New Camponotus

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Canadant

New Camponotus

Post: # 23307Post Canadant
Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:01 am

Hello forum members,

I'm new to this hobby. I consider myself a geek and with the raising of my daughter have rekindled my relationship with nature and all things creepy crawly. If only i had Google when i was a boy!

I have an omni nest on the way but I'm saving that for Tetramorium. In the meantime i have recently caught three Camponotus queens. They're all in test tubes and in the dark of my drawers. Just some questions for a new hobbyist. Hopefully some of you can help. I haven't raised queens so I'm not sure what to expect.

#1) All my queens have eggs now. However the eggs are a yellowish color. Is this to be expected? Like I said, I've never raised queens with they're young.

#2) All queens have about 8-9 eggs in a period of a week. I think this is good news?

#3) The queens have all piled their eggs and seem to hover over them. At times they will actually be fondling them gently in their mandibles. Seem normal? I would think so, but again, not sure.

#4) Is this not the most interesting hobby you've ever taken part in?

i live in Nova Scotia, Canada. I used to breed fish and shrimp in my aquarium. I have raised frogs from eggs and now this. i would like to thank Mikey for his passion. I came across his videos in the past 3 weeks. I would also like to thanks all of you forum members for being passionate and helpful as well. I will get a Camponotus hybrid nest for my current queens but there is no rush as they are slow growing. I will most likely have more questions in the future.

Thanks.

PS: Not sure of the exact species of camponotus but definitely camponotus.

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Aquaexploder
Posts: 226
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2016 5:55 am
Location: Rhode Island

Re: New Camponotus

Post: # 23308Post Aquaexploder
Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:12 am

1) This is normal for most camponotus.
2) Also normal.
3) Completely​ normal.
4) One of the most unique and interesting, yes.

Congrats on catching those Camponotus queens! If you want to you could take pictures of them and submit and ID request for them here: http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewforum.php?f=48
Founding:

Crematogaster (2X)

Lasius Neoniger (2X)

Canadant

Re: New Camponotus

Post: # 23313Post Canadant
Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:07 am

Thanks for the prompt response Aqua. I can barely contain my enthusiasm.

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Aquaexploder
Posts: 226
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2016 5:55 am
Location: Rhode Island

Re: New Camponotus

Post: # 23316Post Aquaexploder
Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:06 pm

Canadant wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:07 am
Thanks for the prompt response Aqua. I can barely contain my enthusiasm.
No problem :D
Founding:

Crematogaster (2X)

Lasius Neoniger (2X)

Serafine

Re: New Camponotus

Post: # 23459Post Serafine
Fri Jun 23, 2017 4:21 am

Canadant wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:01 am
I have an omni nest on the way but I'm saving that for Tetramorium. In the meantime i have recently caught three Camponotus queens. They're all in test tubes and in the dark of my drawers. Just some questions for a new hobbyist. Hopefully some of you can help. I haven't raised queens so I'm not sure what to expect.
Don't worry, your Camponotus will not need a formicarium for at least a year.
I do recommend to invest into some acrylic/plastic containers though and just put the test tube in there. Push a big straw through between the cotton plug and the glass so the ants can leave the tube - that makes feeding much much easier. Don't forget to apply a barrier. If you want you can add substrate like sand or some tiny pebbles so the ants can reduce the entrance to what they need (this also helps to reduce evaporation, so the test tube's water reservoir lasts longer).
My Camponotus have been living in a 30x200mm test tube for 9 months now (they moved in when they had 4 workers) and the water will probably still last for another 2 months.

Canadant wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:01 am
#1) All my queens have eggs now. However the eggs are a yellowish color. Is this to be expected? Like I said, I've never raised queens with they're young.
Yellow eggs are normal for certain Camponotus species (like herculeanus for example).
Canadant wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:01 am
#2) All queens have about 8-9 eggs in a period of a week. I think this is good news?
It's good. Note that they may take up to three months to become workers. Larger Camponotus develop really slow.
Canadant wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:01 am
#3) The queens have all piled their eggs and seem to hover over them. At times they will actually be fondling them gently in their mandibles. Seem normal? I would think so, but again, not sure.
Yes, that's fine. Camponotus like to carry their eggs and small larvae around a lot (these two are also nearly indistinguishable). They essentially puke hormon-filled liquids on them to control their growth, like my Camponotus have a large bunch of eggs but seem to only develop a certain amount of larvae at a time while the other eggs remain more or less dormant.
Canadant wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:01 am
#4) Is this not the most interesting hobby you've ever taken part in?
In regard of pets definitely. You won't find any pets that is more social and employs more teamwork than ants do. You'd also have a hard time finding pets that develop as much over the course of the years than ants do - just wait until you get your first majors.

xTNxANTMANx
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:03 am
Location: Western Tennessee

Re: New Camponotus

Post: # 23835Post xTNxANTMANx
Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:51 pm

My Camponotus subbarbatus colony has recently acquired their first majors! They are a lovely species. I caught the queen right after her first cpl nanitics we exposed and now up to 30+ workers. They are a medium size species though too so they develop kinda fast.
Keeping:
Camponotus subbarbatus
Formica pallidefulva x2
Formica subsericea x4
Lasius sp
Tetramorium immigrans x2
Dorymyrmex bureni

Founding:
Formica pallidefulva
Unknown sp x2

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