19 replies to this topic

[Kaelwizard]

Well hello there,

and welcome to my fascinating journal about my Camponotus sansabeanus.

 

Update #1:

 

It has been a rocky start so far. I ordered these from AntsEmporium on November 15. Unfortunately for me, AntsEmporium just moved to a new facility, and they were not expecting orders so soon. It was also close to Thanksgiving, so my order was delayed. I just received the ants yesterday (but not the byFormica feeders I also ordered), and there were more workers than expected (not a bad thing). The test tube they came in was flooded, so there was at least one that drowned, and the deliveryman chucked the package with them in it at my door (I guess that's what you do with packages that don't say "fragile"   ). I immediately got the survivors into a Mini Hearth and they seem to be doing well. Most of the workers are in the nest portion, but the queen and a small number of workers have decided that a corner of the outworld is very comfortable. I believe they have ten workers currently, as well as some larvae. I have provided them with byFormica Sunburst and a chopped up mealworm. They seem to have acclimated well to their new environment. 

 

Pictures:

 

It isn't the best, as I am still getting used to my new lens. They also weren't in an easy spot to photograph unless I took it through the dirty wall.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:27 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Nice! You finally got a journal going. I’ll be following. Best of luck!

[Kaelwizard]

Mini Update:

The queen and the workers who hadn't yet have now moved into the nest portion. There are also 15 workers, not 10. I'm not sure how I messed that up so badly.

Pictures:

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:27 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Update #2:

 

I know it has only been two days since the mini update, but I wanted to make an update anyway. They have started eating! Yay! They seem to be settled in their new home, and have started to actively forage in their outworld. They really enjoy the Sunburst, but as I don't have my feeders yet there have been some accidents. The feeding dish I have been putting the nectar in seems to be really slippery on the inner side of the walls, so the workers keep losing their grip and falling in the nectar. Thankfully, none of them have drowned. I've also noticed that the two largest workers seem to be used as "repletes." They are much fatter than any other members of the colony. Today I gave them a new mealworm that I cut nearly in half, but it was still alive for the most part, and I didn't realize until I had already put it in the outworld. Thankfully a worker seemed to be able to handle it. I killed it once I had an opening.

 

About my update schedule, I'm thinking once to twice a week, or more if something interesting happens.

 

Pictures:

 

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:28 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Update #3:

 

2 workers have died since the last update due to Sunburst accidents, but I finally received my byFormica feeders from AntsEmporium, so hopefully no more deadly mishaps. I recently gave them part of a superworm, though I'm not sure how much of it they actually got to eat before it dried out. The larvae seems larger than pictured in the mini update, so maybe they have been eating a lot of the worms. Today the workers seem much fatter, I was starting to doubt they figured out how to use the byFormica feeder, but I think that's a good sign? I don't think there will be any pictures with this update, but maybe I'll get some if I see something interesting.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:28 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Update #4:

 

Good and bad news for this update. The colony is down to 9 workers (I think). I'm pretty sure they died of old age, but if not that is worrying. I don't think we've had a death for a week now, so really hoping that is the case. The good news is that the larvae is really close to pupating from what I can tell, and the queen has laid some eggs. If everything goes well they should be able to recover.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:28 PM.

[ReignofRage]

How much protein are you feeding and what temperature are they at?

[Kaelwizard]

They are probably at high 70s or so, I don’t have a a reliable way to measure it but they are being heated. They get mealworms like twice a week. The mealworms usually last them a while.

[ANTdrew]

I would advise getting some other types of feeders for variety if you can. Crickets, dubias, or fruit flies would be good choices.

[Kaelwizard]

I plan to, but unfortunately the pet store we go to here doesn’t have as much variety as the one in Michigan. Thankfully this colony likes mealworms.

[ANTdrew]

Can you find wild bugs in natural settings near you?

[antsandmore]

Can you find wild bugs in natural settings near you?

that's a good point. even earwigs(its kinda my thing) are good feeders for ants

[PaigeX]

I plan to, but unfortunately the pet store we go to here doesn’t have as much variety as the one in Michigan. Thankfully this colony likes mealworms.

should be a few online shops that sell the bugs and fruit fly starter kits.

[Kaelwizard]

Can you find wild bugs in natural settings near you?

I haven’t noticed any bug activity recently, but in the summer I can for sure get some.

Edited by Kaelwizard, January 12 2022 - 2:56 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Update #5:

 

Turns out my pet store does carry fruit flies so I was able to get some. A worker came into the outworld almost as soon as I put the flies in, and they've already started eating them. There are lots of larvae and eggs, and that one larvae finally pupated. A worker did die after the last update, and it looks like they may have eaten part of her. I'm not sure why they would have done that as they have had plenty of food. If everything goes well they should be able to recover soon.

 

Photos:

 

Wasn't able to get any great photos, but hopefully these are good enough.

 

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:28 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Mack from THA swears by fruit flies for Camponotus success, so good move.

[Kaelwizard]

Update #6:

 

Hey people, I'm sorry I don't update this as much as I promised. I don't have any excuses. Anyways, we got a new worker, and some more are on the way! The second pupae didn't seem to finish cocooning itself, but it seems to be developing normally. I'm waiting to see if the worker turns out any different. I tried to give them mealworms again, but they immediately took them to the trash pile. Looks like I'll only be able to give them fruit flies until I find something else I can get them to eat for variety. I'm still not sure if they know how to use the byFormica feeder so I added a little Sunburst into their nestmate (which had water in it) in case they weren't getting enough sugar. Another worker had died, unfortunately, but I think it was just age (hoping I'm not somehow killing them). Well, that's the update. Might get some pictures later.

 

Edit: Looks like there is nothing wrong with that weird pupae, it eclosed and the worker is fine. There are 3 pupae that haven't eclosed as of right now, and lots of larvae.

 

Photos:

 

Sorry it's just one blurry photo, but there was a lot of movement since I just gave them some fruit flies.

 

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:30 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Update #7:

 

Completely forgot about this and I haven't been on this site in a while. This is my last week of school before the summer, so I will be able to update a bit more frequently. I haven't done a worker count, but there are probably more than before. There hasn't been too much egg laying for the past month, probably because my fruit flies died and they went a while without protein (because god forbid they eat mealworms  ). I don't have new pictures right now, but I might get some later today or after I post this.

 

Edit: I just reread my past entries and I saw that I said that they like mealworms, but over the last few months they have had a horrible, inconvenient, and illogical change of opinion.

 

Photos:

 

I think I'm going to call this worker Fatniss Everdeen because of the new Hunger Games movie coming out.

Edited by Kaelwizard, June 8 2022 - 3:38 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

Update #8:

 

Yes, I still exist. Not much has changed besides a small increase in population (I haven't done a worker count, but I can tell that there are more). They've been eating fruit flies and Sunburst like usual. I don't update this as much because I've started to lose interest in keeping ants, though I am still interested in ants themselves. Also nothing really happens with this colony lol. That's really all for the update.

Edited by Kaelwizard, August 9 2022 - 8:46 AM.