I need help ~ camponotus sansabeanus

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Sasha7
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:42 am
Location: Florida, Sarasota

I need help ~ camponotus sansabeanus

Post: # 71139Post Sasha7
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am

Hello there!
I’m new to ant keeping and though I’ve done some research, there doesn’t seem to be a ton of info about this particular species.
I recently purchased a beautiful sansabeanus queen. She had originally, 4 eggs.... and now it looks like she’s down to 3.
Right off the bat I didn’t think her eggs looked right, but let me give you the scoop.
This particular ant lives on the opposite side of America, in the western, south western region. I live in central, west-central Florida.
From my research I’ve discovered that keeping a queen ant warm, between the temperatures of 80-90 degrees, was optimal for her and the development of her eggs. The last few days we have had high humidity and slightly cooler temperatures (70’s-low 80’s) so I’ve kept her in her test tube, in an iPhone box (with a few holes in it) outside, on my workbench. (She’s not in direct sunlight). During the cooler times, I put her in another insulated box with ventilation and had a blanket, lightly placed over that. When I checked on her, she had the eggs bunched together instead of spread out (could that mean it was still to chilly for her???)
From research I discovered that you don’t really need to feed the queens during this time, however, I put a nice sized drop of honey in her tube and the next day it was gone... so, obviously she ate it.
I’m also aware that queens don’t like being disrupted.... I’ve checked on her once a day, everyday, since I’ve had her... (approximately 1-2 weeks)

Now, the questions I have are:
1. Do the eggs look right to you? In any stage of the life cycle, is this what they would look like? Or, do they look like duds to you? (She’s caring for them as if they’re still good?)
2. Did she eat her other egg? If so, was it because of stress, the weather change, infertile, etc?
3.Am I checking on her too much?
4.Any other tips that you can give me as an expert, would be greatly appreciated! I think she’s gorgeous and I really want her to succeed!

Thank you
Sasha 🙏🏻

Sasha7
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:42 am
Location: Florida, Sarasota

Re: I need help ~ camponotus sansabeanus

Post: # 71141Post Sasha7
Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:18 am

Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
Hello there!
I’m new to ant keeping and though I’ve done some research, there doesn’t seem to be a ton of info about this particular species.
I recently purchased a beautiful sansabeanus queen. She had originally, 4 eggs.... and now it looks like she’s down to 3.
Right off the bat I didn’t think her eggs looked right, but let me give you the scoop.
This particular ant lives on the opposite side of America, in the western, south western region. I live in central, west-central Florida.
From my research I’ve discovered that keeping a queen ant warm, between the temperatures of 80-90 degrees, was optimal for her and the development of her eggs. The last few days we have had high humidity and slightly cooler temperatures (70’s-low 80’s) so I’ve kept her in her test tube, in an iPhone box (with a few holes in it) outside, on my workbench. (She’s not in direct sunlight). During the cooler times, I put her in another insulated box with ventilation and had a blanket, lightly placed over that. When I checked on her, she had the eggs bunched together instead of spread out (could that mean it was still to chilly for her???)
From research I discovered that you don’t really need to feed the queens during this time, however, I put a nice sized drop of honey in her tube and the next day it was gone... so, obviously she ate it.
I’m also aware that queens don’t like being disrupted.... I’ve checked on her once a day, everyday, since I’ve had her... (approximately 1-2 weeks)

Now, the questions I have are:
1. Do the eggs look right to you? In any stage of the life cycle, is this what they would look like? Or, do they look like duds to you? (She’s caring for them as if they’re still good?)
2. Did she eat her other egg? If so, was it because of stress, the weather change, infertile, etc?
3.Am I checking on her too much?
4. Can I introduce another colony of the same species?? Will they kill her or will they accept her as their queen?
5. Any other tips that you can give me as an expert, would be greatly appreciated! I think she’s gorgeous and I really want her to succeed!

