Ant ID please - Field, BC, Canada

[justrws]

Picked up this queen a week ago (July 15th, 2022) at a mountain hotel. I found her and another one wandering around on some stone and wooden steps. Looked like they were looking for somewhere to setup a founding chamber. I was only able to catch this one; the other found a hole to duck into and didn't come back out.

https://imgur.com/a/ZdJl3ar

I've got her in a test tube setup, nice dark area and she's already got some eggs (which you see a bit of in the picture). I was also a bit curious about temperatures as the only place I have in my house that is dark and warm is in a drawer in my garage. I put a thermometer in the drawer and the few times I've checked it in the late afternoons it's been mid to high 20s (Celsius). She doesn't seem to be in any kind of stress and she's laying eggs so I would think that's ok, but is it? Or should I be finding a cooler place to put her?

Also, would it annoy her/cause problems if I was to put a camera in there to watch her? The specific camera I was think of was a Wyze Cam v3. It has night vision IR lights so I'm not sure if those would be seen by her or affect her in any way. The 'near' lights use 940 nm wavelength and the description on the camera says that "no lights can be seen on the front of the camera in this mode" but you can see them faintly. The 'far' lights use 850 nm and the description says that "4 red lights may be seen...in this mode" and they are more visible.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Picked up this queen a week ago (July 15th, 2022) at a mountain hotel. I found her and another one wandering around on some stone and wooden steps. Looked like they were looking for somewhere to setup a founding chamber. I was only able to catch this one; the other found a hole to duck into and didn't come back out.

https://imgur.com/a/ZdJl3ar

I've got her in a test tube setup, nice dark area and she's already got some eggs (which you see a bit of in the picture). I was also a bit curious about temperatures as the only place I have in my house that is dark and warm is in a drawer in my garage. I put a thermometer in the drawer and the few times I've checked it in the late afternoons it's been mid to high 20s (Celsius). She doesn't seem to be in any kind of stress and she's laying eggs so I would think that's ok, but is it? Or should I be finding a cooler place to put her?

Also, would it annoy her/cause problems if I was to put a camera in there to watch her? The specific camera I was think of was a Wyze Cam v3. It has night vision IR lights so I'm not sure if those would be seen by her or affect her in any way. The 'near' lights use 940 nm wavelength and the description on the camera says that "no lights can be seen on the front of the camera in this mode" but you can see them faintly. The 'far' lights use 850 nm and the description says that "4 red lights may be seen...in this mode" and they are more visible.

I tried that exact camera as a beginner . If you consider black dots running around an outworld a success(It doesn’t do close ups), it was a success.

Camponotus pennsylvanicus, they dont like humidity and are stressed easily. Expect eggs to hatch in a few weeks, maybe 5 or 3.

[justrws]

I tried that exact camera as a beginner . If you consider black dots running around an outworld a success(It doesn’t do close ups), it was a success.

Camponotus pennsylvanicus, they dont like humidity and are stressed easily. Expect eggs to hatch in a few weeks, maybe 5 or 3.

The camera focus looked alright as long as I had it at the right distance. Not perfect but I could tell it was her and eggs. For any viewing after she's gotten more established I'd just use the macro lens on my phone (like the picture was taken with) but while things are still in this early stage I don't want to disturb her as much as possible.

I think the humidity in the drawer is about 30% but she's in a test tube setup so I'm not sure what the humidity is in there. Are those temps I mentioned ok or should she be cooler? I can probably find a drawer inside that would be cooler and doesn't get opened often.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

I tried that exact camera as a beginner . If you consider black dots running around an outworld a success(It doesn’t do close ups), it was a success.

Camponotus pennsylvanicus, they dont like humidity and are stressed easily. Expect eggs to hatch in a few weeks, maybe 5 or 3.

The camera focus looked alright as long as I had it at the right distance. Not perfect but I could tell it was her and eggs. For any viewing after she's gotten more established I'd just use the macro lens on my phone (like the picture was taken with) but while things are still in this early stage I don't want to disturb her as much as possible.

I think the humidity in the drawer is about 30% but she's in a test tube setup so I'm not sure what the humidity is in there. Are those temps I mentioned ok or should she be cooler? I can probably find a drawer inside that would be cooler and doesn't get opened often.

A little Higher is better. Just about room temperature basically

[justrws]

A little Higher is better. Just about room temperature basically

Well room temperature is 22 Celsius (72 F) and yesterday when I took that picture the temperature in the drawer was 26 Celsius (79 F). From your suggestion, sounds like I should move her somewhere cooler.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

A little Higher is better. Just about room temperature basically

Well room temperature is 22 Celsius (72 F) and yesterday when I took that picture the temperature in the drawer was 26 Celsius (79 F). From your suggestion, sounds like I should move her somewhere cooler.

Oh, I thought in your first post you said 20C? Warmer is better, but max out at 80 F Inside tube.

[justrws]

So due to extenuating circumstances I had to open the drawer I have her in and saw this:

https://imgur.com/a/aVa6YvL

Looks like she's feeding all of them due to the yellow coloring inside. I count 9 in total. What I'm wondering is why there are 3 separated from the rest? Any ideas?

[SolenopsisKeeper]

So due to extenuating circumstances I had to open the drawer I have her in and saw this:

https://imgur.com/a/aVa6YvL

Looks like she's feeding all of them due to the yellow coloring inside. I count 9 in total. What I'm wondering is why there are 3 separated from the rest? Any ideas?

They are likely closer to hatching so to prevent the larvae from eating the other eggs.

[justrws]

They are likely closer to hatching so to prevent the larvae from eating the other eggs.

lol. I don' think that is it. We're only a couple weeks in (15 days today) and none of them have even pupated yet. I did put a link to a picture of it in my last post.