14 replies to this topic

[NikolaBale]

During hibernation i've noticed something weird about my Camponotus aethiops.I noticed several workers with bent antennae and with kind of a limp.

I thought nothing of of it at the time.But quickly during the next couple of weeks i noticed even more workers in the same condition.

Then they started dying, and now the colony is down to 10w from 80 or something....And the queen is starting to look a bit sporadic, but she is alive for now.

The colony is 2 years old now and in a acrylic nest.Still hibernating.

 

Please help have no idea why this is happening.

 

[antsriondel]

During hibernation i've noticed something weird about my Camponotus aethiops.I noticed several workers with bent antennae and with kind of a limp.

I thought nothing of of it at the time.But quickly during the next couple of weeks i noticed even more workers in the same condition.

Then they started dying, and now the colony is down to 10w from 80 or something....And the queen is starting to look a bit sporadic, but she is alive for now.

The colony is 2 years old now and in a acrylic nest.Still hibernating.

 

Please help have no idea why this is happening.

They might be getting injured by live insects, are you feeding them live food??If you are stop feeding them live food. They also might be infighting but I don't know how to stop that.

Edited by antsriondel, February 12 2022 - 2:04 PM.

[NikolaBale]

 

During hibernation i've noticed something weird about my Camponotus aethiops.I noticed several workers with bent antennae and with kind of a limp.

I thought nothing of of it at the time.But quickly during the next couple of weeks i noticed even more workers in the same condition.

Then they started dying, and now the colony is down to 10w from 80 or something....And the queen is starting to look a bit sporadic, but she is alive for now.

The colony is 2 years old now and in a acrylic nest.Still hibernating.

 

Please help have no idea why this is happening.

They might be getting injured by live insects, are you feeding them live food??If you are stop feeding them live food. They also might be infighting but I don't know how to stop that.

 

No they are on a diet of only carbohydrates.They are in hibernation so for now I'm only giving them that.

First time I'm hearing about infighting, what do you mean? 

[NicholasP]

 

During hibernation i've noticed something weird about my Camponotus aethiops.I noticed several workers with bent antennae and with kind of a limp.

I thought nothing of of it at the time.But quickly during the next couple of weeks i noticed even more workers in the same condition.

Then they started dying, and now the colony is down to 10w from 80 or something....And the queen is starting to look a bit sporadic, but she is alive for now.

The colony is 2 years old now and in a acrylic nest.Still hibernating.

 

Please help have no idea why this is happening.

They might be getting injured by live insects, are you feeding them live food??If you are stop feeding them live food. They also might be infighting but I don't know how to stop that.

 

They're in hibernation right now. They shouldn't be fed during this time.

Edited by NicholasP, February 12 2022 - 6:00 PM.

[NicholasP]

 

 

During hibernation i've noticed something weird about my Camponotus aethiops.I noticed several workers with bent antennae and with kind of a limp.

I thought nothing of of it at the time.But quickly during the next couple of weeks i noticed even more workers in the same condition.

Then they started dying, and now the colony is down to 10w from 80 or something....And the queen is starting to look a bit sporadic, but she is alive for now.

The colony is 2 years old now and in a acrylic nest.Still hibernating.

 

Please help have no idea why this is happening.

They might be getting injured by live insects, are you feeding them live food??If you are stop feeding them live food. They also might be infighting but I don't know how to stop that.

 

No they are on a diet of only carbohydrates.They are in hibernation so for now I'm only giving them that.

First time I'm hearing about infighting, what do you mean? 

 

What temperature are you keeping them at right now? Before hibernation did you feed them lots of sugars?

[ANTdrew]

If you read Camponotus journals on here, you’ll see how few colonies last long term. A lot of keepers have run into similar problems with colonies dwindling over time. There are exceptions, but it seems like some Camponotus species are not suited for captivity in the long term. Some have theorized that it has to do with their Bloachmania stomach bacteria levels dwindling over time due to some nutritional deficiency. Supplementing with sources of urea is something some have tried, but I don’t think anyone has found the exact answer.

[NikolaBale]

If you read Camponotus journals on here, you’ll see how few colonies last long term. A lot of keepers have run into similar problems with colonies dwindling over time. There are exceptions, but it seems like some Camponotus species are not suited for captivity in the long term. Some have theorized that it has to do with their Bloachmania stomach bacteria levels dwindling over time due to some nutritional deficiency. Supplementing with sources of urea is something some have tried, but I don’t think anyone has found the exact answer.

Hm never heard of such an issue.I've been somewhat active in the hobby for 4 years now.

But i guess it could be true, probably most colonies even the super large ones i have seen in captivity are probably just over 4 years old, somewhat.

 

But again this is new info to me.Tbh i think its probably something to do with acrylic, I've had poor luck with these nests in general and it wouldn't be suprising if that was the reason.

Acrylic is not absorbent, so maybe an accumulation of formic acid on the floor of the nest is the issue.I have read about this before, that ants from the Formicinae family arent well suited for acrylic.

