42 replies to this topic

[irvosanjose]

Logging the progress of a Camponotus sp. found in San Jose, CA on 4/1/18

 

1. Inside my house - was crawling on the dining room table by the window,.

2. Sunday, 4/1/18 at 5pm
3. Japanese maple trees in the yard
4. 11mm (head to gaster)
5. Looks shiny and black to me. Doesn't seem very hairy but I could be wrong.
6. uh...Looks like a camponotus but can't really get close enough to tell specific features on the head/scapes.
7. I've never seen one of these before so don't know how common they are to my area.
8. Didn't see the nest.

9. Don't know the Nuptial flight time

10. These pictures are from a week after capture. She's laid 3-4 eggs.
 

Edited by irvosanjose, April 26 2020 - 8:17 PM.

[irvosanjose]

These photos are from today 5/5/18

 

 

Edited by irvosanjose, May 5 2018 - 7:19 PM.

[Derpy]

Nice photos! My Clarithorax Queen is also doing very good.

[Jadeninja9]

I feel like the queen is actually Camponotus hyatti. C. clarithorax queens don't have a vibrant red thorax. 

[irvosanjose]

Thanks, Derpy. First ant queen for me.

 

Thanks Jadeninja9. I think you are right...Something about the metanotal impression being distinctly hyatti. I found your C. Hyatti journal and it's awesome.

 

Wonder if there's a way to change the name of the topic...

[Mettcollsuss]

Wonder if there's a way to change the name of the topic...

go to the first post and hit "edit". Then press the button that says "use full editor". you will then be able to change the title and tags.

[YsTheAnt]

I feel like the queen is actually Camponotus hyatti. C. clarithorax queens don't have a vibrant red thorax.

These are definitely clarithorax. You can tell my the yellowish legs in the first picture, hyatti doesn't have that.

[Jadeninja9]

I feel like the queen is actually Camponotus hyatti. C. clarithorax queens don't have a vibrant red thorax.

These are definitely clarithorax. You can tell my the yellowish legs in the first picture, hyatti doesn't have that.

Any queen that has brown legs will look as if it has yellow legs under the right lighting. My C. hyatti queen appears to have the slightly yellowish legs too, but it doesn’t mean it’s C. clarithorax.

[Jadeninja9]

And if anything I wouldn’t call it yellow, I’d call it amber.

[irvosanjose]

Let me know if I need to take better pictures of a certain part of the anatomy. Thanks, Mettcollsuss. I totally didn't see that before. I'll update the name once the experts have weighed in.

[YsTheAnt]

Whatever she is, she's sure beautiful.

Edited by YsTheAnt, April 9 2019 - 9:38 PM.

[nurbs]

It's hard to tell from the images, and as we all know coloring can be helpful, but it's not the best way to ID an ant, especially from pictures that may not white balance or color correct properly. Everyone's monitor is also going to display colors different if you were to place them side by side.

 

Take a close look at her head and mandibles. Clarithorax is dense stubbly hair near the frontal part of the head and mandibles, whereas Hyatti looks to be less. Hyatti are also a tad shinier/smoother.

 

Take a look at this queen and her face. Is yours this hairy? From your pictures they look sparse.

 

[irvosanjose]

I appreciate all of the eyeballs and thoughtful criteria. I've never been capable on color because I'm red/green colorblind. I tried to take more pictures using my phone (Pixel 2 xl w/Amazon 15x macro) and it's nowhere close to as sharp/close as the video @nurbs linked. Uh...what are you using to take videos? I couldn't make out the stubbly hairs near the front of the face or mandibles. The camera seems to pick up a few hairs here and there bit's not obvious to me.

 

@YsTheAnt - Yes, I'd be interested in seeing your pictures. Thanks!

 

She's in a wooden whiskey box with a sliding top in a closet. I ran a heating cable through the box on one side and placed the tube opening near the cable. Hopefully the two pupae will eclose soon. That will be exciting.

 

 

[Apex]

C Hyatti sparse hair on mandibles and extremely shiny/smooth (typical hyatti), however I can't guarantee this without true macros or close ups. Never trust coloration egg size/color, this can be varied based off how big the worker will be and what the queen has eaten. I see the queen is also much smaller in size now after laying if you want to help her out in a way a drop of sugar water would be nice. Other than that keep doing what you're doing!

Edited by Odorous, May 6 2018 - 9:38 PM.

[irvosanjose]

I gave a bit of organic agave last night and noticed there's a third cocoon (one more than 3 days ago). One of them has something darker in color inside. I hope that's her first worker?

 

[Derpy]

Yep, that is a pupae that is ready to eclose!

[irvosanjose]

Thank you @nurbs for the idea and instructions. I went to Daiso today to pick up a clear pencil case. I placed a straw in the grout where I want to run the heating cable. I'm hoping I won't need to drill through the grout.

 

[irvosanjose]

darn...I should have read through the whole thread first. Now I wish I had put the hole on the side and used tape instead of glue. I was too eager to try it out. At least it only cost $1.50 + tax. When's the best time to transition to one of these setups? Would it be a week after the first nanitics arrive?

[irvosanjose]

Took a peek tonight. First nanitic! Pretty dang cool.

 

 

 

 

[Jadeninja9]

Awesome, man!