43 replies to this topic

[cap_backfire]

So pardon my style but I'm new to ants and to this in general but love the idea of journals and wanted to 'show off' what I'm doing and hope it's correct.   So feel free to correct or advise me or, honestly, to curse me horribly.   Here we go!  

 

all three of these colonies were purchased from My-Antics.com and have been great so far.   

 

Colony A:  Camponotus Novaboracensis.   Queen, 25+ workers, 10 pupae and eggs/ larvae.   Doing extremely well.  Queen very active still (seller said this particular colony does not go dormant and he was, so far, correct)   Keeping them with a small corner of the nest over a heat cable and they seem to love that area.    Small, square 3D printed nest attached to tubs and "capsules."  This is their temporary home as I finish their formicarium/ vivarium (is there a better word???)  

 

Colony B:  Camponotus Novaboracensis- Queen, 4 workers, eggs and larvae in an AntsCanada test tube setup.  I forget what it's called but it connects four test tubes to like, a box.   Anyway, I could have looked that up.   They are far less active and are in a light hibernation.   I have a tube of sugar water and they have springtails and get some fish flake for protein-dried bloodworms and whatnot.   

 

Colony C:  Camponotus Nicobarensis-  Also Queen +4 workers.   Two pupae, some eggs and larvae.  Also in the same style setup as Colony B, on the same feeding schedule... which I didn't mention... I offer food once a week in addition to their sugar water.   Consists of a "honey ball" and dried food.   Sometimes a SMALL, crushed isopod (I also breed isopods).  

 

Feeding for Colony A is twice a week.   They get a cricket (medium) or a Dubia nymph, or a superworm pupa.   They also get a 'honey ball' which consists of some old honey I have from a farmers market (I got to meet the bees personally) and it's now almost a paste in the jar.   Super delicious.   They seem to love it and can walk off with one of the balls individually if they get it loose.  

 

B and C get fed once a week in very small amounts.   

 

Each colony has two water tubes and one sugar water tube (which will be changed tonight actually....)   So that's my ants!   Thanks in advance for any advice or critique.   

[ANTdrew]

Good luck with the colonies. Are you sure you have Camponotus nicobarensis?

[TennesseeAnts]

I wish you luck!

[Antkeeper01]

So pardon my style but I'm new to ants and to this in general but love the idea of journals and wanted to 'show off' what I'm doing and hope it's correct.   So feel free to correct or advise me or, honestly, to curse me horribly.   Here we go!  

 

all three of these colonies were purchased from My-Antics.com and have been great so far.   

 

Colony A:  Camponotus Novaboracensis.   Queen, 25+ workers, 10 pupae and eggs/ larvae.   Doing extremely well.  Queen very active still (seller said this particular colony does not go dormant and he was, so far, correct)   Keeping them with a small corner of the nest over a heat cable and they seem to love that area.    Small, square 3D printed nest attached to tubs and "capsules."  This is their temporary home as I finish their formicarium/ vivarium (is there a better word???)  

 

Colony B:  Camponotus Novaboracensis- Queen, 4 workers, eggs and larvae in an AntsCanada test tube setup.  I forget what it's called but it connects four test tubes to like, a box.   Anyway, I could have looked that up.   They are far less active and are in a light hibernation.   I have a tube of sugar water and they have springtails and get some fish flake for protein-dried bloodworms and whatnot.   

 

Colony C:  Camponotus Nicobarensis-  Also Queen +4 workers.   Two pupae, some eggs and larvae.  Also in the same style setup as Colony B, on the same feeding schedule... which I didn't mention... I offer food once a week in addition to their sugar water.   Consists of a "honey ball" and dried food.   Sometimes a SMALL, crushed isopod (I also breed isopods).  

 

Feeding for Colony A is twice a week.   They get a cricket (medium) or a Dubia nymph, or a superworm pupa.   They also get a 'honey ball' which consists of some old honey I have from a farmers market (I got to meet the bees personally) and it's now almost a paste in the jar.   Super delicious.   They seem to love it and can walk off with one of the balls individually if they get it loose.  

 

B and C get fed once a week in very small amounts.   