I should have listened.I was thinking of replacing all my acrylic nests anyway in the near future...This was the last straw.Unfortunately if formic acid is the problem the colony is as good as dead...

[NikolaBale]

 

 

 

During hibernation i've noticed something weird about my Camponotus aethiops.I noticed several workers with bent antennae and with kind of a limp.

I thought nothing of of it at the time.But quickly during the next couple of weeks i noticed even more workers in the same condition.

Then they started dying, and now the colony is down to 10w from 80 or something....And the queen is starting to look a bit sporadic, but she is alive for now.

The colony is 2 years old now and in a acrylic nest.Still hibernating.

 

Please help have no idea why this is happening.

They might be getting injured by live insects, are you feeding them live food??If you are stop feeding them live food. They also might be infighting but I don't know how to stop that.

 

No they are on a diet of only carbohydrates.They are in hibernation so for now I'm only giving them that.

First time I'm hearing about infighting, what do you mean? 

 

What temperature are you keeping them at right now? Before hibernation did you feed them lots of sugars?

 

They are at about 10 degrees celcius like all of my other colonies which are doing fine.

Well, considering Camponotus yes they ate a lot of sugary food in general.

And yes I'm not forcefeeding them, i just leave a bit of sugar water in a small outworld for them.Some workers come out occasionally to drink.

These are Mediterranean ants so some do need to be fed if they are active, which some are.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

I highly suggest you get them some fruit flies and get them to room temperature. That way they actually forage and consume them. Otherwise I fear you may loose the colony.

Edited by TacticalHandleGaming, February 13 2022 - 7:45 AM.

[NikolaBale]

I highly suggest you get them some fruit flies and get them to room temperature. That way they actually forage and consume them. Otherwise I fear you may loose the colony.

I fear that is my only option at this point.But why do you think this is happening to them?

I did some research last night about parasites and disease's...It would seem there are parasites that cause similar symptoms that my ants display.

They slowly cause the muscles to degrade which results in limping and bent antennae...But who really knows, getting them out of hibernation is my only option anyway.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

 

I highly suggest you get them some fruit flies and get them to room temperature. That way they actually forage and consume them. Otherwise I fear you may loose the colony.

I fear that is my only option at this point.But why do you think this is happening to them?

I did some research last night about parasites and disease's...It would seem there are parasites that cause similar symptoms that my ants display.

They slowly cause the muscles to degrade which results in limping and bent antennae...But who really knows, getting them out of hibernation is my only option anyway.

 

I've heard from a few different people that Camponotus need certain nutrients as AntDrew mentioned above. I've also heard that they are able to get said nutrients quickly from certain foods like fruit flies. I have 3 colonies of Camponotus, and two of them I pulled out for a short time during diapause. (A few hours.) During this time I gave them a few fruit flies. They quickly consumed them and I put them back in the fridge. They had zero lost larvae or workers during diapause.

 

My 3rd colony I kind of neglected to do this with, and sure enough they lost a worker and a larvae. I don't know if it's a fluke, or what.

Another question, what do your workers gasters look like? Full of food/fats still? Or are them empty?

[ANTdrew]

I agree with THG. Help them wake up and start refueling with lots of variety in their protein. If you can, try feeding them wild caught insects gathered from safe areas free from pesticides. Dip them in boiling water first.

[NikolaBale]

I agree with THG. Help them wake up and start refueling with lots of variety in their protein. If you can, try feeding them wild caught insects gathered from safe areas free from pesticides. Dip them in boiling water first.

I will try that.

I breed my own feeders so its all safe.

Thanks for giving me ur thoughts.

[NikolaBale]

 

 

I highly suggest you get them some fruit flies and get them to room temperature. That way they actually forage and consume them. Otherwise I fear you may loose the colony.

I fear that is my only option at this point.But why do you think this is happening to them?

I did some research last night about parasites and disease's...It would seem there are parasites that cause similar symptoms that my ants display.

They slowly cause the muscles to degrade which results in limping and bent antennae...But who really knows, getting them out of hibernation is my only option anyway.

 

I've heard from a few different people that Camponotus need certain nutrients as AntDrew mentioned above. I've also heard that they are able to get said nutrients quickly from certain foods like fruit flies. I have 3 colonies of Camponotus, and two of them I pulled out for a short time during diapause. (A few hours.) During this time I gave them a few fruit flies. They quickly consumed them and I put them back in the fridge. They had zero lost larvae or workers during diapause.

 

My 3rd colony I kind of neglected to do this with, and sure enough they lost a worker and a larvae. I don't know if it's a fluke, or what.

Another question, what do your workers gasters look like? Full of food/fats still? Or are them empty?

 

They are actually quite fatty.

As i said i think this problem stems more from the actual conditions or maybe some parasite that i am unaware of.

 

Yeah I'm gonna get them out early to see what i can do.I usually take my ants out in around mid march so this isn't anything extreme.

[Topgun757]

What ended up happening?