Advice for Camponotus Colony (Colony collapse?)
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 8:48 pm
Hello AntsCanada,
I wanted to ask you guys about my Camponotus Laevigatus colony. I recently just brought them out of hibernation because I saw some other colony movement around my house. I got them out of the old moldy test tubes and there was some casualties because some water leaked out and froze some of them. I got them out of the old tubes and into a portal, with a new sugar water and water test tube. Removed the old tubes.
While moving them with light, encouraging them to move towards the dark, the queen ran out and into a newer tube, but only halfway down the tube. A whole night and day has now passed and they still seem to be discombobulated, the workers have no interest in moving the brood from the portal into a more hydrated place. Some of them don't even seem to realize where the queen has gone. It seems very strange, I don't want them to stagnate and just die off because this is year two of my campo colony and they are supposed to really take off this year.
Worried and wondering what you guys think. The workers appear to be pretty healthy looking and still have some reserves left over, so hopefully, they will take great care of the queen until they get going again. I've connected another portal with a dab of honey and half a cricket and I've seen maybe one worker-run down the tubing, but not even investigating the new portal. Nearly seems like colony collapse. Any idea what's going on? They have also been hibernating since the beginning-middle of November.
I wanted to ask you guys about my Camponotus Laevigatus colony. I recently just brought them out of hibernation because I saw some other colony movement around my house. I got them out of the old moldy test tubes and there was some casualties because some water leaked out and froze some of them. I got them out of the old tubes and into a portal, with a new sugar water and water test tube. Removed the old tubes.
While moving them with light, encouraging them to move towards the dark, the queen ran out and into a newer tube, but only halfway down the tube. A whole night and day has now passed and they still seem to be discombobulated, the workers have no interest in moving the brood from the portal into a more hydrated place. Some of them don't even seem to realize where the queen has gone. It seems very strange, I don't want them to stagnate and just die off because this is year two of my campo colony and they are supposed to really take off this year.
Worried and wondering what you guys think. The workers appear to be pretty healthy looking and still have some reserves left over, so hopefully, they will take great care of the queen until they get going again. I've connected another portal with a dab of honey and half a cricket and I've seen maybe one worker-run down the tubing, but not even investigating the new portal. Nearly seems like colony collapse. Any idea what's going on? They have also been hibernating since the beginning-middle of November.