 

Each colony has two water tubes and one sugar water tube (which will be changed tonight actually....)   So that's my ants!   Thanks in advance for any advice or critique.   

I don't know where my antics is based but Camponotus nicobarensis is not native to the US and they you have to be in the same state as this seller for it not to be illegal

[cap_backfire]

I may or may not be sure these are Nicos.   I didn't keep great records as they are shaped and sized exactly as Novas but they are overall maroon instead of black and red.  I THINK they are Nicos and I did them as a pickup while I was on a trip.  I'm super cheap and wanted to save on shipping, which would have been less than gas but I had other reasons to be in the area as well.   

 

Thanks for the info guys!   I'm not trying to be in the illegal ant trade!  I'll try to post good pics later.   I honestly don't have a preference or care what Camponotus species they are, I kind of love them all!   I DO love the red and black of Novas and my larger colony is by far my favorite.  

[NickAnter]

Do they look like that? That is what C. nicobarensis looks like.

[CheetoLord02]

I may or may not be sure these are Nicos.   I didn't keep great records as they are shaped and sized exactly as Novas but they are overall maroon instead of black and red.  I THINK they are Nicos and I did them as a pickup while I was on a trip.  I'm super cheap and wanted to save on shipping, which would have been less than gas but I had other reasons to be in the area as well.   

 

Thanks for the info guys!   I'm not trying to be in the illegal ant trade!  I'll try to post good pics later.   I honestly don't have a preference or care what Camponotus species they are, I kind of love them all!   I DO love the red and black of Novas and my larger colony is by far my favorite.  

If they're the same size as Camponotus novaeboracensis, they're not C. nicobarensis. C. novaeboracensis queens should be around 17-19mm, nicobarensis are far smaller at only 12-14mm. Pictures of your unknown colony would help a lot.

[cap_backfire]

I'll try to remember to post a pic tonight.  The queens are roughly the same size so I'm guessing not Nicos.  They ARE more like the pic above but darker "maroon."   I'll send pics tonight or tomorrow.   Thanks, folks!  

[cap_backfire]

Feb 2nd, 2021

 

Got my first major!   He's not massive but definitely bigger than the workers.  Decent sized head.   Gonna give them more protein.  That's colony A.   
Colony C has a moderate pile of brood and that's exciting.   

[antsandmore]

Feb 2nd, 2021

 

Got my first major!   He's not massive but definitely bigger than the workers.  Decent sized head.   Gonna give them more protein.  That's colony A.   
Colony C has a moderate pile of brood and that's exciting.   

it would be a she. All colony members that are not drones are females(unless my knowledge is incorrect)

[Antkeeper01]

I may or may not be sure these are Nicos.   I didn't keep great records as they are shaped and sized exactly as Novas but they are overall maroon instead of black and red.  I THINK they are Nicos and I did them as a pickup while I was on a trip.  I'm super cheap and wanted to save on shipping, which would have been less than gas but I had other reasons to be in the area as well.   

 

Thanks for the info guys!   I'm not trying to be in the illegal ant trade!  I'll try to post good pics later.   I honestly don't have a preference or care what Camponotus species they are, I kind of love them all!   I DO love the red and black of Novas and my larger colony is by far my favorite.  

are you in the same state as my antics? if not you broke a law

[cap_backfire]

 

I may or may not be sure these are Nicos.   I didn't keep great records as they are shaped and sized exactly as Novas but they are overall maroon instead of black and red.  I THINK they are Nicos and I did them as a pickup while I was on a trip.  I'm super cheap and wanted to save on shipping, which would have been less than gas but I had other reasons to be in the area as well.   

 

Thanks for the info guys!   I'm not trying to be in the illegal ant trade!  I'll try to post good pics later.   I honestly don't have a preference or care what Camponotus species they are, I kind of love them all!   I DO love the red and black of Novas and my larger colony is by far my favorite.  

are you in the same state as my antics? if not you broke a law

 

Yeah I misidentified them, if you keep reading.   Thanks for looking out though.  I appreciate it.  Said I may or may not be sure, and later found out I was sure they weren't.   JUst more Novas.   So... There's that.  

