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[OhNoNotAgain]

Very quick update, but when I picked up my new Acromyrmex, I also picked up the following, all in test tubes:

 

3 founding CA02 queens.

1 founding C. "maritimus or anthrax" queen (I'll call it C. marianthrax).

1 founding C. vicinus(?)

1 C. vicinus with a crushed gaster who was able to found successfully anyway (I call her "Crushy").

1 C. cola colony.

1 established CA02 colony (now moved to a mini-hearth but I should've taken the nest tube out so she can fit).

 

---- Existing previous non-fraggle Camponotus colonies:

 

2 thriving C. vicinus colonies in mini-hearths (so sad that "Lucky" queen died after getting boosted)

1 C. cola colony outgrowing its tube-in-tub.

3 C. CA02 colonies, each in its own mini-hearth. One (the one with a bad front leg) is doing well with pupae. The other two are down to elderly workers and a few eggs.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, May 24 2023 - 1:52 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

So TWICE THIS YEAR Argies attacked my new CA02 colonies (2 new, 1 established). Twice!!!! All three had set up vulnerabilities and lost workers. The established queen lost everything multiple times. I’m calling her DoubleDown.

BUT I also found my old queens dead: beta and the lame queen who had been doing so well.

So I took lame queen’s workers and dumped them in with DoubleDown. So now after losing all her workers like 3X she has a new batch.
New Queen B has one gifted worker from A.
New Queen A has 4 of her own (argies failed to decimate them).
Old queen alpha has 1 surviving worker.

[100lols]

So far for me, the biggest “ant invasion” I’ve had was from Solenopsis molest, “thief ants.” Thankfully I noticed pretty quick… any type of invaders are the worst!

[OhNoNotAgain]

I know I haven't updated in forever. I got lazy and feed my ants less than once a week

But here is a look at my larger Camponotus laevigatus ("quercicola") colony from March-late June.

 

[OhNoNotAgain]

Current Camponotus collection:

 

2 C. fragilis (not in this journal)  - doing well afaik (the large one is in a Nucleus so can't find the queen) - no diapause, just take off heat

3 C. CA02 - not doing well, keep getting attacked by Argentines and old colonies peter out - this year I will not give diapause

2 C. laevigatus - doing well despite underfeeding (see above video) - they go in the cool not freezing cold garage in the winter

3 C. "vicinus" - doing well despite underfeeding - they go in the cool not freezing cold garage in the winter

1 C. spp - doing okay - they go in the cool not freezing cold garage in the winter

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, June 27 2024 - 5:23 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Camponotus update for August 2024:

 

2 C. fragilis (not in this journal)  - the large one didn't have a good year (but the queen is alive); the small one is doing well.

2 C. CA02 - down to the two more recent 2023 colonies. The older colonies failed. The workers went to the 2023 queens. Remember, the 2023 queens were doing well but kept getting attacked by wild Argentine ants.

2 C. laevigatus - still doing well despite underfeeding.

3 C. "vicinus" - Colony in fortress is overpopulated for the fortress. I'm moving colony 2 out of a mini-hearth into a Fallen Fortress. Colony 3 is still in a tube.

1 C. spp - doing okay last I checked.

 

I made a video of C. laevigatus (formerly quercicola) in their brood progression from March 2024 to June 2024.