65 replies to this topic

[Dan_Not_Found]

Hi everyone! This is my first journal about my ca02 colony.

I got 2 single queens around April 14th for $70. When I first got them in the mail, they both came with eggs, however, one of the queens had her eggs scattered so I initially thought she was infertile. After they settled in, both got their eggs in neat little piles which was reassuring.

Today, both have nanitics! Queen 1 (very creative, I know) has 3 nanitics, she got her first on May 18th. Queen 2 got her first today, May 21st.

They both have a decent amount of pupae and once they reach 5 workers I will put them in a tubs and tubes set up, as feeding them in testtubes seem to freak them out a lot.

I'm really excited for majors because of how large I've seen them get!!

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[That_one_ant_guy]

Nice!

[United-Ants]

Pretty ants!

[lazyant]

S e l l m e o n e...........Really jealous, hopefully will find some soon!

[Dan_Not_Found]

S e l l m e o n e...........Really jealous, hopefully will find some soon!

[Dan_Not_Found]

Haha, I’m pretty sure Nurbs is still selling single queens for $35 each if you’re willing to buy a few. 

[lazyant]

Haha, I’m pretty sure Nurbs is still selling single queens for $35 each if you’re willing to buy a few. 

Really can't find the thread?

[Dan_Not_Found]

https://www.formicul...eens-available/

This should be the link

[Dan_Not_Found]

Quick update, queen 1 and 2 have 3 nanitics!! Another thing I've noticed is how queen 2's workers seem to have a lighter pigment compared to queen 1's workers. I initially thought this was due to their exoskeleton not fully hardening, however as time passed by their lighter color seems to have remained. I wonder if this will be seen when the colony gets larger or if its just the nanitics that's are special.

I was checking up on my mealworm farm today, and I noticed these little red dots scattered across the bottom of the container. There seems to be a lot and I haven't noticed these in any previous farms I've had. Anyone have any idea what they are?

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[Dan_Not_Found]

Another quick question, do you guys think a queen of this species would be able to fit through the entrance of a mini hearth?

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[ANTdrew]

If in doubt, you can pull out that tubing with pliers to widen the entrance.

[lazyant]

Quick update, queen 1 and 2 have 3 nanitics!! Another thing I've noticed is how queen 2's workers seem to have a lighter pigment compared to queen 1's workers. I initially thought this was due to their exoskeleton not fully hardening, however as time passed by their lighter color seems to have remained. I wonder if this will be seen when the colony gets larger or if its just the nanitics that's are special.

I was checking up on my mealworm farm today, and I noticed these little red dots scattered across the bottom of the container. There seems to be a lot and I haven't noticed these in any previous farms I've had. Anyone have any idea what they are?

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Hmm, maybe its weird looking poo- FECES I MEAN! Best guess never seen that in my 6 years working with meal worms

[OiledOlives]

Another quick question, do you guys think a queen of this species would be able to fit through the entrance of a mini hearth?

It definitely can. I have had C. chromaiodes queens fit through much smaller tubing and there are several journals on here in which show CA-02 queens going through that tubing.

[FloridaAnts]

Another quick question, do you guys think a queen of this species would be able to fit through the entrance of a mini hearth?

It definitely can. I have had C. chromaiodes queens fit through much smaller tubing and there are several journals on here in which show CA-02 queens going through that tubing.

Camponotus socius fit… My queen is 20mm at this time, and assuming Camponotus CA-02 queens are around 20mm(Edit)then she should fit. It all depends on head width… If the head can fit, the body can fit(Usually)

Edited by FloridaAnts, May 24 2022 - 1:30 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

 

 

Another quick question, do you guys think a queen of this species would be able to fit through the entrance of a mini hearth?

It definitely can. I have had C. chromaiodes queens fit through much smaller tubing and there are several journals on here in which show CA-02 queens going through that tubing.

Camponotus socius fit… My queen is 20mm at this time, and assuming Camponotus CA-02 queens are 15-17mm(That’s what people had in their journals) then she should fit. It all depends on head width… If the head can fit, the body can fit(Usually)

 

 

Camponotus CA-02 queens get over 20mm in length.

Edited by YsTheAnt, May 24 2022 - 1:10 PM.

[FloridaAnts]

Another quick question, do you guys think a queen of this species would be able to fit through the entrance of a mini hearth?

It definitely can. I have had C. chromaiodes queens fit through much smaller tubing and there are several journals on here in which show CA-02 queens going through that tubing.

Camponotus socius fit… My queen is 20mm at this time, and assuming Camponotus CA-02 queens are 15-17mm(That’s what people had in their journals) then she should fit. It all depends on head width… If the head can fit, the body can fit(Usually)

 
Camponotus CA-02 queens get over 20mm in length.

Did not know that, I was basing measurements off peoples journals. Sorry if there was any confusion.

[Dan_Not_Found]

No pictures today, but queen 1 has 4 nanitics (yay!). I'll likely move queen 1 into a mini hearth and queen 2 into a tubs and tubes set up over the weekend. Hope it goes well

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[Dan_Not_Found]

Move was successful! I ended up moving queen 2 into a fallen fortress instead because it would make my life easier in general.
Queen 1 now has 5 nanitics

Sry for the crummy photos, I'll try to get better ones later since I'm pretty burned out rn from school.

The fortress looks pretty big for them rn, but I'm positive they'll grow into it soon just because if their sheer size.

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[futurebird]

They look like miniture Dinomyrmex gigas... If only I didn't live out east. 

[Dan_Not_Found]

Update time!
Let's start with the Mini Hearth (MH) queen, she currently has 6 workers with around 2 pupae. The queen did just lay a bunch of eggs that hatched into larvae pretty recently! Hopefully they'll grow a lot during this summer.
I fed them a darkling beetle today (since my "mealworm farm" doesn't have any mealworms yet), and they were aggressive towards it which was really interesting. Almost all of my previous ants I've kept were extremely timid at this size, if not even larger. The queen was also getting involved which was interesting to see. After around a minute they calmed down and they seem to like the beetle!

As for the Fortress Queen, she currently has 4 workers. She is supposed to have 5 but unfortunately one escaped
Despite the escapee, I did learn something. These ants are EXTREMELY fast. I always imagined camponotus, especially the larger variants, to be fairly slow or quick at best. These girls are lightning quick.
I recall reading something about OhNoNotAgain's journal, and how his fraggles can launch themselves over the fluon barrier. Well, the same thing happened to me a few days ago. For context the Fluon barrier is also 1 inch thick and I made sure all the corners were covered...

Anyways here are some pictures I managed to get on the MH colony

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