29 replies to this topic

[Enderz]

3/30/18

 

During this year's spring break I decided to join Paul, Scrixx, Spazz, and Drew on a trip to Chaney Trail, Altadena in California. During the trip I was able to catch 8 queens of C. sansabeanus and C. vicinus, and later found 1 more queen at Mt. Baldy with Drew. I also received a C. quercicola from Paul which look absolutely beautiful.

 

In total it seems I have 8 vicinus/sansabeanus and 1 quercicola.

 

 

 

 

I hope these queens do well as these queens are the first that I've been able to capture, this being my first year of antkeeping where I really got into looking for queens.

 

A few days later, these girls started to lay eggs and I left them alone for a good while to grow.

Edited by EnderzATwar411, May 8 2018 - 4:41 PM.

[Enderz]

5/4/2018

 

After waiting a little over a month, I decided to give in to temptation and check these big queens. After a quick peak I had realized that a huge step had occured, a few of my queens had gained larvae.

 

The other queen's larvae were smaller than the pictured queen's one, but I decided to solely show her. Also, I had discovered that 1-2 of my queens had not yet laid eggs even after a month and that a few queens still just had eggs. One even had a sole egg left.

 

Edited by EnderzATwar411, May 4 2018 - 5:01 PM.

[sirjordanncurtis]

Awesome ants! The amber color on your queen's master is really amazing... I can't wait to see what happens with these queens.

[YsTheAnt]

Awesome ants! The amber color on your queen's master is really amazing... I can't wait to see what happens with these queens.

We got vicinus around here with the same colors

[Enderz]

 

Awesome ants! The amber color on your queen's master is really amazing... I can't wait to see what happens with these queens.

We got vicinus around here with the same colors

 

Yep, they look a lot like the sansabeanus so you can mix them up at first. Best thing to look for is the more amber/orange color on the end of their thorax and on the front and middle of their gaster.

[Enderz]

5/8/30

 

The C. vicinus pictured has now got at least 6 larvae with some highly developed eggs (maybe first stage of larvae) while the C. quercicola now has 8 larvae with no eggs! Sadly it seems I have around 3-4 infertile queens. Also, 2-3 of my queens only have 2 larvae, with no eggs just 2 medium sized larvae. Is this a normal occurrence for Camponotus sp.?

Edited by EnderzATwar411, May 8 2018 - 4:37 PM.

[sirjordanncurtis]

5/8/30

 

The C. vicinus pictured has now got at least 6 larvae with some highly developed eggs (maybe first stage of larvae) while the C. quercicola now has 8 larvae with no eggs! Sadly it seems I have around 3-4 infertile queens. Also, 2-3 of my queens only have 2 larvae, with no eggs just 2 medium sized larvae. Is this a normal occurrence for Camponotus sp.?

 

How does a highly developed egg compare to a fresh egg? (longer.. fatter... larger?)

[Enderz]

 

5/8/30

 

The C. vicinus pictured has now got at least 6 larvae with some highly developed eggs (maybe first stage of larvae) while the C. quercicola now has 8 larvae with no eggs! Sadly it seems I have around 3-4 infertile queens. Also, 2-3 of my queens only have 2 larvae, with no eggs just 2 medium sized larvae. Is this a normal occurrence for Camponotus sp.?

 

How does a highly developed egg compare to a fresh egg? (longer.. fatter... larger?)

 

Well, a few eggs (the tiny long eggs with black dots in the middle) are starting to develop a "head" as the end is bending to resemble a larvae. They just aren't fully white like larvae are.

[YsTheAnt]

The younger eggs will be completely translucent, while as the embryo develops there will be a clearish half and a solid white half, the white being the developing larva. By the way, if you heat your queens, the brood develops way faster. My quercicolas all have had pupae for a little over a week now, I keep them at around 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

[Enderz]

The younger eggs will be completely translucent, while as the embryo develops there will be a clearish half and a solid white half, the white being the developing larva. By the way, if you heat your queens, the brood develops way faster. My quercicolas all have had pupae for a little over a week now, I keep them at around 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

85F!? Mine are usually around 73-75F peaking at 80F on hot days, and also I will agree with you on the egg being translucent when young as it is the same with me.

[YsTheAnt]

Yep, 85 Fahrenheit. One of my Camponotus hyatti queens just got a nanitic at this temp, seems to be good for them.

[Enderz]

Yep, 85 Fahrenheit. One of my Camponotus hyatti queens just got a nanitic at this temp, seems to be good for them.

Okay then I will get something to heat them with, I at least want to get them to a stable 80F. Thank you.

[Enderz]

5/13/18

I have many infertile queens it seems, all of the sansabeanus are infertile. My quercicola is doing well with huge larvae and one of my vicinus has 2 pupae.

 

I decided to feed my quercicola some sugar water and she devoured it.

 

[sirjordanncurtis]

 

5/13/18

I have many infertile queens it seems, all of the sansabeanus are infertile. My quercicola is doing well with huge larvae and one of my vicinus has 2 pupae.

 

I decided to feed my quercicola some sugar water and she devoured it.

 

The queen looks so cute caring for her babies! How do you feed her sugar water? (what form, through cotton, small drops of it, or q-tips etc.) 

 

You could consider donating a Sansabeanus queen to T.C., if you're willing to kill it for his collection  

[Enderz]

I may kill it for collection, and I fed them with Q-tips that were dipped in sugar water. It seemed to work for dermy so I decided to use it.

[YsTheAnt]

Why do you think your sansabeanus is infertile? She might just be stubborn...

[Enderz]

Why do you think your sansabeanus is infertile? She might just be stubborn...

All of the sansas are infertile, they have not laid any eggs and the ones who have they have not developed.

[YsTheAnt]

Why do you think your sansabeanus is infertile? She might just be stubborn...

All of the sansas are infertile, they have not laid any eggs and the ones who have they have not developed.

Highly doubt it, they have a VERY high fertility rate. Keep them warm and in the dark for a month, then look. Make sure they aren't shaken around either, that can make them eat eggs they layed, and then make it look like they don't have any.

Edited by YsTheAnt, May 14 2018 - 4:18 PM.

[Scrixx]

I read that Camponotus have a high success rate but it doesn't seem to be much higher than other species I've kept. I'm comparing them to my Honeypots, Pheidole spp., and Forelius spp. It is definitely odd that all of his Camponotus sansabeanus are infertile but he may have simply drawn the short stick. There's also a missing piece of information you don't know, and it's that he caught all his queens at the beginning of the hike, just at the roadside where the first few trees start showing up. Pretty much at the edge of the forest.  He left early and the rest of us caught ours further in with denser trees. That most likely plays a part with the queens he caught. 

 

I also don't think it's a problem with his setup as his other queens are laying eggs and even have cocoons. I'm assuming they're kept in the same environment. I believe he also only has about 6 C. sansabeanus. I have about 6 living infertile queens, which are about the same number I caught at the beginning of the hike with Enders. I obviously can't say if they're the same queens I caught at the beginning but maybe he really just caught infertile queens.

 

Either way I agree with keeping them warm, dark, and undisturbed for another few months before calling it quits. 

[YsTheAnt]

I completely agree. Since you mentioned finding them near the road, you might want to feed the queens that haven't layed eggs some protein.

What might have happened is that they were underfed as larvae due to lack of resources since part of their foraging area was a dead, barren road. This might make it harder for them to lay eggs. By feeding them some protein, it partially compensate for this.

Just a thought, may or may not work .

Edited by YsTheAnt, May 14 2018 - 9:06 PM.