1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Autumn 9th Aprl 2019

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld - tip of heat cable pressed against side of nest
80-90? workers, 20+ cocoons, tons of brood

nothing much to say, growing steadily



Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heatcable
6 workers - brood?

Brood?


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

They hardly eat anything, but the queen is still bloated


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

And just like that I see 2 cocoons, Their brood just kinda blew up in size over the last few days!
Not eating much as well, but all workers are bloated, so I will skip a week of feeding.


Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
15 large larvae

The drone the queen birthed has died!
Not sure what it means, and I did have some honey in there.
I gave the queen a bit of roach and she went and dragged it back to her spot.
Happily munching on it, with the dead body of the drone stuck on it
Still waiting on the next gen to coon, taking ages...


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

For a nocturnal species, these girls are so active, way more than my past experience with C.humilior and C.consobrinus.
Just as active as my C.suffusus bendigensis, a day forager from what I have see.. also growing really fast.
Just about caught up to my suffusus colony and they started a few months behind.
You can also see they are longer than my suffusus, queen and workers, but the queen is less chunky


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Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 worker

no eggs

Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
3 nanitics- 2 pupa, 3 medium, 6 small larvae/eggs

Pupa from last week still hasn't eclosed but it has dark eyes.
Another pupa has formed.

Not very active ants... I will likely sell them soon.


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 from donated brood, small clump of unhatched 4-5 month old 15+ eggs
Queen 5 - bare test tube
100 workers - big stack of brood, some large larvae

Dual queen setup 2, finally got their own first few workers to eclose this week.
25 odd are from donated brood.
One queen does have her right atenna slightly chopped off... which wasn't like that before from looking at past photos I took.
So they likely had a bit of a fight... but they seem ok for now.

Queen 5 has probbaly around 100 workers or more now, but hard to count em...
I briefly opened up their tets tube in a container yesterday and they dumped so much rubbish outside!
They are quite aggressive and so it was a pain to get them back in.
They have one mini major that is quite a lot bigger than the rest.

queen 4 is starting to lose a few of her donated workwers... sigh her eggs still haven't hatched after months...

[Rstheant]

The nigriceps are beautiful.

[CoolColJ]

interesting - the suffusus colony I sold at over 20 workers now has a small major... the head is big like a major but she's way shorter and smaller than regular majors
Way ahead of my current colony... hopefully mine can get to this stage before winter

Edited by CoolColJ, April 9 2019 - 9:09 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole antipodum queen 5's largest major so far, which is actually a medium sized major I think at 6mm, compared to the larger majors and super major has darkened further.

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I can see minor, larger minor, mini major and medium major




regular Pheidole and Carebara majors just have a big head, but these girls have muscle all over!
Even the upper back is bulgey

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Autumn 11th April 2019


Starting to get chilly

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
9 workers - 4 cocoons, 15+ small larvae/eggs

Dang another worker eclosed
Growth speed surprises me, considering how big these girls are

Edited by CoolColJ, April 10 2019 - 8:29 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn - 12th April 2019


Camponotus nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
10 workers - 3 cocoons, 3 large, 15+ small larvae/eggs

Dang 10th worker just eclosed, already overtaken my suffusus colony!
Still have 3 more cocoons and 3 larvae about to cocoon this week, and over 15 small larvae and eggs.
Way faster growing than expected, but they do like the heat cable, much more than my suffusus

[CoolColJ]

Autumn 13th April 2019

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


Dammit suffusus ate another cocoon, only 1 left, that's the third one they have eaten in the last couple of months
3 workers chewing it down, silk and all....
They better leave the last cocoon alone!

Edited by CoolColJ, April 12 2019 - 11:57 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
4 workers - 1 pupa, 3 medium, 6 small larvae/eggs

4th worker has eclosed

[CoolColJ]

Dual Pheidole antipodum queen, triple ride

That newly eclosed worker is so small and cute....

 

The bottom queen has a nipped antenna, probably from that recent minor fight to exert dominance.

That's when I noticed the queens stressing out and the workers all alarmed....

 

click

Edited by CoolColJ, April 13 2019 - 10:09 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Autumn 13th April 2019Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 120mm Test tube - heat cable10 workers, 1 cocoon, 1 large, 2 medium larvae, 5 small larvae/eggsDammit suffusus ate another cocoon, only 1 left, that's the third one they have eaten in the last couple of months :/3 workers chewing it down, silk and all....They better leave the last cocoon alone!

Maybe give them more protein. Camponotus chromaiodes do that when they need more protein too.

