Camponotus noveborecensis issues - MD, US

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kykel09
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 10:31 pm
Location: Charlottesville, VA

Camponotus noveborecensis issues - MD, US

Post: # 47323Post kykel09
Mon Aug 13, 2018 10:08 am

Hi all,

So, I'm having a slight issue with my young Camponotus Noveborecensis queens. I currently have 2 and both are having various problems. The first has 3 workers and a small amount of brood (3-5) larvae. She refuses to live in her test tube and instead is living in her small homade connected outworld (with a grout base) with the 3 workers and brood. I feel like this can't be good for her due to the lack of humidity.
Any suggestions? I've considered locking her in the test tube, maybe by connecting a smaller tubing to the outworld that only the workers can fit through? Would putting a substrate of some kind in the test tube make her feel more comfortable? Any advice on Camponotus noveborecensis queens would be appreciated here.

I've also considered just making a small grout founding chamber for her. Has anyone tried this? Would it work?

Queen number 2.
This was is even more confusing. This queen had 5 cocooned pupae and when I went to check on them, they'd all turned black, still in the cocoon. She continues to care for them (moving them around) but I'm pretty sure they're dead. Has anyone had this issue? Thoughts on why this happened and how I can prevent it in the future?

Thanks.
kykel09
Charlottesville, VA GAN Farmer
Seller of 3D Printed Nests

Owns:
Camponotus nearcticus
Camponotus castaneous
Camponotus pennsylvanicus
Phiedole bicarinata
Tetramorium immigrans
Forelius pruinosis

JustCliff
Posts: 85
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2018 10:03 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Camponotus noveborecensis issues - MD, US

Post: # 47344Post JustCliff
Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:31 pm

Camponotus require less humidity than most other species, I'd guess their brood need it more than anything.

For queen 1, you could try wetting some cotton and placing it by her in the outworld and see if she moves towards it, away from it, or maybe even rests on it. It could give some clues to what the problem is if anything. I'd try that before substrate. As far as a grout nest goes, there are a few good tutorials online. The mains issue seems to be with hydration but there are things you can add to grout to help with that. I've seen unsanded grout mixed with sand, and a larger moisture holding material that I don't remember the name of. I think it might also be common in a lot of bonsai soils.

For queen two, she's caring for the pupae still because they're likely still alive. The black you're seeing is the ant inside the cocoon. Keep watching, they'll likely enclose soon. It's a very interesting process if you get to witness it.
Keeper of:
Temnothorax curvispinosus x2
Camponotus nearcticus
Brachymyrmex depilis
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Founding:
Camponotus pennsylvanicus
Camponotus herculeanus

kykel09
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 10:31 pm
Location: Charlottesville, VA

Re: Camponotus noveborecensis issues - MD, US

Post: # 47354Post kykel09
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:17 pm

JustCliff wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:31 pm

"For queen 1, you could try wetting some cotton and placing it by her in the outworld and see if she moves towards it, away from it, or maybe even rests on it. ... "

For queen two, she's caring for the pupae still because they're likely still alive. The black you're seeing is the ant inside the cocoon. Keep watching, they'll likely enclose soon. It's a very interesting process if you get to witness it.
Thank you for the advice so far. I will definitely try that first option for queen 1 and see what happens.

As for queen 2, I've always had workers eclose before they darkened(laisus Neoniger, Tetramorium, etc.). I thought they had to eclose before their exoskeletons darkened? Is this something that's different in Camponotus n.?
Charlottesville, VA GAN Farmer
Seller of 3D Printed Nests

Owns:
Camponotus nearcticus
Camponotus castaneous
Camponotus pennsylvanicus
Phiedole bicarinata
Tetramorium immigrans
Forelius pruinosis

AntsDakota
Posts: 1283
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Camponotus noveborecensis issues - MD, US

Post: # 47362Post AntsDakota
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:27 pm

kykel09 wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 10:08 am

Queen number 2.
This was is even more confusing. This queen had 5 cocooned pupae and when I went to check on them, they'd all turned black, still in the cocoon. She continues to care for them (moving them around) but I'm pretty sure they're dead. Has anyone had this issue? Thoughts on why this happened and how I can prevent it in the future?

Thanks.
kykel09
The dark is workers inside the cocoons. If you hold the test tube in the light you can see the worker's bodies inside. This happens with all Camponotus pennsylvanicus, and it looks like Camponotus novaeboracensis, too.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25

AntsDakota
Posts: 1283
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Camponotus noveborecensis issues - MD, US

Post: # 47363Post AntsDakota
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:29 pm

kykel09 wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:17 pm
JustCliff wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:31 pm

"For queen 1, you could try wetting some cotton and placing it by her in the outworld and see if she moves towards it, away from it, or maybe even rests on it. ... "

For queen two, she's caring for the pupae still because they're likely still alive. The black you're seeing is the ant inside the cocoon. Keep watching, they'll likely enclose soon. It's a very interesting process if you get to witness it.
Thank you for the advice so far. I will definitely try that first option for queen 1 and see what happens.

As for queen 2, I've always had workers eclose before they darkened(laisus Neoniger, Tetramorium, etc.). I thought they had to eclose before their exoskeletons darkened? Is this something that's different in Camponotus n.?
Yes, I've noticed their exoskeleton hardens inside the cocoon, instead of outside. Therefore the workers emerge black, unlike most species, where the exoskeleton hardens after they eclose.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25

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