19 replies to this topic

[MrPurpleB]

Purple's Carpenter Ants

     I recently got back into ant-keeping and bought a few queens. I wanted to use this journal to keep myself on track with maintenance. I never created a journal before, so I wanted to try that out as well.

 

     The queens arrived a few days ago. One test tube has a Camponotous Hyatti queen. The second test tube has two Camponotous Clarithorax queens. The queens are still in their founding stage and have eggs laid. Their setup are placed on top of a heating cable, and with a couple of rags. The queens seem to be very relaxed to disturbances such as light and vibration. This is a pro for me, since I can get bit clumsy at times. I hope to see the brood development these upcoming weeks. Not the best pictures, but the brood is at least somewhat noticeable. 

 

Camponotous Hyatti

 

Camponotous Clarithorax 

 

 

 

[Lillyrose]

Nice!

I have to admit, I first saw it as purple carpenter ants and was super excited lol.

Do they have poly colonies?

[MrPurpleB]

Nice!

I have to admit, I first saw it as purple carpenter ants and was super excited lol.

Do they have poly colonies?

Haha, I would probably would have thought that too. I was worried about naming it "Purple Carpenter ants" for that reason, lol.

 

My knowledge about ants is still very new, so please correct me if I am wrong. I was told that Clarithorax can have poly colonies, but inartificial setups they are likely to kill off the extra queens later on, when the colony grows a bigger worker count. I hope that none of the Clarithorax queens get killed if and when the colony grows to a larger size. Perhaps, ensuring they get a large formicarium so the queens are able to stay apart might help with that.

 

I am not to sure about other Carpenter ants being poly. I have seen pictures of CA02 and other carpenter species being founded with multiple queens, so based on that it seems that Carpenter ants can be poly.

[Lillyrose]

I'm super new but if you are wrong someone will tell you lol ...

I'm getting ready for flights here and so I saw yours and was curious..

Can't wait to read more about these girls as you go!

[ZTYguy]

Clarithorax and ca02 can be kept polygonous. The killing part was true as well but it varies for different regions in the world. Although a handful of Camponotus are poly does not mean all are and I suggest doing research into the species before doing poly but you can always test of your feeling lucky.

[MrPurpleB]

I'm super new but if you are wrong someone will tell you lol ...

I'm getting ready for flights here and so I saw yours and was curious..

Can't wait to read more about these girls as you go!

I am excited as well. I was told Hyatti have a nice maroon coloration, the main reason that got me to buy these ants. Carpenter ants are slow growers, so there might be some wait before I get workers to eclose. Hopefully, I can get a fair amount before hibernation.

[yibsi]

Awesome! Can’t wait to see these gals grow! Camponotus are a very fun genus to keep mainly because of their large size, however they do grow kind of slowly so I would recommend a heating cable to speed that up a bit if you don’t already have one. It’s not necessary but does speed things up a lot. Keep in mind that’s just my opinion and experience keeping camponotus. Also most Camponotus love fruit flies, so I would recommend getting some, but I don’t really know much about how picky C. Hyatti or C. Clairthorax is, since I've only ever kept eastern /Midwestern species of camponotus.

[MrPurpleB]

Clarithorax and ca02 can be kept polygonous. The killing part was true as well but it varies for different regions in the world. Although a handful of Camponotus are poly does not mean all are and I suggest doing research into the species before doing poly but you can always test of your feeling lucky.

Thanks for the info, it helps a lot. Yeah, I probably wouldn't shove queens together, haha. It would be unfortunate just to have them kill/injure themselves. 

[MrPurpleB]

Awesome! Can’t wait to see these gals grow! Camponotus are a very fun genus to keep mainly because of their large size, however they do grow kind of slowly so I would recommend a heating cable to speed that up a bit if you don’t already have one. It’s not necessary but does speed things up a lot. Keep in mind that’s just my opinion and experience keeping camponotus. Also most Camponotus love fruit flies, so I would recommend getting some, but I don’t really know much about how picky C. Hyatti or C. Clairthorax is, since I've only ever kept eastern /Midwestern species of camponotus.

Yes, a heating cable does help. I have their test tubes on a cable heating. I was recommended to put the cable near the dry cotton or near the entrance. I moved the cable slightly more into the tube, since the queens were placing their brood right next to the cotton. They don't seem to mind the cable too much, I know baking queens is a concern.

 

I have had and I still have one C.Vicinus queens, and I can say those really love fruit flies. So, investing in fruit fly feeder will def be a good thing to look into. Currently, I have been catching wild fruit flies and other insects to feed my mantid.

[MrPurpleB]

Update April 28, 2021 

     It has been a week since I have received my ants. Not much as developed, but there are some notable things to be mentioned. 

