11 replies to this topic

[tdlnx]

Hi all!

 

A while ago I was gifted a queen that has been identified (by internet folks anyway) as

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis!

 

After a little bit of time in a tube, I decided to connect her to a small formicarium I had laying around. She took to it almost immediately, and now has a brood and around 8 workers helping her. Very exciting to me personally, and SO different in behavior to my Formica Subsericea colony.

 

Attached are some pictures - also if anyone else has experience keeping these ants and wants to provide any tips I'm all ears.

 

 

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[ZTYguy]

Awesome! I’ll be following.

[tdlnx]

Sorry for the horrible pictures but it’s hard to get good lighting on these ladies now that there are so many more. My last update has the queen and a handful of workers, but now I’m counting around 18-20.

They are all crammed in the tiny formicarium and I’m wondering if I should start looking at something slightly bigger like a mini hearth. Lots of eggs and lots of pupae! I’ve been feeding them a combination of mealworms and fluit flies and they readily accept both which is good. Very interesting to watch!

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[AntBoi3030]

How does the hydration work in that?

[tdlnx]

There’s a large sponge on the beck side of the nest covered with stainless steel mesh. Once a week or so I just inject some water into it using a blunt syringe and it keeps the nest humid.

[tdlnx]

Slowly but surely this colony is growing. I’m a little concerned with mold that seems to be growing on the back side of their sponge, so I have ordered a new formicarium and will hope they move when it arrives. This colony is pretty but kind of boring, they spend 99% of the time crammed in their nest only sending one at a time out to forage. It’s still a small colony with around 25 or so workers so I’m looking forward to seeing them grow.

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[tdlnx]

Back from a hiatus during diapause and I’m sad to say this colony suffered heavy losses over the last few months. I’ve moved them to a new nest because I believe the old plaster nest was the cause of so many workers dying.

The queen seems very healthy though, and the few workers she has left are also strong and healthy so here’s hoping this colony makes a comeback.

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[tdlnx]

Update

Eggs and more eggs. I’m hoping this colony will see some substantial growth again. I was worried for a minute that I may lose the colony but things are looking up!

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[Tai_pan1]

Please keep us updated.  I’m following this journal.

[tdlnx]

There have been several new workers in the last week. I’m excited to see this colony recover. This queen is keeping plenty busy with a large brood pile.

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[tdlnx]

I took a couple of pictures with my new clip on macro lens.

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[tdlnx]

Sorry for the year long hiatus. I unfortunately lost all of my ant colonies this past winter and will need to start over. These were wonderful colonies and I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to keep them successfully, but I have learned a lot and will be better prepared in the future.