Genus: Colobopsis
Species: Impressa
Common Name:
Colony Stage: Fresh Queen
Caught Date: 05-27-2020 and 05-28-2020
Eggs: 06-08-2020
Larva: 06-29-2020
Pupa:
Diet:
Special Needs:
Do they Sting or bite?:
Escape Artists?:
Queen or colony count: 10 9 queens - 1 tube has 3, all others single queen. E-1, E-2, E-3, E-4, E-5 (MIA), E-6 (3 Queen)
05-31-2020:
I decided to start with these girls because I'm having a bit of trouble with them. They are restless and none have laid yet. They are burrowing into the cotton block of their test tubes and some have been making progress! One seems to have strung a cobweb of cotton all over her tube. They seem to mostly stay near the dry side of the tube. Is the tube setup too humid/moist for them? Maybe they need some sort of substrate to make them happy? Anyone experienced with this species? I really would like to get a colony of them started since they were the main species I had wanted!
05-31-2020 4PM Update:
So I'm trying an idea I had and so far the girls seem to be happier than they were. I took a looser cotton ball and loosely stuffed it up close or against the water cotton, not too much because I want them to still be able to drink. After that I got a stirr-straw and cut it in half and wiggled it up between the test tube wall and the cotton. I left them room to be able to get to the water cotton from the other exit. I also gave them a very tiny spec of honey which some of them quickly started eating. If I remember to I'll load up one eating some honey later.
Snug as a bug in a rug. They sure like tight spaces!
06-02-2020:
Most are still digging.at the cotton block. I'm debating experimenting with baking some twins and carving them into hollows and see if they like it. I've read they are usually found in reeds or hollows of sticks and such. Maybe they'll settle better with the feel of wood under their little legs. I haven't done it yet but I think I may experiment with it with 1 or 2 of the more aggressively trying to escape queens.
06-10-2020:
We have eggs! Noticed 06-08-2020. E-1, E-2, E-3, E-6 and F have eggs. E-6 is my 3 queen bunch. E-4 no eggs yet. E-5 was my 2 queen test tube but one died latched to the cotton plug. So I Tried the wood stick idea and carved a little area for the other one buuuut E-5 decided to get herself stuck between the tube and back of the wood. I don't even know how she got back there and good thing I checked on her as her little legs were flailing about and failing to get herself free. I was able to get her free without killing her or seriously injuring her. Now I'm trying something different with her. I put her tube in a small out world and put a second water tube in there to see if she'd choose her own and settle down.
I noticed that most seemed to cover their eggs with dry cotton and lay further from the water side. I'm still wondering if the test tube set ups are too humid/moist for them (compared to other species that seem to love it) and maybe they are using the dry cotton side to keep the eggs dryer? I noticed that while E-5 will go into a test tube of her own choice she however stays further from the wet side unless drinking in the moment. I don't know but it is very hard finding information on this species.
Sorry for the crappy images, finding it hard to get clear shots.
06-26-2020:
Can anyone tell what species the workers are from this crappy, fuzzy video?
And here is just an old recording of a queen eating honey that I thought was cute. Not very clear video sadly.
06-29-2020:
We DO have larva! I know for sure that E-6, E-4, E-3, and E-2 have larva. E-1 and F got them in a hard to see spot so I didn't bother disturbing them much. Some so far are loving the straw homes but only if they are not too close to the water plug, otherwise it gets condensation and they avoid it. They also prefer only one end of the straw to have an opening while the other side is blocked.
The 2 queen tube (E-5) had a queen early on get her jaws stuck in the cotton entrance plug trying to dig out. Because of this and a couple of other times where queens got legs stuck (which I freed) the cotton makes me VERY nervous with this species. I think in the future I will be trying other methods that don't involve cotton when dealing with these girls.
The now single queen E-5 is MIA hiding in a twig with invaders. Not sure she is alive but waiting to see what happens with her.
I have kept E-2 and E-4 in a dark place with my other genus queens. The other Es though I've been keeping in an outworld where they can free roam if they want (which some do occasionally). E-2 is the one buried herself in cotton which worries me so I might check on her again tomorrow.
I have also added another tube into E-6's outworld to see if any of the queens decide to try another home since SOMEONE is hogging the straw home. If someone does move into the new tube I might separate them to be on the safe side. I'm curious to see what the 3 queens will end up doing. I don't see any eggs outside of the straw so I'm wondering if they are all laying there or if the one door keeper girl is taking all the eggs for herself.
06-30-2020:
I took a closer look at E-2 today and sure enough she got herself tangled good in that cotton. I super carefully removed her and even more delicately untangled her. I gave her water which she quickly slurped up though she wasn't interested in honey. I didn't remove the cotton mess in the tube because of the eggs and larva, afraid I'll hurt them and they're so tiny they're hard to see. So I just put the tube in a tub outworld and reintroduced her to her eggs/larva. She's again trying to bury herself in the cotton. sigh She has a straw home like the other girls but she doesn't seem interested in climbing to it at all. I have a feeling she just might not be the brightest of my impressa stock. I guess I'll just have to check on her daily and if all else fails I might have to risk the eggs/larva and give her a home more suited to her... special needs.
E-2 aside...
E-6's hog is now sharing with one of the other queens! But the third queen? She's MIA. I think she might be hiding below under the cotton but I don't want to disturb the other two by lifting the tub out of the outworld. Oh wait, there is a second straw in this set up since I had 3 queens in this one. She might be in there. But again it's on the bottom I think so I don't want to disturb them. Anyway, the top two queens seem to be good about letting the other out so that's good!
07-19-2020:
E-6 is down to one queen. Where did the other go? I have no idea. Maybe she escaped somewhere. RIP The final E-6 is fine and still guarding her larva but still no pupa.
E-5 is dead and I'm pretty sad about it since I got attached to her from spending time trying to get her comfortable. The invaders ate her and I regret having not cooked the sticks before introducing them and I regret not trying to coax her out of the stick to rehouse her. But live and learn.
The other queens seem to be fine but still nothing more than larva between them. Some like the straw homes and some don't.
07-30-2020:
Yesterday I noticed our first worker! Finally! Surprised E3 has the first worker instead of E6. E3 is one of the queens without a straw home. I really hope the new worker does good. I haven't seen her leave the test tube nest yet but I suppose I should be patient she's only started life.
Edited by BitT, July 30 2020 - 5:02 PM.
, Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi! 