 

Camponotous Hyatti

     The C.Hyatti queen was found dead yesterday morning, Tuesday. This is very unfortunate as the queen was doing fine the night before hear death. The cause of her death is unknown. The queen might have been baked by the heating cable, since she stood directly on top of it for the most part. 

 

     I ordered another queen from the same vendor. I would like to preserve the larvae for a possible brood boost, but I do not think the larvae would survive for the next C.Hyatti to arrive. I do not believe that cross-boosting with my C.Vicinus or C.Clarithorax would work, so maybe they just become food. 

 

Camponotous Clarithorax

     There is some good news on this colony. The larvae have seem to gotten quite big compared to the photos from last week. I thought they only had eggs before, so maybe the larvae grow this fast or very small larvae was already present. Whatever the reason, I am quite happy to see this development. 

Edited by MrPurpleB, May 9 2021 - 2:41 PM.

[MrPurpleB]

Update May 9 2021

     More than a week has past since the last post. I was able to get my hands on two more queens. One to replace the C.Hyatti queen that died, and a new species to add to the journal. All the colonies are still in the founding stage. I made an attempt to take better photos with my phone camera and use of smarter lighting.  

 

Camponotus Hyatti

- May 9 2021' width='1920' height='1440' alt='C.hyatti founding(- May 9 2021' id='image_view_23393' />

     Not much to say about the new Hyatti. The queen has a small pile of larvae, so the colony seems to be healthy and growing. Although, I wish I could have gotten a better picture showing the queen's eye.

 

Edit: I gave my queens another look, I spotted a cocoon. Not sure if the larvae pupated after I took the pictures or if I missed it. You can somewhat see a cocoon in the image, but it's not very clear. 

 

Camponotus Clarithorax

     The Clarithorax colony is the colony to have a pupa, so a worker is expected soon. It was an interesting sight to see the big larvae mid cocoon. It has been around 5 days since the larvae has pupated.

 

Camponotus Maritimus 

     The Maritimus is the new addition to the journal. The first day she arrived, she was skittish. Moving the cotton a small bit had the Queen running to the opposite of the test tube and back. I have been told by others that Maritimus can be fairly skittish. At first, I was worried of taking pictures and stressing the queen, but she was the easiest to photo. I appreciate her excitable nature, hopefully feeding in the future will not be a hassle. 

 

     Unlike the other two carpenter queens, the Maritimus Queen is the only queen to put her brood directly onto the sponge that blocks the water chamber. It is possible she prefers the more humid area of the nest. A second possibility is that she prefers the cooler area of the nest, since the heating cable is placed on the entrance side of the nest. 

Edited by MrPurpleB, May 9 2021 - 3:36 PM.

[Jadeninja9]

I’m sorry about your C. hyatti queen man. If you find yourself needing to know more about them to can check out my old C. hyatti journal that I might be continuing soon

[ReignofRage]

 

     Unlike the other two carpenter queens, the Maritimus Queen is the only queen to put her brood directly onto the sponge that blocks the water chamber. It is possible she prefers the more humid area of the nest. A second possibility is that she prefers the cooler area of the nest, since the heating cable is placed on the entrance side of the nest. 

 

A lot of spring-flying forest Camponotus don't need a lot of heating, so it may be heat. The two C. maritimus I have don't pile their brood against the cotton and I don't really have them at a high temperature.

Edited by Reign_Of_Rage, May 9 2021 - 4:39 PM.

[ANTdrew]

I’m sorry about your C. hyatti queen man. If you find yourself needing to know more about them to can check out my old C. hyatti journal that I might be continuing soon

I hope you will continue it.

[MrPurpleB]

Unlike the other two carpenter queens, the Maritimus Queen is the only queen to put her brood directly onto the sponge that blocks the water chamber. It is possible she prefers the more humid area of the nest. A second possibility is that she prefers the cooler area of the nest, since the heating cable is placed on the entrance side of the nest.

A lot of spring-flying forest Camponotus don't need a lot of heating, so it may be heat. The two C. maritimus I have don't pile their brood against the cotton and I don't really have them at a high temperature.

I see. I will try to lessen the heat just in case to prevent stress from heat. Another thought I had was that I initially scared the queen away from entrance side. The first day I got her, I slightly pulled the cotton and she began to run away to the other side. I don't feel that the test tubes get too hot, but I am not the one living in the tube, so I might be wrong lol.

However, this will make feeding easier in the future.

Edited by MrPurpleB, May 9 2021 - 5:27 PM.

[JenC]

My maritimus usually only bring their pupae to the warmest spot.

[MrPurpleB]

My maritimus usually only bring their pupae to the warmest spot.

I see. I mentioned this to a few other people, and one said the same thing. I guess I should expect a change in behavior when pupa develop. The queen seems to be doing fine, mostly found a quirk to her personality haha.

