I am creating this just as a placeholder. I don't know how much time I will have to keep this updated on a consistent basis, but wanted to just put it out there and let others know what I have.

I caught this C. vicinus queen two summers ago up in the San Gabriel Mountains at Crystal Lake (all the way up highway 39). Colony is doing very well, and I already have four majors.

I just dumped them into a new bin with fresh test tubes. Can you find the queen?

Edited by nurbs, June 19 2015 - 4:20 PM.

Hey you made some of those holders.

Yup, thanks for the idea Drew. I had been using corrugated cardboard before. These are so much better.

Edited by nurbs, June 19 2015 - 4:06 PM.

If you goto DAISO JAPAN they have these cheap plastic jewelry boxes that have square lids on them. I drilled holes on those lids and just pried it off. 

I actually have several C. vicinus in various stages of development. Here is one where three workers recently eclosed. 

Woke up this morning to see that the all moved into two of the four test tubes that were in the bin. They all look really tight and smug. I put a blue pillow case underneath the setup to see them better (it was sitting on a white table).

Edited by nurbs, June 20 2015 - 7:39 AM.

Do you have any colonies started from a solitary queen? I'm quite curious how long it takes (any polymorphous  ant, not just Camponotus) for the first majors to appear.

A few times I have had Camponotus colonies get their first majors when they had under ten workers. My Camponotus fragilis colony that was started in August of last year has two or three majors already. All of these majors are fairly small though. They can range in size.

Beautiful ants, and excellent pictures.

Do you have any colonies started from a solitary queen? I'm quite curious how long it takes (any polymorphous  ant, not just Camponotus) for the first majors to appear.

I've had Pheidole raise major nanitics.

Edited by cpman, June 23 2015 - 1:16 PM.

Beautiful ants, and excellent pictures.
 
 

Do you have any colonies started from a solitary queen? I'm quite curious how long it takes (any polymorphous  ant, not just Camponotus) for the first majors to appear.

 
I've had Pheidole raise major nanitics.

Do you have any colonies started from a solitary queen? I'm quite curious how long it takes (any polymorphous  ant, not just Camponotus) for the first majors to appear.

Yup, I have two Camponotus species that started getting majors between 6 months to a year.

A lot of it depends on heat and how much and what you feed them, I think.

This is now my largest colony. They are doing very well and the queen is an egg laying machine. I have them in four test tubes inside a large plastic bin lined with fluon.

I am curious about the color of their eggs, however. Whenever someone posts an image of their C. vicinus eggs, they are always yellow. Mine have always been white. Is this normal?

Edited by nurbs, July 13 2015 - 3:53 AM.

Very nice. I don't think the color matters that much. It seems some queens/species make more yellowish eggs, and some more white.

Does anyone know why they're yellow?  First batch of eggs from my Camponotus was completely yellow, the next batches we're white with a yellow centre.

Shot this yesterday while hiking near Lake Arrowhead up in the mountains. I believe it is a black C. vicinus. Notice the yellow eggs.

My Gawd, That is a lot of eggs!

...and only one worker caring for them

Oh man I had a journal on these?!

Yes, have tons of these still