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Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 2:03 pm
by Wolfsong
I have, for many years around this time now, found large black lone ants in my bathroom. I'd identified them as camponotus pennsylvanicus from the queens last year, as well as some workers I found in my mulch during summer weeding along the side of the house. I've always moved the larger ants outside, as I'd figured them to be newly flown queens thanks to what I've learned from Mikey.

This year, I found one in my bathroom during the night and didnt have time to move her outside. So I put her in a little bottle I had with a lid that would allow air, planning on doing so the next morning. However, after sleeping on it, I had a curiosity about running an experiment to see if I was in fact finding queens and not a rogue exploring worker that may be on the large side. So, using one of my daughters empty and cleaned bubble wand bottles (practically a large plastic test tube), I got her set up with water and a bit of a large but cozy area inside a drawer in my kitchen.

The first day, I noticed her mostly picking at the cotton on the air side of the tube. (As i'm running an experiment, I want to kind of keep an eye on her so I check her a few times a day, being careful not to disturb the tube when I gently open the drawer.) The second day she was mostly just chilling, her antennae sensing the air. On the third day however, I got my verification. Three tiny white eggs. I'd have missed them if I wasnt use to looking for minuscule, tiny things from past employment.

Now she has a slightly larger ball of eggs, so I started wondering about her future. I'm planning on keeping her safely in the tube until she has her first 10-20 workers as per the instructions from AntsCanada, but while I know she doesn't need food at first, I was curious about when I should start planning her feeding schedule? Could I substitute syrup for the honey so long as its still the small drop from a toothpick? I have plenty of natural bugs around my house to catch for her, as we do not use pesticides, but when should I start planning on feeding her them? Or would I be able to give her a small droplet of a protein shake my husband uses, as her protein intake? I'm willing to experiment with her diet, however I don't want to possibly cause her any lasting damage, which is why I ask about the potential of the shake before hand.

When she does have her workers, I'm considering releasing them out in our woods where we have an old stump. Seeing as I'm in Michigan, I want to make sure I do it at a safe time before they should be hibernating for winter. Any suggestions or ideas when this might be from experienced owners?

I'd love to hear thoughts about this, as well as discussions on the diet potentials. Thanks.

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 9:24 pm
by Wolfsong
Update: I've recently had to move her tube from the drawer, as my daughter (2 year old) refused to stop getting into it. I'm not sure where to put her, but at the moment her test tube is in my bedroom, hopefully its dark enough and not too hot or cool.

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 9:48 pm
by mallonje
I have both my C. Pennsylvanicus queens in my media cabinet under the TV in the living room. With the cable box, modem, router, and xbox there's plenty of free heat to keep them comfortable.

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 7:56 pm
by Wolfsong
That makes me feel better, my bedroom can get pretty warm so I didnt wanna overheat her. Now just to figure out her feeding. Seeing as her eggs are so close to the opening end, I'm not wanting to toss any syrup in too soon.

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 3:17 pm
by antnest8
personally camponotus is my favorite species to raise because you can just stick them in a drawer and just check on them once a month and BAM! you have got workers

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 9:10 am
by Wolfsong
Are they a hard species to hibernate? I was thinking I wouldnt want to hibernate them, but the queen needs that time to recover from her egg laying.

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 11:22 am
by antnest8
i never really hibernated my ants. I just stuck them in the basement and left them their last year. i would think they are easy to hibernate though

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 9:35 pm
by Wolfsong
Okay. Did it seem like your queen's production stemmed off while they were downstairs? I know limiting their protein intake and the heat would slow their numbers and allow for the die off to be greater then the birth rate, but i just figured i'd ask since I dont want to wear my queen down if/when I get one to keep.

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 6:26 pm
by antnest8
she slowed down her egg production to none and the larvae she had never grew until after hibernation also when you hibernate them you do not need to feed them

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Queen

Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 8:00 pm
by Wolfsong
Okay, perhaps I can try that with mine too then. :) I had to move her from the bedroom today due to the hubs putting in an AC and not wanting her to get cold. She has a dark safe place in the den we never go to so she should be good for the next month without being bothered. After a few more weeks, probably between the 11th to the 18th, I'm thinking about offering her a droplet of syrup and maybe a droplet of protein shake powder with water to see if she will accept either of them. Either that, or I could catch one of the many beetles around here and offer her a leg as her protein.