[CoolColJ]

 

Autumn 13th April 2019Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 120mm Test tube - heat cable10 workers, 1 cocoon, 1 large, 2 medium larvae, 5 small larvae/eggsDammit suffusus ate another cocoon, only 1 left, that's the third one they have eaten in the last couple of months :/3 workers chewing it down, silk and all....They better leave the last cocoon alone!

Maybe give them more protein. Camponotus chromaiodes do that when they need more protein too.

 

 

really weird that they did that when I gave them a piece of cricket though...

[TennesseeAnts]

My largest chromaiodes colony kills alate larvae. Maybe yours is doing that too?

[CoolColJ]

My largest chromaiodes colony kills alate larvae. Maybe yours is doing that too?

 

 

they look like regular sized cocoons, nd at 10 workers, definitely should not have alate

maybe they were drones...

 

 

Autumn 16th April 2019

 

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

 

Speaking of the devil... they ate the last cocoon!

I had a suspicion when that worker carried the cocoon to the back of the test tube they might eat it.

Looked again after a few hours and it's gone...

[TennesseeAnts]

Well, some colonies will produce alates, but then eat them before they hatch.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn - 17th April 2019


Camponotus nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
10 workers - 4 cocoons, 2 large, 15+ small larvae/eggs

new cocoon
nice brood pile, growing too fast,

Thinking about selling them as I will have no room for a large colony of these...


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

Noticed one is a medial worker.
A little larger with a rounded curve on the back of the head, but head is not much larger than a minor worker

They don't seem to be eating much, even after skipping a week.

Even the nigriceps are not eating much of protein, but still like the honey

Edited by CoolColJ, April 17 2019 - 3:00 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn 20th April 2019


Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
15 large larvae

Unbelieveable it's coming up to 3 month now and still none of the larvae have cocooned since the first drone...
Setup is heated as well in my incubator


Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
10 workers - 4 cocoons, 5 large, 3 medium, 15+ small larvae/eggs

5 large larvae looking ready to cocoon soon.
So they are doing really well
growing far faster than I expected


Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
4 workers - 1 pupa, 3 medium, 6 small larvae/eggs

4th worker has eclosed.
Still very quiet ants.
Likely sell them


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
40+ workers - some large larvae, medium stack of brood
Queen 4 with red dirt
15+ nanitics from donated brood, small clump of unhatched 4-5 month old 15+ eggs
Queen 5 - bare test tube
100+ workers - some large larvae, massive teaspoon sized brood pile

Dual queens should be over 40 workers now, I see a few larger larvae, so they ahve some bigger majors incoming already.
Much earlier than the single queen colony at the same stage
Each of my dual antipodum queen have their own cleaning crew of workers that climb them - pretty cool
Both are head to head nuzzling, looking good so far

Queen 4 still has unhatched eggs from months back
I can't understand how the eggs can just sit there for so long and not die or hatch
Soon her donated workers will start dying off...

Queen 5 has to be well over 100 workers now, and just to hard to count
Massive teaspoon sized brood pile
They also made a little tunnel/chamber into the water dam cotton... slightly worrying...


I've noticed my antipodum work better with the cotton bud head soaked with honey
instead of covering it up garbage they are still on it a few days later
It's like a bar hangout for them
The honey soaks in deep into the cotton so there is a constant source of it.
I always see at least 10 workers on it after the first day, where it was completely covered with ants!

Edited by CoolColJ, April 19 2019 - 11:58 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn 22nd April 2019


Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
10 workers - 6 cocoons, 3 large, 3 medium, 15+ small larvae/eggs

2 more cocoons spun.
And 2 of them look ready to eclose soon, I can see dark eyes under the silk.


Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
5 workers - 3 medium, 6 small larvae/eggs

Another worker eclosed
Still really timid.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn 23rd April 2019


Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
9 workers - 6 cocoons, 3 large, 3 medium, 15+ small larvae/eggs

I see a worker on her back with legs sometimes twitching, and so the first nanitic is about to pass away
It was born on 7th of February, so she only lived 11 weeks.
I'm suprised by that, I thought Camponotus nanitics lived longer than that.
On the positive, 2 cocoons look ready to eclose within the day
A worker has placed one of these directly onto the heat cable, while the rest remain with the queen back on the cotton dam.

[TennesseeAnts]

That's weird. Mot Camponotus workers for me live about a year and a half.

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen, 20+mm when bloated
20mm test tube - heat cable
7 workers - 6 cocoons, 3 large, 3 medium, 15+ small larvae/eggs

Yikes, there is something wrong as the 2 more workers are on their death bed!
One of them has a bloated gaster of food as well.
And the cocoon which i thought wads going eclose, you can clearly see the ant underneath already dark was dumped to front like it has died...

All I can do is move them to a new test tube and hope for the best
No choice but to dump them into a new setup.