16 replies to this topic

[FinWins]

On July 29th I received a small colony of Camponotus sansabeanus from jeffpbalderson along with one of my colonies of C. modoc and a few other species. When they showed up they were in great condition with all the workers active and healthy, at that point the worker count was about 9-12. 

About a week later a worker died bringing the count down to 8-11. However another week later the queen laid a small batch of eggs which I was thrilled at. Side note this species eggs are so interesting and different due to their bright yellow-orange color compared to the normal white eggs of other Camponotus.

 

As of now the colony has a mixed pile of eggs and small larva, they are being fed a diet of pure honey and dubia roach.

Here is a picture of the the brood and queen.

Here is a picture of the whole colony 

Edited by FinWins, June 16 2023 - 5:33 PM.

[ZTYguy]

Awesome! Now what’s super interesting is when the eggs are pink! 

[FinWins]

Awesome! Now what’s super interesting is when the eggs are pink! 

You’re right! When some my Solenopsis xyloni queens died, their eggs turn pink. The same thing happened with my Solenopsis sp. thief ant queen when she died.

[Jonathan5608]

Beautiful species. I hope they thrive

[FinWins]

Update time, today I peeked in at their test tube and saw several large larva a plenty of smaller ones, this colony seems to be doing pretty well for how shy they are. Other then that not much has changed.

[FinWins]

Today I gave them some honey and noticed that they have pupa! I’m so excited this will be the first batch of their’s to go from egg to worker in my care, but I suppose that I shouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch.

[FinWins]

Update a few days ago I moved them in to a new nest that I’m testing.

 

[FinWins]

Right now not much has changed other then the brood is more progressed 

Edited by FinWins, October 14 2022 - 9:21 PM.

[FinWins]

So sadly, the colony has had all it’s workers die so now it’s just the queen and a stack of brood. It seems that I just have HORRIBLE luck with camponotus. I can keep Odontomachus and Myrmecocystus healthy and thriving, but for some reason camponotus still evade me.

[FinWins]

Update: A new worker has hatched and is thriving and the queen has laid a batch of eggs and the larva are developing nicely! 

[Katakros8]

I was just reading your C sansabeanus journal earlier as its always been a species I've been interested in. Hoping the best for your queen!

[FinWins]

Something note worthy about this species is that the queens are much more aggressive then other Camponotus queens, I’ve noticed this from both queens I’ve kept. They always would rather charge and bite a cotton swab then run from it even going as far as chasing after any moving (or some times not moving) thing. They are also much more prone to panicking and run frantically around the test tube then other Camponotus queens. However all of this only applies to the queens, and the workers are usually laidback and chill.

[Katakros8]

I know that about camponotus! I've kept a couple pennsylvanicus in the past with no luck, if you're familiar how do these compare? Also do you recommend hibernating these? I've read conflicting things

[FinWins]

I know that about camponotus! I've kept a couple pennsylvanicus in the past with no luck, if you're familiar how do these compare? Also do you recommend hibernating these? I've read conflicting things

I have not kept C pennsylvanicus however I do keep C. modoc which is basically the west coast version. In the beginning the workers of C. sansabeanus are much smaller but they gradually get larger as more generations are born. I do not hibernate my C. sansabeanus and kept them on heat the whole winter. But I did take my C. modoc off the heat.

So no I did not hibernate mine.

[Katakros8]

I know that about camponotus! I've kept a couple pennsylvanicus in the past with no luck, if you're familiar how do these compare? Also do you recommend hibernating these? I've read conflicting things

I have not kept C pennsylvanicus however I do keep C. modoc which is basically the west coast version. In the beginning the workers of C. sansabeanus are much smaller but they gradually get larger as more generations are born. I do not hibernate my C. sansabeanus and kept them on heat the whole winter. But I did take my C. modoc off the heat.
So no I did not hibernate mine.

Good to know and something for me to keep in mind if I ever manage to find some! Good luck with your colony again!

[FinWins]

This colony is now doing much better, as they at 5 workers and have brood. I also recently moved them into an esthetic ants nest small and they seem to like it!

[FinWins]

One HUGE tip for anyone who wants to keep this species is to KEEP THEM ON HEAT!!! They LOVE the warm temps and their brood barely grows without it!