[MrPurpleB]

Update May 23

     A few weeks has passed. Workers have eclosed except for the Maritimus queen. Initially, the journal was planned to update as soon as the first worker arrived on Tuesday. However, it has been four days since then. Today, Sunday, was the first time the queens were fed. A mixture of sugar, honey and distilled water was used.

 

Camponotous Hyatti

     The queen got her first worker on Wednesday, May 20th. The arrival of the worker was a surprise and not expected. A welcomed surprise nonetheless. 

 

     The colony was given the end of a cotton swab soaked in sugar/honey water on aluminum foil. The queen and the worker quickly accepted the sugar/honey water.

 

Edit: A second worker just eclosed. Workers touching the crystalize sugar, I guess some of it did crystalized. This nest didn't look to messy, unfortunate.

 

Camponotous Clarithorax

     The Clarithorax queens were the first to arrive on Tuesday, May 19th. The arrival of the worker was anticipated, and the change of the cocoon was monitored constantly. The cocoon began to shrivel and darken, the body and color of the worker began to become more visible. A picture was taken of the worker after an hour of eclosing, a more yellow exoskeleton is seen.

 

     The colony was given a small cotton soaked in sugar/honey water on aluminum foil. The Clarithorax queens ignored the sugar/honey water. The solution evaporated in the tube. Currently, there is still a bit of condensation on the tube.

 

Camponotous Maritimus 

     The Maritimus queen is slower on the arrival of their first worker, but has a larger brood to compensate. Perhaps, a lot more ants in the pupa stage. As a note from last update, the Maritimus has began to move her brood closer the heating cable, probably due to the ants being in the pupa stage. 

 

     The Maritimus queen recieved a drop of sugar/honey water on aluminum foil. She attacked it by biting it and flexing her gaster towards it. She calmed down quickly and consumed a fair amount. A portion of it was evaporated and the tub got foggy. A bit of an effort was made to remove some of the evaporated sugar water, currently the test tube looks fairly clean. 

 

     

     I have planned to make tubes and tub setup for all the colonies sometime this week. The mess in the tubes could have been avoided if I turned off the heating cable while the colony fed or waited to feed until the tubes and tub setup was complete. I found it a lot harder to take pictures of the clari queens this week. They are the only colony with a smaller test tube, so that might be the cause of it. The test tube could have also be dirty. 

Edited by MrPurpleB, May 23 2021 - 11:46 PM.

[MrPurpleB]

Update June 11 2021

     The colonies have began to grow their worker count, so they were place into an outworld. A tubes and tub setups were used to make the outworld. The AntsAustralia's tubes and tub video primarily influenced the decision to use a red desert sand, some reptile sand from amazon. Workers have began to forage. They seem to enjoy the sugar & water, but ignored the cricket nymph that was placed. So far the colonies have only been fed once.

 

Camponotous Hyatti

     The Hyatti colony seems to be winning the race of worker count so far.

 

Camponotous Clarithorax

     It appears that the polygonous Clarithorax colony is no longer polygonous. Yesterday, a queen was found outside the tube and near a corner of the outworld. The exiled queen was lying on the sand, but she was still alive. Later that night, the queen was back in the test tube. It was unsure if the worker and the other queen were grooming her or saving her for lunch. Later today in the morning, she was found again outside. The exiled queen decided to cling on one of the cottons in the outworld. 

 

     I had planned to remove the queen and place in her test tube setup with some brood. However, I procrastinated and left to run some errands today. Unfortunately, she was found dead, clinging onto the cotton. The queen does not appear to be injured. It's possible she died from stressed. I find it odd that she returned to the test tube at some point since the workers did not appear to be hostile. In the past the queen had a habit of "lying" on the glass test tube, while the other queen stood on top of the brood. Perhaps she was lethargic or sickly, or maybe just weaker that that workers decided to kick her out. Lesson of the day, do not procrastinate. 

 

Camponotous Maritimus 

     Currently, with two workers, but there are two dark cocoons that appear ready to eclose. The Maritimus colony was the last colony to gain its first worker, but had the cocoons. It seems like that Maritimus colony will surpass the Hyatti and perhaps grow the fastest.

 

 

[westhollywoodant]

I had a two Queen poly of Camponotus Clarithorax that l was doing great and had 4 workers but then one Queen was bullied and went to the end of the test tube. I noticed she was missing three legs, the dominant queen was missing a back leg. I moved the exiled queen to another tube but she died unfortunately. That said the remaining queen seems to be doing great, a 5th worker hatched out. Three more pupae, few larvae and a fresh batch of eggs. I tried to put her in a small Formicarium but they don’t want to move and are still in tube. How did yours turn out?