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[Ants-Edinburgh]

UPDATE #0 - Humble Beginnings

 

Hi! I'm starting this colony journal to document my new Camponotus fedtschenkoi colony. Expect updates every few weeks as the colony grows. 

 

As I purchased the colony back in May at AntCon, there is a bit to fill in.

 

11.05.24 - Beginning (0 workers)

 

During my visit to AntCon in 2024, I decided to purchase the colony as a fresh queen with a small amount of brood. After arriving home, I fed her occasionally and the brood did show signs of growth. At this time, she was kept at quite low temperatures with only a single heat cable at around 25°C - which are certainly below optimal temperatures as I later realized.

 

10.9.24 - The Move (0 workers)

 

At this point I noticed a lack of water in the tube and decided to move them into the Ant Antics Founding Nest. At this point most of the brood had died, probably due to dehydration, but luckily it was an easy move and the queen seemed healthier once she had a constant supply to fresh water and protein. Still, they were kept on a heat cable although I now increased the temperature to around 27°C due to colder outside temperatures.

 

20.12.24 - Into the Vivarium (0 workers)

 

Unfortunately, the brood just kept dying before hatch, but luckily I managed to purchase a vivarium designed to house reptiles, which could be reproposed to store ant nests in high temperatures. After constructing the vivarium, I setup a thermostat system of a heat mat and heat cable which could maintain a temperature of around 25°C to 27°C throughout the whole container. Picture of the new setup.

 

16.3.25 - Breakthrough (2 workers [+2])

 

Just as I brought my Lasius Niger colony out of hibernation on the 10th I checked on this colony and noticed they had a worker. Finally! I guess the heat and protein paid off, and as I checked yesterday they now had yet another new worker, bringing the colony total to 2. I know that it isn't a lot, but it's definitely better than none, and she has at least 3 other pupae just about to hatch, so I can only see growth from here. I think soon I will connect them to a large outworld and test tube as I want them to have a constant supply of water if I am unable to water them. Here is an image of the queen with the new workers.

 

 

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

There was a lot of condensation but luckily the workers were in a spot where you can see them clearly, I can’t wait until I catch a new queen and she gets her first nanitics.

[Ants-Edinburgh]

There was a lot of condensation but luckily the workers were in a spot where you can see them clearly, I can’t wait until I catch a new queen and she gets her first nanitics.

Yes, it's always very exciting when they first hatch. That's good to know that you could see the workers clearly, I was a big worried about the condensation but at least it means they won't be dehydrated any time soon.