3 replies to this topic

[mads220]

So i caught a queen about 2 weeks ago now! But i wonder one question. I have heard there are fast growing colonies and slow growing ones of this species.. But the fact is that after only like 5 days in captivity she laid like 6 small eggs! Did i catch her at the perfect time? Or do you think i missed a lot of her eggs and she was further along than i thought?

 

Also my test tube is a little to small! It fits about 1.5 queen in length (space to move between the cotton balls) but this species workers become like 1 - 1,3 cm when the real workers come out. So i am thinking about connecting a very small outworld and feeding station to it! I will wait until it has 4-5 workers but from what i have seen size wise on youtube there is not going to be a lot of eggs and workers in that chamber.. its to small! It can contain the queen and first workers but after like 7-8 workers they are gonna be CRAMPED. But i don't want to F with the queen to much right now since she is doing so great!

 

So if i connect it to a small outworld with a hole just big enough for the ants to go in and out and a very small area super simple but they just need more space! Maybe put a bigger test tube next to it and let them move over themself? Please its my first queen I'm kinda scared to do anything wrong! Give me some pointers specially with the small chamber.. 

Edited by mads220, June 6 2024 - 2:53 AM.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

Camponotus are in most cases always slow growers. once in the 2-3 year they start to pick up. Most times it depends on the queen ,she can lay eggs a week after capture or even the day after.

[Izzy]

So i caught a queen about 2 weeks ago now! But i wonder one question. I have heard there are fast growing colonies and slow growing ones of this species.. But the fact is that after only like 5 days in captivity she laid like 6 small eggs! Did i catch her at the perfect time? Or do you think i missed a lot of her eggs and she was further along than i thought?

 

Also my test tube is a little to small! It fits about 1.5 queen in length (space to move between the cotton balls) but this species workers become like 1 - 1,3 cm when the real workers come out. So i am thinking about connecting a very small outworld and feeding station to it! I will wait until it has 4-5 workers but from what i have seen size wise on youtube there is not going to be a lot of eggs and workers in that chamber.. its to small! It can contain the queen and first workers but after like 7-8 workers they are gonna be CRAMPED. But i don't want to F with the queen to much right now since she is doing so great!

 

So if i connect it to a small outworld with a hole just big enough for the ants to go in and out and a very small area super simple but they just need more space! Maybe put a bigger test tube next to it and let them move over themself? Please its my first queen I'm kinda scared to do anything wrong! Give me some pointers specially with the small chamber.. 

 

Hello. I'm not sure about fast growing and slow growing, but there is a difference between every queen. For instance, last year I caught 10 Camponotus sansabeanus queens. Some had 2-3 initial workers, while some ended up with 7 or 8. There will always be some level of variation between queens and their first workers.

 

You could use a small outworld, but I probably wouldn't. As time goes on the water in the test tube will evaporate or the ants will drink it and it will create more space. Camponotus are pretty slow growing so this will give more time for that process to happen. I also find young Camponotus colonies to be very skittish and they will probably run away when you open the test tube to feed them.

 

I would wait to see if there is any sort of problem with the spacing, and if there is you can address it then. I'd consider it a problem if the ants start escaping while you're feeding them or there isn't enough room to put some food in without disturbing them to the point that its touching them, but I think by the time you're ready to feed them it probably won't be.

 

Good luck!

[Stubyvast]

Yep I would definitely attach an outworld, albeit a small one, if you want to. At this stage, there's nothing really to worry about, as ant do enjoy tighter spaces! However, in terms of brood and such, Izzy is correct in that they will drain the water and tunnel into it to make another chamber (Been there, done that haha). At that point you could simply place another test tube in the outworld with water to keep them moisturized. But you probably won't have to do this for a while, as GoCamponotus said, Camponotus are pretty slow, with workers taking up to 2 months to develop into fully grown ones, and until the colony hits 50+ workers, the queen won't go into massive egg production.

 

Another benefit of the outworld is that you'll have a spot to dump food into without disturbing the colony, which'll be nice for the more skittish ants. And you can watch them drag the food back to the nest, which is super entertaining!