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Camponotus


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65 replies to this topic

#21 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 7 2015 - 10:23 AM

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5450451F-7AC1-48DD-BDD9-84FCEFB654A6.jpg

April 7, 2015

Got all excited and snatched up one of her eggs.

Edited by Pulliamj, April 7 2015 - 11:44 AM.


#22 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 8 2015 - 6:57 PM

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All of the queens seem to respond the same way when being disturbed. They run around and check the surroundings; then they go back and hover over their eggs. It almost looks like she is going to gobble them up but she just sits over them. They then get very still. I guess this is normal behavior? They don't seem to be picking at the cotton at all. I can shine lights right on them and nothing but vibrations and opening the lid gets them all stirred up.

#23 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 9 2015 - 2:00 PM

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https://youtu.be/EfUM253TQ60

#24 Offline Ants4fun - Posted April 9 2015 - 2:48 PM

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Nice video, what did you film with?



#25 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 9 2015 - 2:58 PM

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Thanks. JVC Everio HD.

#26 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 9 2015 - 3:25 PM

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By my observations the queens that are laying are laying 1 egg daily so far. Most have 5-6 eggs now.

#27 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 11 2015 - 3:00 PM

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All 7 of the queens I caught are laying eggs should all have around 10 eggs each in a day or so.

#28 Offline dspdrew - Posted April 14 2015 - 5:55 AM

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That's what I was thinking lol. I was going to cut a slice of it and glue it to the side of a container.

 

Cut a slice of rotted wood and sandwich it between glass and steel or nylon mesh. That's what I'm planning to do one of these days. This would allow for some ventilation.



#29 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 14 2015 - 3:49 PM

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I just noticed one of the queens containers was slightly tilted and she couldn't walk to the other side where her eggs were. It was only a day at the max. Will these eggs survive?

#30 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 19 2015 - 5:25 PM

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https://youtu.be/ll_rYSo_iyo

#31 Offline Pulliamj - Posted April 20 2015 - 4:54 PM

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One of the Queens has died no reason that I can tell.

#32 Offline Foogoo - Posted April 21 2015 - 11:22 AM

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One of the Queens has died no reason that I can tell.

 

Queens tend to do that  :( . I prefer mysterious deaths over obviously preventable deaths like drowning, flooding, smashing, etc. though. 


Camponotus vicinus, Crematogaster 1, Crematogaster 2, Formica francoeuri, *, *, Myrmecocystus testaceus, Novomessor cockerelli, Pheidole hyatti, Pogonomyrmex californicus, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, Solenopsis invicta


#33 Offline Pulliamj - Posted May 11 2015 - 4:38 AM

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All but one queen have larva now. I think the one abandoned hers.

#34 Offline Pulliamj - Posted May 20 2015 - 1:51 PM

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#35 Offline BugFinder - Posted May 20 2015 - 2:08 PM

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Those acrylic designs would be an especially poor choice for Camponotus. They are believed to be extra sensitive to plastics, on top of being formicines. Because of this, formic acid that the ants secrete will build up on the non-absorbent plastic, and possibly endanger the colony. 

I am an adamant critic of test tubes, and a test tube would be better for a colony of Camponotus than most acrylic nests, in my experience.

 

Not a shred of controlled study or literature to support this, aside from personal anecdotes.  If Camponotus die from their own "formic acid," it's likely due to poor ventilation, and not the nest material alone.

 

I wonder if any of this is why my camponotus is struggling.  I'm down to the queen, 1 worker, and a couple of larvae.


“If an ant carries an object a hundred times its weight, you can carry burdens many times your size.”  ― Matshona Dhliwayo

 

My Journals:

Pogonomyrmex subdentatus

Camponotus Vicinus

Camponotus sansabeanus

Tetramorium (sp)

Pogonomyrmex Californicus

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#36 Offline Pulliamj - Posted May 20 2015 - 2:46 PM

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I open mine every few days to check on them. Not sure if this helps or hurts. I have 5 queens that have cocoons. 2 that have abandoned theirs and not layer anymore.

#37 Offline 123LordOfAnts123 - Posted May 20 2015 - 3:44 PM

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As for Camponotus being sensitive to plastic; I've raised dozens of queens and colonies in plastic test-tubes and containers without issue. Last year I housed a colony of about 800 C. floridanus in an 8x10 plastic box. They did fine and thrived.


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#38 Offline Lamarr - Posted May 22 2015 - 5:02 PM

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I used to raise my young queens in set-ups like this and they were all fine given that I don't bother them too much. That's always a bad thing to do.


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#39 Offline Pulliamj - Posted June 13 2015 - 3:46 PM

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First babies hatched today. 3 of them. I put a freshly killed spider in there. Should I offer sugar water too?
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#40 Offline dermy - Posted June 13 2015 - 5:40 PM

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Yes as that is what the adult workers will need to eat.






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