Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

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AntsDakota
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Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 57189Post AntsDakota
Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:39 am

antnest8 wrote:
Thu Mar 28, 2019 3:00 pm
The Black Yetis
Image
Their outworld

Image
There now healthy brood pile (2 New Pupae!!)
I believe the Black Yetis are Camponotus nearcticus.


1. From looking at the pictures, there are differences between the queens.
a. The Black Yetis' queen has an elongated gaster (which C. nearcticus are known to have)
b. The Saxon's queen looks more bulky and more strongly built.

2. The workers of the Black Yetis eclosed as pale workers, which C. nearcticus are more prone to doing. The C. pennsylvanicus I've kept always eclose fully black and hardened.

3. The Black Yetis seem to be growing at a much slower pace (Why shouldn't they? Their colonies only get to about 100 workers of so).
"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
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Location: South Dakota

Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 57931Post AntsDakota
Sun May 05, 2019 3:29 pm

Actually, they may be another species (yet I’m sure they’re not C. pennsylvanicus or C. novaeboracensis).
"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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antnest8
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Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 62525Post antnest8
Thu Aug 15, 2019 12:50 pm

UPDATE! so The Saxons are doing great! I have even moved them into a camponotus Hybrid nest, the nest is still a bit big but i hope they can grow into it, they have over twenty to thirty workers and a super huge pile of small larvae. Even though the larvae don't seem to be doing much it's either i forgot how long it takes for workers to mature or they have stopped because hibernation is just 2 months away. (not as likely)

I have released the Black yetis sadly because they weren't flourishing as much as my other ant colonies also i mostly had both colonies as a safe guard just in case one died off, (sorry).
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
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    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

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antnest8
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Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 63272Post antnest8
Wed Aug 28, 2019 3:16 pm

UPDATE! so the last week i was gone and not much has happened except that i found out they are eating a bit of the protein i'm giving them. (freeze dried mealworms) here are some pictures from last week .
Image
Their outworld (i'm not a great designer, sorry)
also that moldy mealworm was removed. :lol:
Image
there complete setup (the nest and plastic box)
Image
their nest.
I know it big for them but I thought they were bigger and would grow faster when i moved them, still there comfortable and have utilized about half of the space.
Image
Half of there brood pile. this one has maybe 20 larvae in it and they have another same size (maybe larger) also they have a couple clumps of eggs.
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
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    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

ArizonanAnts
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Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 64825Post ArizonanAnts
Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:13 pm

Hey, antnest. Your colony looks great. Could you update and post pics? If not thats fine, just asking ;)

Have a good day!

-ArizonanAnts
Keeper of

Nothing right now :cry:

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antnest8
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Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 66673Post antnest8
Sun Jan 19, 2020 4:42 pm

I wish I could update but really, There is not much to say, :? . Being that, my camponotus love hibernation, they aren't really doing much.
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
  • Ant Care Sheets
    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

AntsNW
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Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 74147Post AntsNW
Wed Oct 07, 2020 7:21 pm

Hi!
I just read the journal, and I have started keeping a Camponotus queen myself!-- she is progressing rather slowly, and I don't think she will have any workers before hibernation.
Could you give me a few more details about how you hiberated them?
I think everyone is also looking forward to an update!
Thank you!
Keeper of:
Camponotus Pennsylvanicus-- 1 queen, 8 workers
Lasius Niger queen

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antnest8
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Re: Antnests c. pennsylvanicus journal

Post: # 84430Post antnest8
Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:20 pm

Alright here is the post I probably should have written for a while.

FINAL UPDATE:
I write this mostly so people can learn from my mistakes maybe but also learn a bit more about the care of Camponotus Pennsylvcanicus. Just 1 month ago I finally released my colony into the wild. It was sad but also had good reason. But lets start from where we left off. August 2020 I had to release almost all my colonies except the Saxons, this is because of some change within my house with rooms and siblings. The Saxons did well 2020 and grew to their max of about 40 workers or so. They never did fill the Hybrid nest completely. After 2021 hibernation things did not go great; the Saxons still had brood but it was growing so slowly it only replaced the workers that died.

Even worse, around spring time a disease started to enter the colony. I've seen it happen before in Camponotus, but it almost acts like Paralysis. Workers will still be alive but lose control of their legs and slowly die. I don't know where this came from but my best guesses are either malnutrition (I fed the ants a variety of freeze-dried food) or something to do with the baby powder setup I was using. What ever it was they started loosing workers until they were down to less than 20.

My personal life is coming to some major changes with college and a 2 year religious mission as well, so I would have had to give their care over to my family during that time, and I did not feel comfortable with doing that when the colony was in such poor condition.

CONCLUSION: Camponotus is my favorite Genus of ant still. Their size allows them to exhibit personality traits that you can observe and watch. However, they are not an easy species to keep. They grow slowly so you have to be in for the long run and are not suitable for those with lifestyles that require frequent moving or change. Also, because of their slow growth you have to be careful about worker loss. If your colony stalls in growth, it will fail.

Good luck to you all! As for me, I will try to be active these next few months. After which it will be a few years but I will still keep on the ant-keeping spirit!
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
  • Ant Care Sheets
    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

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