107 replies to this topic

[TacticalHandleGaming]

On 5/5/2021 I was lucky enough to catch 5 Camponotus Modoc Queens in my driveway. I put 3 in test tube setups, another in a cheap Chinese nest, and the last in a THA mini hearth.

 

 

 

 

Today, 5/8/2021 I checked on the Queens. The Queen in the mini hearth has dropped her wings! She also laid eggs!

 

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, January 12 2022 - 8:39 AM.

[Lillyrose]

Nice! Those are some big girls:-)

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Caught a wingless Queen today, she was just chilling on my wife's car in the sun.

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Not much to update other than the C. Modoc Queen in the mini hearth has more like 6-7 eggs now. Hoping the other Queens will start laying soon, but I may be out of luck. I'm not sure.

 

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

So quite the update for the Modoc queens. First and foremost, I ended up brood boosting the Queen in the mini hearth inadvertently. I found a colony that was living in a 6x6 post that a spider had set up shop directly on. There was easily 40+ dead workers in the web.

 

I cleared the web from the post and moved it a few feet away. I gently brushed the entrance with my hand, and it fell apart! Out came about a dozen C. Modoc workers, and 9 larva! The workers scurried back into that nest, which I put back together best I could. But that left the larva sitting there so..... In they went to my snap cap vial! The Queen accepted them, and I've been giving her very small amounts of ant nectar on a Q-tip and the occasional fruit fly. I wanted to make sure she'd be able to handle the new mouths to feed.

 

 

 

 

 

Also, two of the test tube Queens have eggs, and one started to remove her wings.... The other wingless Queen hasn't laid eggs yet.  On a sad note, one of our Queens has passed away sometime this week. No eggs to be seen.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

So I ended up giving one of the egg laying queens in a test tube to a friend but.... The queen I caught on the 11th also has eggs now!

 

Mini hearth queen first. She has been getting fed, in return she laid another batch of eggs. Most of her first batch of eggs are larvae now. Also one of the larvae I gave her is now a pupae.

 

 

 

 

 

Queen from the 11th with a egg in her mandibles.

 

 

 

Lastly, our winged queen.

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Nothing major to update here for any of the test tube queens.

 

The mini hearth queen had some of her larvae turn to pupae the other day. (I think I saw 4 or 5.) These were from eggs she first laid.

 

 

[AntBoi3030]

Oh man, workers soon those are really large pupae

[Crazycow]

It’s interesting how slow your queen laid eggs. My C. Modoc laid a good batch of 30+ eggs within 3 days of being in the test tube then went on to eat half of them and now has 15-20 eggs with some larva.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

It’s interesting how slow your queen laid eggs. My C. Modoc laid a good batch of 30+ eggs within 3 days of being in the test tube then went on to eat half of them and now has 15-20 eggs with some larva.

The Queen in the mini hearth laid eggs in three days. The ones in the test tubes were slow. Not sure why. My C. novaeboracensis laid eggs in just 3 days as well, and she is also in a test tube. 

[PetsNotPests]

 

It’s interesting how slow your queen laid eggs. My C. Modoc laid a good batch of 30+ eggs within 3 days of being in the test tube then went on to eat half of them and now has 15-20 eggs with some larva.

The Queen in the mini hearth laid eggs in three days. The ones in the test tubes were slow. Not sure why. My C. novaeboracensis laid eggs in just 3 days as well, and she is also in a test tube. 

 

Ants are completely unpredictable. They'll do what they want to do. Best just leave them to it.

[Crazycow]

Yeah ig. Honestly I’m really glad this queen is doing so well for me because he tried to raise camponotus for the last 3 years and have been very unsuccessful.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

So I gave all but two Queens away to my buddy. I kept the queen in the mini hearth, and the one that was collected from my wife's car on 5/11. The mini hearth queen has 3 workers now. With a nice pile of eggs. The other queen should have workers any day now. 

 

 

 

 

[AntBoi3030]

You know you gotta keep the one that you caught on your wife’s car lol

[TacticalHandleGaming]

You know you gotta keep the one that you caught on your wife’s car lol

Considering she named her Queen Tauri after her car. (Ford Taurus.) I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to get rid of her. 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

The queen in the mini hearth still has just 3 workers, and a large pile of eggs and larvae. I expect they will get a population boom sometime in the near future. 

 

Queen Tauri has 6 workers now! I hooked them up to a AC test tube portal and set them up with some sunburst ant nectar, and have been giving them some fruit flies. 

 

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

The mini hearth queen has some more eggs and larvae as well. Seemingly doing fine. 

 

Queen Tauri now has 8 workers, and with a second generation not far behind. I think by this time next month she'll be ready to move out of the test tube setup. 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Queen Tauri has 9 workers now. She is doing quite well.

 

 

[Antkeeper_21]

i think its time to move them to a small outworld or nest

[TacticalHandleGaming]

i think its time to move them to a small outworld or nest

 

One step ahead of you. THA nest was ordered last week. Right now they are just hooked up to a AC test tube portal so I can feed them easier.