81 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

Update 4-28-2017
 

I just found four more of these queens April 21st and 22nd in Mount Baldy.

 

Five days ago one of the new queens I caught last month got its first worker.

[YsTheAnt]

Have any of them started colonies?

[TennesseeAnts]

They are Camponotus. They have slow growth. They usually take two months from egg, to worker. Also, he just hasn't updated this yet!

[FeedTheAnts]

It's the end of the queens first year, unless it's dead it probably has a few workers by now.

[dspdrew]

Update 12-1-2017
 

I have a bunch of these colonies now, most with about 8-13 workers.

[TennesseeAnts]

[YsTheAnt]

I was asking for an update lol

[nurbs]

Drew and I are always comparing notes. His desert species always do better than mine, but with mountain species mine always do better than his. Our theory is that his apt is a lot hotter than mine.

 

My colas are at 20-50 workers now, many with at least one or two majors. We found them the same time.

 

Edited by nurbs, December 2 2017 - 5:00 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

I wish my Camponotus Noveaboricensis had that size majors! Lucky! I might have to take 'em!

[YsTheAnt]

What's the best method of catching camponotus queens? I have yet to see a wild colony in my area, let alone a queen, and yet there are articles about carpenter ants swarming the silicone valley everywhere!

Edited by YsTheAnt, December 4 2017 - 11:07 PM.

[KBant]

What's the best method of catching camponotus queens? I have yet to see a wild colony in my area, let alone a queen, and yet there are articles about carpenter ants swarming the silicone valley everywhere!

 

some camponotus fly on the first hot/humid day of spring. they may even fly late into the night, so bring a headlamp. 

Edited by KBant, December 5 2017 - 8:26 AM.

[dspdrew]

Update 1-13-2018

I haven't lost very many of these colonies, but the colonies have lost a lot of workers. I moved them out of the warm room they were in, and into the air conditioned area of my apartment, but so far I haven't seen any improvements. I just now put them all into hibernation for the winter.

[nurbs]

These are my favorites! Huge workers. They are gonna fly soon

[YsTheAnt]

What triggers this species flights as early as march? As far as I know, my area doesn't have heat waves until April or May.

[dspdrew]

Heatwaves.

[YsTheAnt]

Update 1-13-2018

I haven't lost very many of these colonies, but the colonies have lost a lot of workers. I moved them out of the warm room they were in, and into the air conditioned area of my apartment, but so far I haven't seen any improvements. I just now put them all into hibernation for the winter.

Shouldn't you hibernate them earlier? It starts getting pretty cold by late November. If only these were desert ants... You would have a colony of a bazillion of em

[dspdrew]

Update 4-14-2018

I found more of these queens on 3-30-2018 at Chaney Trail in Altadena, California. This time I decided to do what nurbs suggested and add Live Oak tree bark to their setups.
 
Using the largest bit I had, I drilled holes in a thick piece of bark to get as much bark sawdust as possible.
 

 
 
I spread a layer of it all over the floor of the nests and the out worlds. I also added springtails to make sure the bark inside the nest doesn't grow mold, since it will remain moist.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
I already lost a few of these queens in the first two days, but haven't lost anymore in three weeks.

[YsTheAnt]

Awesome! How many eggs did yours lay in the first batch? One of mine layed 12, the others have slightly less but still at least six or seven. I also noticed that this species doesn't mind being checked on a lot, unlike veromessor or formica.

I put small pieces of oak bark in the tubes I keep them in, instead of the dust, and they love to chew on it and take the resulting pieces to their "spot" and eggs and surround themselves in it.

You might also want to consider putting small chunks of bark in, so they can chew on it sometimes. I recall someone saying something about gut bacteria camponotus gets in result of chewing wood. Although this may not be true, it's worth a shot, the ants probably will enjoy some of it anyways. Really fascinating ants

Edited by YsTheAnt, April 15 2018 - 6:34 AM.

[antnest8]

how do you make the best setups?

[dspdrew]

Update 6-10-2018

I just took these out of hibernation about a week ago. The largest still only has eight workers. Most all of the new ones have workers now and are doing well so far.

Edited by dspdrew, June 10 2018 - 5:55 PM.