Jump to content

  • Chat
  •  
  •  

Welcome to Formiculture.com!

This is a website for anyone interested in Myrmecology and all aspects of finding, keeping, and studying ants. The site and forum are free to use. Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation points to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!

Photo

Looking for advice with some young C. pennsylvanicus colonies


  • Please log in to reply
1 reply to this topic

#1 Offline Antsinmycloset - Posted March 7 2017 - 9:33 PM

Antsinmycloset

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 129 posts

Most of my colonies seem happy, but I have a pair of colonies giving me a little concern. Both are C. pennsylvanicus with one nanitic and no brood. Both are in an open ended test tube set in an acrylic box. Water and sugar water are provided constantly, with protein offered every few days. They've recently came out of diapause, and are all eating quite well. The protein might be unnecessary with no real brood, but hey, they seem to like it. I figure it can't hurt anything.

The problem is that, while they seem content, I've yet to see the nanitics getting fluid from the outworld or with enlarged gasters. I've yet to see them leave the tube even once, honestly. I've been placing honey water/protein inside the mouth of the test tube to be found, the act of which seems to noticeably stress out the queens. If they don't start laying eggs soon, the nanitics might end up dying of old age, which has me worried for the future. If they were your ants, what would you do?

I do plan on boosting both queens with 4-8 larvae/pupae, but my most successful queen only has maybe 40 brood and 13 workers. I don't want to risk causing damage there by taking such a significant amount, so this will all hinge on finding brood in the wild. I know where tons of colonies are, but well, we'll see if that's enough.

Follow up question, do most of you that use test tubes block part of the opening with cotton? Not enough to keep queens from going in and out, but to help boost humidity (can squirt water on it, too)? I've done it both ways, and can't tell if it's making any difference.



#2 Offline MichiganAnts - Posted March 7 2017 - 10:28 PM

MichiganAnts

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 331 posts
  • LocationMichigan

Camponotus pennsylvanicus tend to forage mostly at night, at least until the colony has a decent amount of workers (10+). Also Camponotus pennsylvanicus take ~2 months to go from egg to worker, so it just takes time (although a heating pad/cable can reduce these times)

 

As for the test tubes. you should just feed them in the test tube until she has a few workers and then place the tube in an outworld and place the food in the outworld.


Owner of MichiganAnts, a YouTube Channel dedicated to all my Michigan colonies found and raise in my backyard

https://www.youtube.com/MichiganAnts

https://twitter.com/MichiganAnts

https://www.facebook.com/MichiganAnts/

 

Keeper of:

 

Camponotus Pennsylvanicus

 

Camponotus Noveboracensis

 

Tetramorium





1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users