Last time I gave up at only a couple hundred workers. When they're in a small setup they're very hard to feed because of how fast and aggressive they are. I wasn't really prepared for it and it became frustrating to deal with them.

With plenty of food they can exceed 1,000 in about a year or a little less. I have a couple of formicariums that were sent to me by someone who made them, so mine will probably go in those until they have several hundred workers and at that point I will need to figure out how to make formicariums for them. 

[Aaron567]

August 15, 2019

 

One of the three C. floridanus queens got her first worker today. That was just over 4 weeks; rather fast compared to others I have had. The other two queens have pupae now.

 

[dominatus]

Very nice pictures. What are you using?

[Aaron567]

Very nice pictures. What are you using?

 

Canon Rebel SL1, 30mm Canon macro lens

[Aaron567]

October 13, 2019

 

There are 15 workers in this colony now. Because I haven't had much time to feed most of my ants in the last 2 months, they have not had much to eat and their only brood consists of a few small larvae. I expect the queen to lay some more eggs soon. I may or may not put this colony through a diapause this year. Unlike the other native Camponotus in this area which will enter diapause no matter what temperature they're being kept at, the floridanus seem to only stop larval growth and egg production once they actually feel lower temperatures. 

 

[Aaron567]

December 18, 2019

 

The number of workers has not changed and the queen's egg-laying has been extremely minimal, so it looks like they know it is winter and they want to go through diapause. I have taken them out of their warm spot and put them in a cooler area where they'll receive temperatures no greater than 72 degrees Fahrenheit. They will officially begin winter diapause and I will probably take them out in February.

[Aaron567]

March 6, 2020

 

I took this colony out of diapause about 2 weeks ago. They had a very successful diapause; filled up on sugar water at the beginning and never had to refill. They are still plump from the original feeding in December. Worker casualties appear to be close to zero. The queen laid a little pile of eggs so far but it is hard to see in these photos because they crowded all around them.

 

[Ferox_Formicae]

I've really gotta try my hand at this species. The problem is, living about 2 hours away from the coast, floridanus are not found here, so I'd have to travel to Charleston or Hilton Head Island, or anywhere else along the coast, and hope I get lucky enough to catch a flight.

[Miles]

Congrats on your initial success with this colony, Aaron! It's nice to follow along a concise and coherent journal. Keep up the good work.