Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

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

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47353Post AntsDakota
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:16 pm

I notice that larvae of this species develop very fast, while they spend most of their time as eggs and pupae, as the majority of brood mostly is.
"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

AntsIkhlef
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:39 am
Location: Stockholm

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47367Post AntsIkhlef
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:59 pm

AntsOfOntario wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:04 pm
13/8/18
Hey!
I've got news even better than yesterdays!!
They've FINALLY moved out of the tubing and they allowed me to get some pictures. Here's the information I was able to gather.

Worker Count: 21
Brood Count: 8 pupae remain, 30+ eggs have been laid (they're clumped, but you can count at least 26 on the surface alone), and they have a few larvae.
Death Count: 0
Age: This colony got its first workers on July 5th, so it's about a month and a half old.

I just wonder if this colony will be able to develop those eggs before diapause. We could potentially be pushing 40+ workers this year.
Anyway, here are the pictures.
Image
19 workers, 2 in Outworld
Image
Man i see that they are doing great!
Beginner here!
I am new to this and I have just founded my first colonies! :geek:

Keeper of:

2x Lasius niger
1x Lasius neglectus/i]

🐜❤️4ever

AntsOfOntario
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:06 pm

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47397Post AntsOfOntario
Mon Aug 13, 2018 8:16 pm

AntsDakota wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:16 pm
I notice that larvae of this species develop very fast, while they spend most of their time as eggs and pupae, as the majority of brood mostly is.
Yeah, I noticed this too...
I understand why pupating would take a while, but I wonder why eggs take so long to hatch. I assume heat is a factor though. It used to take my previous colonies about 2 months from egg to worker but now in 30-degree heat, egg to worker took a month and a week. I find that Camponotus thrive in heat.

AntsOfOntario
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:06 pm

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47398Post AntsOfOntario
Mon Aug 13, 2018 8:17 pm

AntsIkhlef wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:59 pm
AntsOfOntario wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:04 pm
13/8/18
Hey!
I've got news even better than yesterdays!!
They've FINALLY moved out of the tubing and they allowed me to get some pictures. Here's the information I was able to gather.

Worker Count: 21
Brood Count: 8 pupae remain, 30+ eggs have been laid (they're clumped, but you can count at least 26 on the surface alone), and they have a few larvae.
Death Count: 0
Age: This colony got its first workers on July 5th, so it's about a month and a half old.

I just wonder if this colony will be able to develop those eggs before diapause. We could potentially be pushing 40+ workers this year.
Anyway, here are the pictures.
Image
19 workers, 2 in Outworld
Image
Man i see that they are doing great!

Yeah I'm so stoked!!
Do you keep this species too? They're so fun.

AntsIkhlef
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:39 am
Location: Stockholm

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47446Post AntsIkhlef
Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:12 am

AntsOfOntario wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 8:17 pm
AntsIkhlef wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:59 pm
AntsOfOntario wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:04 pm
13/8/18
Hey!
I've got news even better than yesterdays!!
They've FINALLY moved out of the tubing and they allowed me to get some pictures. Here's the information I was able to gather.

Worker Count: 21
Brood Count: 8 pupae remain, 30+ eggs have been laid (they're clumped, but you can count at least 26 on the surface alone), and they have a few larvae.
Death Count: 0
Age: This colony got its first workers on July 5th, so it's about a month and a half old.

I just wonder if this colony will be able to develop those eggs before diapause. We could potentially be pushing 40+ workers this year.
Anyway, here are the pictures.
Image
19 workers, 2 in Outworld
Image
Man i see that they are doing great!

