6 replies to this topic

[rptraut]

My Crematogaster Experience

 

I think, after many attempts, that I finally have a Crematogaster colony with the potential for success.    I'll write in more detail about my experiences in RPT's Journal, but for those of you who don't read it I wanted you to see how happy ants can be and how well Crematogaster ants show it.    

 

Crematogaster Wagging with Excitement (youtube.com)

 

Despite their reputation for explosive growth, I've found establishing a colony from a queen a difficult process.   The queens seem quite fragile and have a difficult time surviving the colony founding process.   Mine never laid huge piles of eggs like I've seen in pictures and videos, and I certainly didn't have hundreds of workers in five weeks.   I usually had dead queens.

You can read more details in my Journal RPT's Journal - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com) and also watch the development of this promising colony with me.

RPT

[ANTdrew]

Very interesting. There may be regional differences between southern queens like mine versus northern queens. Steady heat is very important for this species. You may want to also emphasize insect protein for these ants. It’s great you got a successful colony started, though!

[rptraut]

Thanks ANTdrew;

I have this colony and my other founding colonies partially on a heating pad so at least one side of their formicarium is heated. They get sugar/water, water and I offer them insect and meat protein every day. They surprised me one day when they bypassed a fly and went straight for the chicken liver. I’m pleased with their progress so far and I look forward to your advice in the future.
RPT

[RushmoreAnts]

Perhaps the queens you had experience with had poor genetic quality? Every queen has a different level of competence, and the unfit ones oftentimes die, as demonstrated in your journal with Camponotus queens.

[rptraut]

Hello RushmoreAnts;

I based the post about queen variability on my observations of these queens, and many others, as well as the Camponotus queens I wrote about. Some species seem to found more successfully because a higher percentage of their queens have better mothering ability and their offspring are better adapted to survive. That’s why they’re the species usually recommended for beginners.
RPT

[ANTdrew]

RPT, I remember you saying you ordered the Crematogaster queens. It occurs to me that another factor could be the care they received before shipping. 

[rptraut]

Hello ANTdrew;

 

I agree totally that the care that queens and ants receive before shipping is important, but I also think the care and selectivity when they're being collected by suppliers is also important but is somewhat out of the control of the seller.   This must make the business of receiving and selling ants very difficult as it's hard to know for sure if the queens they're receiving are mated or not.   There are many factors that influence how successful purchased queens will be.   The queens themselves aren't always to blame. 

RPT