Page 3 of 3

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:52 pm
by KSkuroooari
We haven't seen any movement from Queens #1 and #2 over the weekend ... Yes, we're awful, we check on them every single day. And probably a few times a day, at that. 😂

Queen #1's workers mostly stay in the test tube with her. Since the initial introduction to their foraging area, we have not seen them venturing in the outworld since. Maybe they're going out during the night but their honey seems untouched. We put in a small piece of grape but it hasn't seemed to entice them, either.

We have not seen Queen #2 and her brood since they moved underneath the piece of wood. Sometimes we can see an antenna move or the light from the flashlight will reflect off a gaster but that's about it. 😓 We probably won't see much of her at all as we have decided to just leave her alone.

CURRENT POPULATION COUNT:
Queen #1: 3 workers, 2 pupae, 7 eggs
Queen #2: 3 workers, ? pupae, ? eggs
Queen #3: 2 larvae

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:38 am
by Gavinthesheep1234567
Keep us posted love your journal

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:18 pm
by KSkuroooari
Gavinthesheep1234567 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:38 am
Keep us posted love your journal
Thank you! Looking back, I probably wasn't as thorough logging through the stage progressions, as I should've been.

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:27 pm
by AntsRule
Be very carful peeking that much, I would hate it if your queens ate there eggs after they have come this far :(

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:56 pm
by KSkuroooari
AntsRule wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:27 pm
Be very carful peeking that much, I would hate it if your queens ate there eggs after they have come this far :(
I know, thanks. You'd think I'd have more self-control, being the adult/parent, but I tend to be the more curious one. 😂 For now, I've tried to be satisfied with being able to catch them out in the foraging area.

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:13 am
by Gavinthesheep1234567
I have the she problem wanting to check on them every day

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 7:08 pm
by KSkuroooari
Surprise, surprise. Today, Queen #2 moved her brood out from under the piece of wood and into the test tube. Not sure why she moved back in, maybe because she needed the humidity the test tube provides. I used the opportunity to take a "head count".

We also found out that Queen #3's water supply has dried out so we are currently trying to get her to move into a new one as well.

CUIRENT POPULATION COUNT:
Queen #1: 3 workers, 2 pupae, 7 larvae/eggs
Queen #2: 3 workers, 10 larvae
Queen #3: 3 larvae

Re: KSkuroooari's Camponotus laevigatus + modoc Journal

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 1:17 am
by KSkuroooari
Just popping in for our bi-weekly update.

Not much has happened over the last couple of weeks. No new eggs have been laid. No pupae have been eclosed.

Queen #1 quietly stays with her three workers in their test tube taking care of the brood.

Queen #2 guards the entrance of the tubing into the foraging area while her three workers take care of the brood in the tubing as well. I think that they find it warmer than the glass walls of the test tube. But I find it surprising that she's the one right at the entrance, rather than being at the back, protected.

Queen #3's larvae doesn't seem to have grown either. We have a feeling that they won't make it through hibernation. We gave her a little bit of honey during the transfer to the new test tube since we hadn't ever fed her. She ran for it and greedily ate it up, which was nice to watch.

We also finally made the move to relocate them upstairs to the master bedroom. It was something we were debating about doing for awhile now since the master bedroom is the warmest room in the house and my son's room (where they were) tends to be the coldest. We probably should've done it awhile ago but we're still hoping to see some growth in the next few weeks before hibernation.