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Oldest camponotus colony?

Started By Manitobant , Jul 4 2020 9:45 PM

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28 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Manitobant - Posted July 4 2020 - 9:45 PM

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Found this guy on YouTube who had a camponotus japonicus queen for 10 years, from 2009 to 2019. I don't know what the record is for oldest captive camponotus colony, but this definitely comes close



Edited by Manitobant, July 4 2020 - 9:45 PM.

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My journals:

Polyergus Mexicanus: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry175528
Lasius minutus: https://www.formicul...cs/#entry174811
Lasius latipes: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry206449
General acanthomyops journal: https://www.formicul...yops-with-eggs/

#2 Offline TechAnt - Posted July 4 2020 - 10:21 PM

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Dang, that’s interesting.
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My Ants:
(x1) Campontous semitstaceus ~20 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Camponotus vicinus ~10 workers, 1 Queen (all black variety)
(x1) Tetramorium immigrans ~100 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Myrmercocystus mexicanus -1 Queen
(x2) Mymercocystus mimcus -1 Queen
(x1) Mymercocystus testaceus ~45 workers, 1 Queen

#3 Offline Antkid12 - Posted July 5 2020 - 2:18 AM

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10 years...


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Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 

#4 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 5 2020 - 2:23 AM

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Most Camponotus colonies I read about crap out after year two, except C. fragilis and C. floridanus. Ten years is truly remarkable.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#5 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted July 5 2020 - 7:08 AM

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Wow. I wonder how large the colony is. Must be a lot of work.

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis

#6 Offline Serafine - Posted July 5 2020 - 7:13 AM

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Mine is 4 years now and has just awoken from their sort-of diapause lazy period.



Wow. I wonder how large the colony is. Must be a lot of work.


Camponotus japonicus doesn't actually get very big. They're one of the small colony Camponotus.

Edited by Serafine, July 5 2020 - 7:15 AM.

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We should respect all forms of consciousness. The body is just a vessel, a mere hull.

Welcome to Lazy Tube - My Camponotus Journal

#7 Offline Superant33 - Posted July 5 2020 - 7:16 AM

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I have one that is 15 years old. I would have had two, but damned pharaohs ants killed them.
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#8 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted July 5 2020 - 7:18 AM

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I have one that is 15 years old. I would have had two, but damned pharaohs ants killed them.

How many workers would you estimate? What are they housed in? How much and how often do you feed them?

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis

#9 Offline Superant33 - Posted July 5 2020 - 8:52 AM

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I feed them every other day. Carbohydrates (sunburst and my own concoction) and protein. They sometimes refuse the protein. They are housed in a large Rubbermaid container. They live underneath the hydrostone nest I made for them. Workers are in the thousands, but not above 4,000. I guess around 2000.
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#10 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted July 5 2020 - 9:05 AM

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What species?

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis

#11 Offline FeedTheAnts - Posted July 5 2020 - 9:06 AM

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That's a really cool setup with all the little cups. Now I wanna try something like that out.


I accidentally froze all my ants 

#12 Offline Serafine - Posted July 5 2020 - 11:22 AM

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~15k Camponotus setup, let's see where this goes over the next years.

 

 

 

They consume an average of 15-20ml sugar water per day and don't get me started on their trash piles...


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We should respect all forms of consciousness. The body is just a vessel, a mere hull.

Welcome to Lazy Tube - My Camponotus Journal

#13 Offline Manitobant - Posted July 5 2020 - 1:50 PM

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Most Camponotus colonies I read about crap out after year two, except C. fragilis and C. floridanus. Ten years is truly remarkable.

its even more remarkable in my opinion to know that this queen didn't die of some unknown illness or parasite. She simply died of old age, as camponotus queens have a lifespan of 10-15 years.
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My journals:

Polyergus Mexicanus: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry175528
Lasius minutus: https://www.formicul...cs/#entry174811
Lasius latipes: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry206449
General acanthomyops journal: https://www.formicul...yops-with-eggs/

#14 Offline SuperFrank - Posted July 6 2020 - 4:12 AM

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Most Camponotus colonies I read about crap out after year two, except C. fragilis and C. floridanus. Ten years is truly remarkable.


It is theorized that they die out due to a lack of urea supplementation
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#15 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 6 2020 - 4:34 AM

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I fed my Crematogaster mega-colony a juicy bird poop yesterday, and they loved it. I’m going to try doing that at least once a month. I may try the poop from my brother’s gecko as well. Lol
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#16 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted July 6 2020 - 8:36 AM

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Most Camponotus colonies I read about crap out after year two, except C. fragilis and C. floridanus. Ten years is truly remarkable.


It is theorized that they die out due to a lack of urea supplementation

 

Then it's truly remarkable that they survived without urea supplementation.


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis

#17 Offline Superant33 - Posted July 6 2020 - 11:14 AM

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I have kept 3 C. sayi (maybe discolor) for over 10 years. My current one is at least 15 years old. Carbohydrate solution and fruit flies have been their staple diet. I do think southern USA ant keepers have a few major advantages over northern keepers. When people post that Camponotus are tricky, or their colony has died, they have been mostly northern species. I think the biggest advantage is that I don’t have to hibernate my ants.
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#18 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted July 6 2020 - 4:19 PM

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. Carbohydrate solution and fruit flies have been their staple diet.

I'd hate to think of how many fruit flies you'd have to buy........


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds (including ants). And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis

#19 Offline Superant33 - Posted July 7 2020 - 6:42 AM

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I raise them. If I have to buy them (which is often), I order them from Josh’s frogs. I unfortunately need a steady large supply of them. I also keep Odontomachus. The predatory ants take the greatest percentage. Camponotus don’t eat as much protein as their colony size would suggest. Honey pots can thrive on about 5-15 flies a day.
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#20 Offline TKD102 - Posted July 7 2020 - 3:43 PM

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Most Camponotus colonies I read about crap out after year two, except C. fragilis and C. floridanus. Ten years is truly remarkable.


It is theorized that they die out due to a lack of urea supplementation

 

How do you find urea to feed them? Just by feeding them excrement? lmao


Currently Keeping:

Tetramorium Immigrans

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