145 replies to this topic

[FeedTheAnts]

Any clue if or when C. castaneus are going to fly?

I still see alates in the nest(as of 2 days ago), so I'm pretty confident they haven't. It's super hot today, so I'm hoping to catch some at the blacklight tonight. My colony is failing right now, and I really don't want to be stuck without any of these.

[ANTdrew]

Good deal. I'll do some more searching tonight, too.

[Kaelwizard]

Subbarbatus seem to be easier than other Myrmentoma. I have seen many people who have successful colones (not all on this forum), but I don't know how many tries it took to get a successsful colony.

[Antkid12]

 I saw tons of castaneus alates under rocks. They will fly very soon.

[TennesseeAnts]

Subbarbatus seem to be easier than other Myrmentoma. I have seen many people who have successful colones (not all on this forum), but I don't know how many tries it took to get a successsful colony.

Most people don't realize Camponotus subbarbatus are polygynous. I bet that's why not many are successful. I believe most Myrmentoma are polygynous, actually.

Edited by Ant_Dude2908, June 3 2020 - 10:17 AM.

[AntsDakota]

We do have some nearcticus around here. They and pennsylvanicus are the most prevalent Camponotus in suburban environments.

[ANTdrew]

Update 6-9-2020

 

Things are progressing well for these new queens. It probably helped a lot that our AC was disconnected for five days and indoor temps shot up to 89.9 degrees!

 

Camponotus subbarbatus:

These queens look so cool. Both of them have pupa cocoons now. I really hope to have success with these.

 

Camponotus chromaiodes:

These queens are doing great as well. Both of them have pupae now. I'll probably end up selling both of them.

 

Here is my incubator set up, which hangs about nine feet up in my kitchen, the hottest spot in my home. Heat and common sense is all you really need to be successful in this hobby.

 

[ANTdrew]

Update 6-10-2020

 

New queens alert! I've spent hours upon hours the past few weeks walking about in wooded areas looking for the elusive Camponotus castaneus queens. Lo and behold, last night they came to me! I had just ordered a 25W CFL black-light bulb, which I screwed into a porch light on my patio. Around 9:30pm two of these beauties landed near by and many dozens of males started swarming the light:

 

 

I'm pretty stoked to once again be a part of "Team Castaneus."

 

[AntsDakota]

Wow. The only thing that gets that colorful around here is parasitic Lasius. Hope they do well!

However, I just acquired a few Camponotus queens myself of several species, will update my journal in a couple days.

[Canadant]

Update 6-10-2020

New queens alert! I've spent hours upon hours the past few weeks walking about in wooded areas looking for the elusive Camponotus castaneus queens. Lo and behold, last night they came to me! I had just ordered a 25W CFL black-light bulb, which I screwed into a porch light on my patio. Around 9:30pm two of these beauties landed near by and many dozens of males started swarming the light:





I'm pretty stoked to once again be a part of "Team Castaneus."

There we have it. Black lights work. That's awesome. Congrats on the finds. I bet it's great for collecting delicious ant food too! My ants love june bugs.

[ANTdrew]

They do work! I got a Nylanderia queen, too. She’s maybe 1/10th the size of the big mamas.
Here’s what I used:
https://www.amazon.c...ob_b_asin_title
Time will tell if the queens are mated.

[ANTdrew]

Update: 6-23-2020

 

Three of these new queens got their first nanitics at some point this weekend. On Monday morning, I opened up their box and found that one of the C. subbarbatus and two of the C. chromaiodes each had 2-3 nanitics with more on the way soon. I pulled their tubes out of the box and fed them some Sunburst soaked in a paper towel piece.

 

Pics of the subbarbatus: The nanitics are the size of a Crematogaster worker, so pretty adorable.

 

The C. nearcticus has pupae now, and the other subbarbatus may already have nanitics.

 

Camponotus castaneus:

I have a feeling that only one of these girls is mated. She is the one that shed her wings and now has a tidy egg pile. The second one still has her wings and no eggs, and she really freaks every time I open the box. I may just release her.

[CatsnAnts]

Update: 6-23-2020
 
Three of these new queens got their first nanitics at some point this weekend. On Monday morning, I opened up their box and found that one of the C. subbarbatus and two of the C. chromaiodes each had 2-3 nanitics with more on the way soon. I pulled their tubes out of the box and fed them some Sunburst soaked in a paper towel piece.
 
Pics of the subbarbatus: The nanitics are the size of a Crematogaster worker, so pretty adorable.


 
The C. nearcticus has pupae now, and the other subbarbatus may already have nanitics.
 
Camponotus castaneus:
I have a feeling that only one of these girls is mated. She is the one that shed her wings and now has a tidy egg pile. The second one still has her wings and no eggs, and she really freaks every time I open the box. I may just release her.

I really wish I liked bigger ants more, but those C. subbarbatus are looking really good I have to say! Maybe I’ll try them again this year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ANTdrew]

Subbs are too big for you? Lol! I like little ants, too.

[CatsnAnts]

Subbs are too big for you? Lol! I like little ants, too.

Haha ya, I’d say the biggest ant that I would enjoy keeping would be any Lasius sp. (with the exception of Colobopsis sp. and other larger species with small colonies). I prefer to have small workers, queen size doesn’t matter much to me. I simply like to make “compact” setups, and smaller species tend to develop faster, which I like since I have 0 patience lol

[ANTdrew]

Update 6-24-2020

The second of my Camponotus subbarbatus got her first nanitic yesterday. You can see the standard news print in the photo for a sense of scale showing how minute she really is! I fed all the new queens several pre-frozen fruit flies, and they crushed them!

 

 

In the bad news department, I had found a Camponotus pennsylvanicus queen randomly about ten days ago. She was a dealate roaming about in the middle of the afternoon, which was pretty odd. Well, it turns out something was wrong with her because I found her curled up dead last night. RIP

 

[ANTdrew]

Update 7-3-2020

 

All of these new queens are doing very well so far, but I sold one of the C. subbarbatus last weekend.

The biggest news is that my C nearcticus finally got her first workers this week. I got to see her opening up the second worker's cocoon last night. She crushed a mealworm piece I put in her tube last night.

 

[Antkid12]

Nice! 

[Polyacanthus]

Supposedly we have subbarbatus here in Michigan but I can't say I've ever seen one, let alone a queen. Very cool though.

[ANTdrew]

Subbarbatus would be really easy to miss, but they’re worth looking for. I always see them on the common milkweed plants in my yard (Asclepias syriaca).