6 replies to this topic

[Boog]

Yá'át'ééh (Hello in Navajo) fellow ant folks!

 

New member here, just wanted to share some photos of my first ant colony. I got a C. pennsylvanicus queen with a dozen workers last year through a fellow around July of 2018 and survived our first diapause over winter. I'm now up to around 100 workers and I've been thoroughly enjoying having a colony to observe. I founded her in a test tube but moved them into their formicarium around March, might already be in need of a larger nest and planning an expansion. I wanted to build my own nest and out world after becoming obsessed with antkeeping these last few years thanks to YouTube channels dedicated to the hobby so here's my setup. I hope to share more photos and posts in the future as my colony grows and also my journey on setting up the formicarium.

 

Edited by Boog, May 11 2019 - 2:37 AM.

[Acutus]

Yá'át'ééh !! And welcome to the Madness!!! Your setup looks amazing! I just got into this myself and am currently keeping a few different species but I am partial to the Camponotus! I have a C. pennsylvanicus Queen in a Test Tube setup now, a pretty good size C. chromaiodes colony, and I just captured a small colony of C. castaneus!

 

We'll see ya around!

 

OH, btw are you Navajo?

[TennesseeAnts]

Welcome! Some heat will make all the difference in Camponotus. My pennslyvanicus are kept in a drawer in a constant 82 degrees. All were caught in early April, and now have pupae!

[Zeiss]

Welcome to the forum!  

[Boog]

OH, btw are you Navajo?

 

Yep, in our language we call ourselves Diné. I was born and raised in New Mexico, I wish I could've had an ant forum to learn from as a kid when I was putting red harvester ants in jars.

[Boog]

Welcome! Some heat will make all the difference in Camponotus. My pennslyvanicus are kept in a drawer in a constant 82 degrees. All were caught in early April, and now have pupae!

 

I was worried about keeping the heat regulated, I had to learn the micro climate of the nest and observe how the colony reacts. They evacuated the brood when I didn't notice that it got up to over 86 degrees, queen was still in there but I unplugged the cable.

I have the heat on a timer and it doesn't become an issue if I keep on top of it. It's surprising seeing a colony double in population when a brood batch comes around. I mainly feed crickets, fruit flies, and chicken pieces for protein and so far seems to be working.

[Boog]

Welcome to the forum!  

 

Thanks! I've been using this forum as a resource for the last year and learned a lot around here. Glad to become a member and share my colony.