Being quite honest i don't bother this colony a great deal and just let them do their thing while ensuring they have food and moisture. I got the Queen of this colony late august, she laid a healthy pile of eggs soon after and i left her be. after about 4-5 weeks her first workers emerged, personally compared to other Camponotus species I've kept in the past she has grown her colony very quickly in the last few months, with a worker count of 31 at present. they moved into an acrylic nest about a month ago, and I've also noticed a nice pile of 10-15 eggs amongst the rest of the brood so it looks like the queen is happy.
The majority of the colony inside their acrylic nest, notice the healthy pile of brood in the bottom left:
The Queen with her first and only major caste worker just above her, I've noticed she sticks with the Queen almost always, is this normal for them to have a kind of 'Royal Guard' made up of major castes?
Edited by Coops, December 5 2017 - 9:20 AM.