4 replies to this topic

[dean_k]

I caught this queen on 8th May, 2015.

 

I was taking off from my car and something big was circling around my shoe. It turned out to be a camponotus queen.

 

And today 9th, she laid 2 eggs. It's not absolutely certain that she is fertile but the signs are good. I originally thought she was just a dealate that was rejected from her original nest.

 

I notice that the eggs are orange in color which is new to me.

 

[Pulliamj]

This is one of mine.

Edited by Pulliamj, May 11 2015 - 4:52 AM.

[Crystals]

I often catch Camponotus herculeanus, and I find about 1 in 5-7 will lay orange eggs as compared to the pale yellow eggs.  I am not sure if it was their diet from the colony, or some other reason.

 

I would have to hunt for my notes, but I kept track of those that laid orange eggs.  I believe about 1/4 did not do that well and had few workers even after 2 seasons, while the other 3/4 were the ones that had so many workers that they were the first to require an outworld.

 

I look forward to seeing how she does over the next year.  First workers are always the slowest. 

[dean_k]

May 11, 2015

 

The queen laid one additional egg and attempted to block her chamber exit but failed due to lack of substrate. I've always felt the attempt to block founding chamber exit as a sign of fertility.

 

[dean_k]

May 12, 2015

 

More eggs and they got bigger. I guess they will soon turn into larvae.

 

The queen is still trying to block the chamber exit.