Thank you
Sasha 🙏🏻

Sasha7
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:42 am
Location: Florida, Sarasota

Re: I need help ~ camponotus sansabeanus

Post: # 71144Post Sasha7
Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:48 am

[youtube][/youtube]

https://youtu.be/uuUovtmD1qE

https://youtu.be/uuUovtmD1qE

The YouTube links contain a few short videos of her and her eggs

Hawkeye
Posts: 1557
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:38 pm
Location: Almelo

Re: I need help ~ camponotus sansabeanus

Post: # 71150Post Hawkeye
Sun Jun 07, 2020 10:19 am

Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
Hello there!
Well hi there!
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
The last few days we have had high humidity and slightly cooler temperatures (70’s-low 80’s) so I’ve kept her in her test tube, in an iPhone box (with a few holes in it) outside, on my workbench. (She’s not in direct sunlight). During the cooler times, I put her in another insulated box with ventilation and had a blanket, lightly placed over that. When I checked on her, she had the eggs bunched together instead of spread out (could that mean it was still to chilly for her???)
Ok quick question, why do you keep her outside? I assume the temperatures inside your house are much more stable and thus more beneficial to your queen. Having the eggs bunched together is normal, so no reason to worry there.
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
From research I discovered that you don’t really need to feed the queens during this time, however, I put a nice sized drop of honey in her tube and the next day it was gone... so, obviously she ate it.
If you offer her honey, it should be a tiny droplet. That way your queen doesn't risk getting stuck in it, or end up being covered in honey, potentially smearing it over her brood. Or covering the test tube with a thin layer of sticky honey.
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
I’m also aware that queens don’t like being disrupted.... I’ve checked on her once a day, everyday, since I’ve had her... (approximately 1-2 weeks)
Okay, that is way too much! Every time you check on her, you disturb her. Every time you move her (like into that insulated box) you disturb her. Vibrations or light will signal to her that her claustral chamber (test tube) is opened up (e.g. predators digging into the soil allowing light to shine in) This will cause stress and will make her feel unsafe. If she feels her surroundings aren't safe, she won't want to raise her brood there. But since she has limited reserves, she'll then eat the eggs she laid to at least get some of the protein back into her system. My advice? Give her a fruitfly. Put her somewhere in a dark cupboard at room temperature or slightly higher. Then just leave her be for about 3-4 weeks without checking in on her. She won't need to be looked after, as long as he has water, she will be perfectly fine.
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
Now, the questions I have are:
1. Do the eggs look right to you? In any stage of the life cycle, is this what they would look like? Or, do they look like duds to you? (She’s caring for them as if they’re still good?)
Upload your pictures to imgur.com and then copy the BBCode. Paste that into the text of your next post to display images.
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
2. Did she eat her other egg? If so, was it because of stress, the weather change, infertile, etc?
Yes she very likely ate the egg, and it was most likely caused by stress.
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
3.Am I checking on her too much?
Yes, like I said leave her be undisturbed for now. We all know how hard it is to resist the urge to check in on her, but you're stressing her out at the moment. Once she has some workers (safety in numbers) she'll be far more at ease.
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
4.Any other tips that you can give me as an expert, would be greatly appreciated! I think she’s gorgeous and I really want her to succeed!
Join the Camponotus Crew thread (see my signature) if you'd like to exchange experiences with fellow ant keepers.
Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:57 am
Thank you
Sasha 🙏🏻
My pleasure!

Hawkeye

Hawkeye
Posts: 1557
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:38 pm
Location: Almelo

Re: I need help ~ camponotus sansabeanus

Post: # 71151Post Hawkeye
Sun Jun 07, 2020 10:23 am

Sasha7 wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:48 am
[youtube][/youtube]

https://youtu.be/uuUovtmD1qE

https://youtu.be/uuUovtmD1qE

The YouTube links contain a few short videos of her and her eggs
The link shows a clip of about 3 seconds? The queen looks gorgeous btw! It looks like there is liquid on the bottom of the tube just to her left?

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