69 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

All of those problems are currently being solved.

[Anhzor]

I would suggest you hibernate them, I put mine in the fridge after she stop laying eggs.

[dspdrew]

I've been thinking about it. Since I'm keeping a few of the other yet-to-be-identified Camponotus we found in the same places, I'm going to hibernate a couple of them. I only have one C. vicinus colony now though. I guess I'm just not used to hibernating my ants, and I feel like something bad will happen.

[Gregory2455]

That is probably why our Lasius have not started laying eggs, they may be waiting for after hibernation.

[dspdrew]

Well yeah, the Lasius no doubt. Those have to be hibernated.

[dspdrew]

Update 11-4-2014
 

The colony with one worker died. The other colony is still doing fine, and was put in the fridge for hibernation the other day. Chromerust gave me another all-black C. vicinus queen with just a few cocoons, and no workers. He was tired of taking care of it, so I gladly took it. If and when its workers eclose, I will also put it in the fridge for hibernation.

[AntsAreUs]

Drew, I looked through this journal and found something about how to catch a nuptial flight basicly, I would like for to explain more in depth, because I have missed a lot of flights. Can't they fly like the day after it rains?

[dspdrew]

This (https://www.formicul...or-when-anting/) should tell you everything you need to know. I wrote quite a bit in my post. Most of the info in that thread pertains to the Southwest, but there should still be quite a bit of relevant information in there for you. I thought I made this a sticky thread, but I guess not. It is now. You might also want to check out the Mating Chart (https://www.formicul...t-mating-chart/), as it has information on when the species fly. This would have answered your other question about when S. molesta flies.

[dspdrew]

Update 11-22-2014
 

The last workerless C. vicinus being kept in a test tube died. Yesterday I put the all-black C. vicinus that Chromerust gave me in the fridge for hibernation.

[Foogoo]

Update 11-22-2014
 

The last workerless C. vicinus being kept in a test tube died. Yesterday I put the all-black C. vicinus that Chromerust gave me in the fridge for hibernation.

 

It seems like a lot of your Camponotus died very recently, or did you just happen to update all your Camponotus journals at once? Do you think it could be related to anything?

[dspdrew]

Nah it was just coincidence. The two without workers were sure to die eventually; they didn't seem very healthy, and once they lose all their workers and stop producing, that's usually what happens next. The C. fragilis was just one of those mystery deaths, clearly not having anything to do with it's environment, or workers would probably have been affected. I have queens dying all the time when I have large quantities of them. I usually only mention it when it's more significant, like the last one or something.

[dspdrew]

Update 12-7-2014
 

The all-black C. vicinus died while hibernating in my fridge.

[Foogoo]

Update 12-7-2014
 

The all-black C. vicinus died while hibernating in my fridge.

 

I lost track, so what C. vicinus do you have left?

[dspdrew]

I have one typical C. vicinus left in a foraging container and they're in my fridge.

[dspdrew]

Update 1-16-2015

 

I just took this colony out of hibernation today. They all look healthy, and have a nice pile of all different sized larvae.

[dspdrew]

Update 2-27-2015

 

Since this colony's brood don't seem to be developing at all, so I put them back in the fridge to hibernate longer.

[dspdrew]

Update 3-17-2015

 

It was now been a total of over three months in hibernation for this colony, so I took them out of the fridge today. The colony looks to be healthy still. Hopefully some of their brood will develop now or the queen will lay some more eggs.

[Foogoo]

Got any recent pics? I'm fascinated by these guys!

[AntTeen804]

How are they doing?

[dspdrew]

Update 5-31-2015

 

The colony is not doing that great. They haven't really changed much at all since taking them out of hibernation. I think they might have lost a worker or two. Today I boosted them with a whole bunch of black C. vicinus brood, which they very enthusiastically accepted and took inside their tube.

 

Thursday in Mt. Baldy, California, I found another red-and-black C. vicinus queen wandering around.

 

Yesterday in Angelus Oaks, which is near Big Bear, California, I found four more red-and-black C. vicinus queens, and 11 all-black queens. Some of them were found under small rotted logs and rocks, and some were found wandering around. One of the black ones still has its wings.