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YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 2:38 pm
by YSTheAnt
I recently got a colony of Camponotus Modoc colony from the GAN project, and decided to make a journal for them. As of now, they have 6 workers, 9 small larvae, and 1 large larva. They are currently housed in a specimen container, with a piece of bark. I keep the lid loose for airflow, but not enough so that they can crawl out. For the past week, I have observed that they are most active during the evening, night, and early morning. During the day they are almost always clustered around the queen, and for the most part are not moving. So far, I have given them pieces of turkey, which they seem semi - interested in, a dead spider, which they devoured within a few hours, sugar water, which they drink within a day or two, and normal water. I am hoping that the large larva turns into a worker before diapause. The GAN farmer said that I didn't need to put them into a fridge for this time period, just leave them at room temperature. After reading around, I decided to comprimise and leave them in my garage, which gets pretty cool during the winter, but not as cold as a refrigerator. I usually leave them alone in a dark place, unless I am feeding them, watching them (which I will try to do less of), or taking pictures. I plan to update this journal at least twice a week. Any feedback would be appreciated! :D

Here are some pictures of their setup:
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Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 4:47 pm
by Idahoantguy
Wow that's very nice looking. Good luck!

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 7:55 pm
by YSTheAnt
Thanks!

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 11:33 pm
by Jadeninja9
Did you get them from Jeff?

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:02 am
by YSTheAnt
I was going to but the colony I was getting had only one nanitic and it died the day we were going to pick them up. So, we contacted the GAN farmer in Sonora and went there. He had a lot of colonies, so I got a huge selection :D .

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 11:12 am
by Jadeninja9
I would've got one of his 6 Prenolepis imparis colonies to be honest.

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 7:17 pm
by YSTheAnt
I can always catch those, I just love that they are polymorphic!

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:54 pm
by YSTheAnt
Two days ago, I put two small pieces of cotton, one soaked with sugar water and the other with just plain water. I took them out yesterday because there was condensation all over their container. I also fed them a spider (pre killed) and they gorged on that, but didn't finish it. Since taking out the cotton balls, I gave them a bit of sugar water. I also experimented with a heating cable, and when I put it about half a centimeter away from the container, they moved all the brood to that wall. Then, something interesting happened. I was taking out the cotton balls that morning, and they moved all the brood away from the wall. The previous night, they stacked them up against the wall, and even two days later they seem unaware that the heating cable is there anymore :lol: . I left it there, and will just let them thermoregulate. I an getting a bit concerned that the large larva hasn't grown very much and hasn't pupated, even though it has been a week since I got them (it was almost the size of a worker to start off with, and is just a tad bit larger, according to my family. I can't really notice a difference though, maybe because I look at them everyday.) If anyone has any idea about what's going on with them, please let me know!!
I'll post pictures in the next post

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 5:47 pm
by Jadeninja9
Shouldn't you move them to a test tube?

Re: YsTheAnt's Camponotus Modoc Journal

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:27 pm
by YSTheAnt
The guy said that I should leave them in there, he said he tried both and the brood get tangled up in cotton balls so he suggested I should keep them in their current container. Is there anything that would make a test tube more desirable though?