1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Autumn - 1st April 2019

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
5 workers - 5 cocoons, 3 large, 10 small larvae/eggs

5th worker has eclosed

The suffusus next to them don't use the heat cable much, whereas these girls pile all their brood, and the queen herself sits right on top the heat cable

[Leo]

No =( majors

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
10 workers, 1 large, 3 medium larvae, 5 small larvae/eggs

No sign of their cocoon.... guess they must have eaten it again....
Unless it's hidden under the queen and a few workers.
Will confirm tomorrow

[Rstheant]

[CoolColJ]

Yeap that suffusus cocoon is gone


on another bad note -

Looks like my dual antipodum queens may have had a tussle.
I saw the two queens stressed and the workers running around. For no reason that I could think of.
And one of the queens look to have the ends nipped off one of her antenna

But they seem to be back to normal for now.
Perhaps the attacker got beaten back and an uneasy truce has settled.

Bummer. I have had no luck with multi queen colonies so far...

Edited by CoolColJ, April 2 2019 - 6:36 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn - 4th April 2019

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
6 workers - 6 cocoons, 1 large, 10 small larvae/eggs

Damn, 6th worker has eclosed, and 2 more cocoons spun.
7th worker looks close to eclosing and the large larvae should cocoon soon.
Getting crowded quickly!

[CoolColJ]

Autumn 4th April 2019

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 4
All setups 20mm test tube and a styro foam double chamber entrance

Heat cable
Dual queen setup 2
30+ workers - medium stack of brood
Queen 4 with red dirt
15+ nanitics, small clump of 15+ eggs, 5+ donated brood from queen 5
Queen 5 - bare test tube
80+ workers - big stack of brood, some large larvae

Dual queens seem to be back to normal for now...

Queen 5, got her largest major yet, about 6mm
Not fully darkened yet, but with big muscular Podomyrma legs
Quite a lot bigger than the mini majors, head is almost the same size as the nanitic minors
Being used as a replete judging by her gaster
 
click

 

[CoolColJ]

Autumn - 5th April 2019

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
7 workers - 5 cocoons, 1 large, 10+ small larvae/eggs

7th worker eclosed, and I can't tell which one she is, she came out fully darkened!
Starting to look a little crowded even in a 20mm test tube such is the size of the queen and workers.
1+cm for the minors
Guess it will be hard to fit 20 workers in here....
8th worker not far off as another cocoon has darkened overnight. It's all happening so quickly!

Plus I need to move them to a fresh test tube with their yellowing water and orange cotton stuffed with all their rubbish...
Unlike my other ants these ones like to dump all the rubbish on the cotton while they stay in the middle of the test tube

For nocturnal ants, these are way more active than I expected.
They are moving around and doing stuff just as much as my C.suffusus colony which are day foragers.
Despite being exposed to light 24-7

edit - saw the queen take 1 min to bend over and lay an egg

Edited by CoolColJ, April 5 2019 - 3:33 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - heat cable
10 workers, 2 large, 1 medium larvae, 5 small larvae/eggs

updated brood count
Two larvae have blown up and looking ready to cocoon soon.
2 small larvae, and 3+ early instar larvae and eggs
Not doing as well as the colony I sold

[CoolColJ]

Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 worker - 1 cocoon, 3 medium, 4 small larvae

Unbelievable, they finally have a cocoon after the large larvae spun one today!
All these months of small larvae, and one blew up to a large size overnight and then a week later it's a cocoon.
Strange non-linear growth pattern compared to other ant brood.

And these are so slow, way slower than my large Camponotus.
Comparable to large Myrmecia species at 4-5 months long brood times....

Hopefully they won't open the cocoon early like the last 3...
And it's been a year and the nanitic is still alive

Edited by CoolColJ, April 5 2019 - 3:44 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn - 6th April 2019

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
8 workers - 5 cocoons, 10+ small larvae/eggs

Worker 8 has arrived, and large larvae has cocooned

[Rstheant]

Pictures?

[CoolColJ]

Pictures?

nothing new to show

[CoolColJ]

Autumn - 7th April 2019

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
8 workers - 5 cocoons, 15+ small larvae/eggs

They have a decent amount of eggs and small larvae now
Moved them to a new test tube.

The first hour the queen moved into the new tube to avoid the light with 2 workers, but the brood pile and new workers stayed.
Then the queen moved back...
I got impatient and just tipped the test tube, and all the brood and fresh workers tumbled into the new test tube.
While the queen and 4 workers remained.
I then rubbed my finger on the test tube creating a sound and vibration, and they all ran to the new test tube
Sorted!

Edited by CoolColJ, April 7 2019 - 1:24 AM.

[Rstheant]

Why does it still say cf nigriceps while on the front page, when it says the first nanatic, you said it was decided it was definitely Camponotus nigriceps ?

[CoolColJ]

Why does it still say cf nigriceps while on the front page, when it says the first nanatic, you said it was decided it was definitely Camponotus nigriceps ?

Yeah I just haven't gotten around to changing it
but I do think they are nigriceps

[CoolColJ]

largest antipodum colony is absolutely swarming the food and honey now, just piling ontop each other!

click

[Rstheant]

OMG!!!!!!

That's all you're missing.....

[CoolColJ]

OMG!!!!!!

That's all you're missing.....

?


--

I have two queens I picked a couple of weeks ago and a queen a few days that appears to be a small red Pheidole queen, under a pot plant in my yard.
The older queen still has wings, which I thought was a red Pheidole, but her gaster is much thinner, so it might be Tetramorium.
I don't think either has laid eggs yet.

Both are around 6mm

Haven't decided if I will keep them around, but are both currently in my incubator

[Rstheant]

OMG!!!!!!That's all you're missing.....

?--I have two queens I picked a couple of weeks ago and a queen a few days that appears to be a small red Pheidole queen, under a pot plant in my yard.The older queen still has wings, which I thought was a red Pheidole, but her gaster is much thinner, so it might be Tetramorium.I don't think either has laid eggs yet.Both are around 6mmHaven't decided if I will keep them around, but are both currently in my incubator

AntsCanada? If you put that, you’ll get around 2 more pages in this journal!!