Camponotus nearcticus

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AntsDakota
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Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 52235Post AntsDakota
Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:31 pm

Today I acquired a Camponotus colony from a friend. The first thing I noticed is that the workers were noticeably smaller than Camponotus pennsylvanicus, and the queen has an elongated gaster. The colony has 11 workers, 1 pupa, 10 or so tiny larvae, and perhaps a couple eggs? Anyway, the test tube is pretty moldy, yet I am about to hibernate them, and I assume they are waiting until spring prior to moving into a new environment. (they absolutely refuse to move) I am about to hibernate them, in my garage, so I will try to move them next spring, as I am not concerned the mold will harm them during hibernation.
"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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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 52311Post AntsDakota
Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:13 am

I plan on keeping them outside in the daytime and inside during the night time about a week, to get them used to the cold. Then they are going in the garage full time.
"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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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 52700Post AntsDakota
Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:36 pm

They are outside getting used to the cold. It has froze here a few times yet they are still alive and, well, not so active. :lol:
"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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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 56527Post AntsDakota
Sun Mar 17, 2019 2:30 pm

The temperature is climbing into the 40s here, therefore a few workers have began to awaken. Miraculously, the entire colony, brood included, has survived in my garage that day when it was around negative thirty degrees F :o.
"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

JoeHostile1
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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 56553Post JoeHostile1
Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:34 am

Camponotus are very good at surviving temperatures below 0C. They often nest in decaying logs that are just sitting on the ground. So they can survive with almost no protection from the outside temperature.
Keeping:
Tetramorium immigrans * Lasius Neoniger * Lasius Claviger * Messor Aciculatus * Myrmica Rubra * Camponotus Novaeboracensis * Camponotus Turkastanus * Pheidole Pallidula

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antnest8
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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 56684Post antnest8
Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:08 pm

still I'm surprised!
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AntsDakota
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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 56748Post AntsDakota
Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:31 pm

The queen is beginning to wake. One worker drowned, and another died of thirst, for she wandered too far away from the water. This leaves me with nine fully active workers, the queen, and brood.
"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

GhostHDz
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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 56762Post GhostHDz
Sun Mar 24, 2019 11:29 am

What part of South Dakota are you from?

Hunter36o
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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 56911Post Hunter36o
Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:34 am

Is it not the Camponotus ants that have an anti freeze type of chemical in their blood that allows them to survive on the surface during the winter months or am I getting confused with another species?

Shame not all ants from temperate regions gained that advantage.
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

AntsDakota
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Re: Camponotus nearcticus

Post: # 56997Post AntsDakota
Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:59 am

Hunter36o wrote:
Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:34 am
Is it not the Camponotus ants that have an anti freeze type of chemical in their blood that allows them to survive on the surface during the winter months or am I getting confused with another species
That is correct. Apparently, Camponotus is the only genera I have ever kept that can survive subzero temperatures, as the same cold has killed all my other ants. :cry:
"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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