Camponotus pupae struggling to hatch

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BeholdAProphet
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:55 am
Location: Indiana

Camponotus pupae struggling to hatch

Post: # 7951Post BeholdAProphet
Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:25 pm

I currently have a test tube setup with what I believe is a Camponotus queen. She laid eggs, the eggs turned into larvae, and then they turned into pupae. As the pupae developed, I could clearly see the dark outline of the ants inside. Two days ago, I noticed that the antenna and part of the head of one of the ants was sticking out of its cocoon. The antenna were wiggling around. Today, the ant still hasn't come out, and the antenna are motionless, so I hope the ant did not die. The same thing happened to another pupa, except I actually witnessed the queen ant attempting to tear open the cocoon with her jaws. That ant still hasn't come out, either. Is this normal? Like I said, I can see the outline of a fully grown nanitic inside the cocoons, so I assume they're ready to hatch. I'm worried that this might happen to the other pupae as well. Is there anything I can do for them, or do I just have to sit back and hope it works out alright? I was thinking I could put a drop of honey in the test tube so that the queen could deliver it to the workers through the small holes they created in the cocoon, giving them more energy to hatch. I would send a picture but the quality of the photos are terrible and you can't really see anything.

techno2560

Re: Camponotus pupae struggling to hatch

Post: # 8038Post techno2560
Wed Jun 29, 2016 7:31 pm

i know i dont have much knowledge of ants yet, but i thought to give my 2 cents, if i had to guess i would say maybe they need a higher humidity? like is the water in the test tube dried out, or is it too cold? i only say this because i know chicks have a hard time hatching from their eggs with low humidity since it causes the membrane to harden and cause them to have a hard time getting out, so maybe its the same situation with ants? idk thats my guess lol.

BeholdAProphet
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:55 am
Location: Indiana

Re: Camponotus pupae struggling to hatch

Post: # 8080Post BeholdAProphet
Thu Jun 30, 2016 4:45 pm

techno2560 wrote:i know i dont have much knowledge of ants yet, but i thought to give my 2 cents, if i had to guess i would say maybe they need a higher humidity? like is the water in the test tube dried out, or is it too cold? i only say this because i know chicks have a hard time hatching from their eggs with low humidity since it causes the membrane to harden and cause them to have a hard time getting out, so maybe its the same situation with ants? idk thats my guess lol.
Everything in regards to humidity seems to be fine, they still have plenty of water, and they're in a warm area (my garage). One of them also hatched today, so hopefully more follow.

soldierjoe83

Re: Camponotus pupae struggling to hatch

Post: # 8092Post soldierjoe83
Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:34 pm

The ants that are hatching need to be removed by another and it if it is your first nautic the queen. If they are not removed and then the webbing taking off they will die. With some of my newer colonys theu stumble with lower colony numbers . they will get better and you will see less and less of this.

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