Yeah I'm so stoked!!
Do you keep this species too? They're so fun.
I wish! :( but I'm one of the few european ant keepers in this community, altough i am looking towards finding a Camponotus queen next year!
Beginner here!
I am new to this and I have just founded my first colonies! :geek:

Keeper of:

2x Lasius niger
1x Lasius neglectus/i]

🐜❤️4ever

AntsOfOntario
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:06 pm

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47569Post AntsOfOntario
Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:42 pm

Hello!
There isn't much of an update today, but here's what has happened so far.
We've hit 23 workers! There's 3 larva that pupated so that replaced the enclosed workers and added another. I am confident looking at their brood pile that I will be getting either a full sized minor OR a tiny major. It's not even that the pupa is longer, it's significantly wider than all of the other pupa. I'm very excited about that.
On a separate note, all of those eggs shown in the picture have hatched and the queen's abdomen is growing exponentially so I'm now 100% confident that those aren't their last batch of eggs. Which means this colony could actually double in population AGAIN before the year is over. I presume when the queen lays their final batch of eggs (in the next coming weeks) they'll allow them to grow into small larva and then I'll be able to hibernate them.
If this batch works out like the previous one, it'll only take about a month and a half to get all the current larva to workers. That'll be somewhere near the end of October (Worst case scenario). If they still need a week or two I'll give them it since they can't hibernate with pupa or eggs.
Either way, they will end the year with at least 35 workers (this number keeps increasing because their larva grow so fast!! Some of the ones in that photo have already grown to a decent size.)

I cannot be more happy with the results of this colony. The biggest showing I've had from a Camponotus colony was last year was 21 workers from my Novaeboracensis. This is just crazy.

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

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47575Post AntsDakota
Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:41 pm

AntsOfOntario wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 8:16 pm
AntsDakota wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:16 pm
I notice that larvae of this species develop very fast, while they spend most of their time as eggs and pupae, as the majority of brood mostly is.
Yeah, I noticed this too...
I understand why pupating would take a while, but I wonder why eggs take so long to hatch. I assume heat is a factor though. It used to take my previous colonies about 2 months from egg to worker but now in 30-degree heat, egg to worker took a month and a week. I find that Camponotus thrive in heat.
Well, the eggs are a lot larger than most other species......
"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

AntsOfOntario
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:06 pm

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 47746Post AntsOfOntario
Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:46 pm

They're at 25 workers now.

Pupa suspected to be a mini major is getting darker, expecting it mid-way through next week.

All eggs laid have hatched so this confirms that we will be getting another generation of workers before hibernation.

Larva pupating to Pupa enclosing is now a 2:1 ratio. They only have a couple of pupa from their last generation left, and there's going to be way more in this one than any other. I expect atleast an additional 20+ pupa from this one.

AntsOfOntario
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:06 pm

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 48048Post AntsOfOntario
Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:16 pm

Hey guys!! I have never been so excited to update a colony before!
Should I start with the 'good' or 'better' news? I think I'm going to start with the most anticipated...

This colony now has 26 workers and 1 major!! She had a horde of workers around her and I was wondering what was going on but then they slowly moved off of her and I had to run and get my camera! Her abdomen was so full of honey; it seems like they've designated her as a replete. It was a magical moment seeing her but she is quite small. Her mandibles are huge which will hopefully support the colony in cutting up insects. In addition to the new major, they've also produced 2 pupa that are WAY larger than the one that just enclosed, so I think we'll be seeing some larger majors very soon.

Secondly, they have an enormous amount of brood and the queen has gone back into egg laying mode... AGAIN. There's a absolutely giant batch of eggs that have just been laid along with the previous batch which have almost all hatched into larva.
After seeing all of this today, I am sure this colony will exceed 40 workers this year.

As always, here is the colonies information for any new visitors.

20/8/18 -
Colony Establishment: July 5th (First Worker) | Approx. 46 days since first worker.

Colony Population: 26 Workers and 1 Major

Colony Brood Count: 5 Pupa (2 in-which will become majors), and a estimated 40+ eggs and larva combined. (It is getting harder and harder to tell because of how crammed the nest has become. With brood in the tubing and in the nest scattered it has proven difficult to try and count.)

Colony Diet: Has remained consistent, with the exception of spiders/beetles occasionally.

Colony Housing: AntsAustralia Founding Formicarium Size 1 w/ Medium Homemade Outworld

Now time for some pictures.
Image
Image
Image
Image

MorbidBugg
Posts: 284
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2018 10:11 pm
Location: Orangeville

Re: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus Journal | By AntsOntario

Post: # 48050Post MorbidBugg
Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:31 pm

Needed some good news you delivered. Awesome! When do you plan for hibernation for your colony?
Ants are life's most successful invaders. Understand and respect that power.

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