36 replies to this topic

[RushmoreAnts]

Do cockerelli also eat seeds, or is that just a Pogonomyrmex thing?

Yes, Pogonomyrmex, Novomessor, and Veromessor are all considered Harvester Ants.

Edited by RushmoreAnts, October 15 2024 - 11:39 AM.

[AntsGodzilla]

One of the reasons I would get Camponotus is because they have huge majors, but is there a better species to get?

[AntsGodzilla]

I heard vicinus can get to 1/2 an inch, so I don't really care a bout how active they are. but what is their care?

[bmb1bee]

Camponotus vicinus care is pretty easy. Depending on where they come from, they might need fridge hibernation when winter comes (high elevation vicinus). Other than that, they won't need much special care. When keeping large Camponotus species, keep in mind that they grow pretty slowly and often take over a year to get majors. If I were you, I'd rather get Camponotus semitestaceus or sansabeanus, as they have much nicer colors in my opinion. If you're going for size, Camponotus us-ca02 is the largest Camponotus you can get here. 

Edited by bmb1bee, October 15 2024 - 2:09 PM.

[AntsGodzilla]

Camponotus vicinus care is pretty easy. Depending on where they come from, they might need fridge hibernation when winter comes (high elevation vicinus). Other than that, they won't need much special care. When keeping large Camponotus species, keep in mind that they grow pretty slowly and often take over a year to get majors. If I were you, I'd rather get Camponotus semitestaceus or sansabeanus, as they have much nicer colors in my opinion. If you're going for size, Camponotus us-ca02 is the largest Camponotus you can get here. 

I would get them, but I heard that a mature colony can get hard to contain because of their colonies size.

[bmb1bee]

Are you referring to Camponotus vicinus or us-ca02?

Edited by bmb1bee, October 15 2024 - 3:15 PM.

[AntsTx]

They will accept seeds. 

 

Edit: My page didn't load and I didn't see all the replies

Edited by AntsTx, October 15 2024 - 3:15 PM.

[eea]

Do cockerelli also eat seeds, or is that just a Pogonomyrmex thing?

My cockerelli do not take seeds but this might just be a thing with my colony or I am giving them the wrong seeds.

[AntsGodzilla]

Are you referring to Camponotus vicinus or us-ca02?

ca 02

[bmb1bee]

ca 02

They take ages to reach those numbers anyway, as you'll likely barely exceed a hundred workers in the first year unless you constantly heat and powerfeed them. Both vicinus and ca02 reach similar colony sizes anyway, so using that to make a choice between them wouldn't make much of a difference. Vicinus sometimes have nicer colors, but ca02 get significantly larger and look more distinct anyway.

[RushmoreAnts]

Colony size can be controlled by food intake. Your colony can be as large or small as you want it to be.

[AntsGodzilla]

What should hibernation temp be?

[RushmoreAnts]

What should hibernation temp be?

45-50 degrees F is safe for ants that hibernate.

[AntsGodzilla]

And they would be hibernating from late November to Feb? Could I also but an ice pack on them instead of leaving them in the fridge?

 

Edit: In dspdrew's store it says that they don't need hibernation.

Edited by AntsGodzilla, October 16 2024 - 3:35 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

And they would be hibernating from late November to Feb? Could I also but an ice pack on them instead of leaving them in the fridge?

It depends on the area they were collected in. Species up here require 5 months of hibernation, while species from warmer temperate climates may only require 2 or 3.

[Ants_Dakota]

And they would be hibernating from late November to Feb? Could I also but an ice pack on them instead of leaving them in the fridge?

 

Edit: In dspdrew's store it says that they don't need hibernation.

While it is theoretically possible to use an ice pack and an insulated cooler, I would not recommend it. I did this for a year and it is very time consuming to constantly be changing the ice packs out.

[bmb1bee]

Ca02 are fine with room temperature for diapause, which multiple keepers have done without much issue.