7 replies to this topic

[OiledOlives]

I caught a flight of Camponotus castaneus around 2-3 months ago and collected a couple queens. A majority of the queens that I put in tubes did not lay eggs or shed their wings, so I decided to put them all in a tub and let them do their thing. I noticed that they were not fighting, so I decided to add a tube in there as well. After a week, around half had shed their wings, and after two weeks, eggs started to show up. 

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Edited by OiledOlives, January 12 2022 - 7:12 AM.

[OiledOlives]

they now have two decent sized larvae and 1 egg

[OiledOlives]

9 left, decided to put them in test tubes because their setup was smelling horrible. They are in groups of 1 (3) 2(1) and 4 (1) now

[ANTdrew]

What do all the numbers mean?

[OiledOlives]

3 groups of 1, 1 group of 2, and 1 group of 4 

Edited by OiledOlives, October 18 2021 - 3:18 PM.

[Mdrogun]

they now have two decent sized larvae and 1 egg

What really stounds out to me about this quantity of brood, which I assume has at least somewhat changed/developed since this posting, is that it is actually less brood than my single castaneus queen produced on her own. On a side note, where are things now? Do these queens have nanitcs? Anyways, Even if C. castaneus are truly pleometrotic, which I am skeptical of, I would guess that this kind of behavior is something you have managed to induce in captivity that doesn't happen in the wild. For good reason, obviously. Doesn't make sense to 'cooperate' with other queens if you're gonna end up with a smaller nanitic force anyways.

Do keep us updated on how this goes, though! Curious to see how long these queens last together, etc. etc.

[OiledOlives]

They've since eaten all of their brood, and I've separated the queens (see above posts). I definitely should have treated them as semi claustral for better results though.

[OiledOlives]

Ended up failing, as only three queens are left. Will not attempt this again next year.

Edited by OiledOlives, January 12 2022 - 7:10 AM.