42 replies to this topic

[antnest8]

love camponotus

[irvosanjose]

This colony is at 10 workers right now. Number of brood is getting larger. I've been alternating between maple syrup, honey water, agave syrup for sugars. For protein I've tried spiders, mealworms, flies. They seem to be interested only when they are hungry. Otherwise they drag the food to the waste pile. The bugs are frozen before I introduce them. The ants spray the protein source with formic acid and then get really animated.

 

Someone commented on my youtube post and suggested they could be Nearcticus. I really don't know what I'm looking for to differentiate between Clarithorax, Hyatti, or Nearcticus. The queen was 11mm when found. Seems to be within the range of all three species.

 

[YsTheAnt]

C. nearcticus is not found in lower elevation areas such as San Jose, although this looks awefully similar.

If you look at the size of the nanitics, they seem to be a lot smaller than any of my Camponotus clarithorax. I was probably wrong on clarithorax, could very well be C. hyatti.

Edited by YsTheAnt, June 28 2018 - 3:01 PM.

[irvosanjose]

Thanks, @YsTheAnt. I'm enjoying learning new stuff.

[irvosanjose]

I took a couple time lapse series of the colony recently. The colony is at 14 now. I lost one transferring them into a larger setup. Not sure how it escaped but my son found it outside the formicarium. We were not able to recover it after he picked it up and brought it over to me. =|

 

 

[irvosanjose]

The colony is around 40 workers now. I think it's mostly dumb luck they are doing well. Does anyone have advice for me on how to hibernate these guys? I'm in San Jose, CA. I read in on this forum that some/all Bay Area ants don't hibernate? Seems like they would benefit from a break. At least remove the heating cable?

 

 

[YsTheAnt]

For my Bay Area Camponotus I just give them 3 months at 55-65F.

[sirjordanncurtis]

You should hibernate if you notice that their brood development goes down: the queen will stop laying eggs, and larvae will not pupate. You should also keep in mind that larvae are the only brood that actually survive hibernation.

 

Beautiful colony by the way!

Edited by sirjordanncurtis, September 2 2018 - 9:03 AM.

[irvosanjose]

@YsTheAnt and @sirjordanncurtis if I don't have a mini fridge, is my best option a wine fridge? Thanks!

[sirjordanncurtis]

Just whatever can keep them around 45-60 degrees should work.

[YsTheAnt]

Wine fridges are best. They don't get cold enough to fill the ants but they are perfect for hibernation.

[irvosanjose]

I brought the colony out of hibernation a month ago. Took a week before they really started moving and eating again. I think I lost about 35-40. =( They seem to be bouncing back. There's a pretty big larva in there.

 

 

 

 

[YsTheAnt]

Wow, that's impressive growth! I love the look of those majors haha.

[Jadeninja9]

They’re doing so well

[Rstheant]

It looks like you use the same macro lens as Jadeninga9.

[irvosanjose]

Thanks for the views and replies. I wonder what Jadeninga9 is using to take photos. I'm using this $15 smart phone lens kit off Amazon. It seems to work well for the price. Here are a some updates. I picked up a Aus Ants Ytong Nest. The colony moved in after a couple of weeks. I felt like I'm having trouble dialing in the right amount of humidity the acrylic nest. There's been mold/growth a couple of times last year and they colony will move into the outworld when it happens. I guess they know it's dangerous. Anyways the colony seems to be gaining some steam. I'm looking forward to that big cocoon eclosing. I'm guessing it's a major but I'm wondering if it will be larger the other majors.

[irvosanjose]

Wow, it's been almost a year since my last update. I guess this is overdue. I'm not sure how to count them now but I want to say this past winter's hibernation went better than the last. I put the wine fridge by my desk so it was easier to remember to hydrate the nest each week. I picked up some of the liquid feeders and they are pretty convenient.

 

There's a hunk of dried pineapple on the parchment paper. Does anyone know why ants put sand on sweet stuff? Does it preserve it? Keep it from drying out?

 

Lastly I went back to @nurbs comment #12 about hair near the head and mandibles and I think this queen has less hair. So C. Hyatti. Thanks, @nurbs! I was trying to figure out the metanotal groove but I'm not convinced I can see it. I think I counted 5 teeth on the mandibles.

 

 

 

Edited by irvosanjose, April 26 2020 - 11:24 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Awesome colony! Hopefully it will be sooner than next year for more updates.

[RushmoreAnts]

Amazing photography!

[irvosanjose]

Thank you for encouraging comments! Does anyone know why there's a pile of "loose" sand in the far right corner? Is that all garbage that needs to be removed? This was all compacted/flat sand a week ago. Maybe they decided it was time to clean things up a bit? The original garbage heap was in that location previously. Thanks again!