[cap_backfire]

These gals are connected now to a system of tubes and 'pods' and for the first time, when I peeked in on them this morning, MOST of the ants were out in the tubes, exploring.   Usually they're almost all in the nest so curious as to that development.   They did get their first major, which was also exciting.  Pushing to get their enclosure fully set up because... it'll just be so much more interesting than the tubes and pods.   

 

The third colony turned out to be Chromiades (sp)?  So probably more common

[cap_backfire]

Update on colony A:   The ants have moved all eggs and larva out of the main nest and into a "capsule" nearby that has some dirt and sphagnum moss-it was intended as a hunting ground.   Pupae are almost all stored with the queen and there are about a dozen ants taking care of queen and pupae.   Conditions must be better in the capsule for the larvae and eggs, but I find this strange as they are going from one moist area to another moist area.   The single major seems to be 'in charge' of the satellite nest, but I'm excited to see so many eggs and pupae!   I should be at about 60 ants in the next month or so-at least 20 pupae and we're right around 30 ants total right now.   In 3 months I could be pushing 100 with all the eggs and larva.   Debating keeping the other smaller colonies on some heat and see if they boost their populations, but they are in light diapause so I am also torn to keep them 'hibernating' for now.   

 

anyway, excited to see so many behbehs and the queen seems to be doing really well.  

 

ALSO added a medium size cricket last night that I was pretty sure was dead.  I mashed his thorax with the tweezers pretty well but... He ran around like a maniac after I put him in and immediately made his way to the nest straight away... This was instantly stressing the workers and queen so I had to come up with a quick fix-I drilled a small hole with a pin vice into their plastic cover and waited to pierce the cricket, which I did, ensuring his demise.   This morning all that is left are legs.   That was a scary moment having a cricket rampaging through the nest... Lesson learned.  

[Kaelwizard]

These gals are connected now to a system of tubes and 'pods' and for the first time, when I peeked in on them this morning, MOST of the ants were out in the tubes, exploring.   Usually they're almost all in the nest so curious as to that development.   They did get their first major, which was also exciting.  Pushing to get their enclosure fully set up because... it'll just be so much more interesting than the tubes and pods.   

 

The third colony turned out to be Chromiades (sp)?  So probably more common

You mean Camponotus chromaiodes?

Edited by Kaelwizard, February 12 2021 - 10:42 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Put insects in the freezer for 15 minutes before feeding to humanely kill them and prevent mites. Chop them open for easy access to the inside juices.

[cap_backfire]

ANTdrew you think so?   I'm not too worried about humane feeding but I guess to prevent mites... THat's worth it.   I planned to put some of them in the fridge to slow them down for ease of access for me but not the ants, really.   We'll see.  I'm torn.  Since they eat dead bugs it should be pretty simple.   

Thanks!  

[ANTdrew]

Whatever you do, make sure the feeder is fully dead and not running around to freak out the colony. Freezing is the easiest way, but dipping them in boiling water quickly is even better to prevent mites.

[cap_backfire]

I um... may have made the mistake of not fully killing it the other day... Had to resort to drastic measures as the cricket was loose in the ant nest and couldn't find his way out.   So I had to use a pin vise drill to make a hole in the plastic screen/ lid, then when it went into that chamber, stab the crap out of it.  It was for sure dead then.   NEVER will I make that mistake again.   I was freaking out.  

Now, I see people using fruit flies and I have micro roaches I feed but they have trouble catching those.   Are flightless fruit flies a danger to the ants in any way?  That's what I'll be feeding largely to give them a hunting response when they move into their forever home (29 gallon setup) 

[cap_backfire]

Update:   

At least 50 workers in three separate chambers (including the main nest), at least 3 majors and at least 25 pupae.  

 

All ants are super active and super into prey items (pre killed) so clearly the protein is being used.   

Hoping to have their forever home in the next month but it's a real project.  We'll see.   

Got to watch an ant eclose and her sisters help her out of her cocoon and help clean her off.   Within the hour she was already one of the colony, taking care of the other younguns.   REally cool to see.