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Camponotus Q&A Topic/ Campoculture! :)

ants & myrmecology ant keeping general ant keeping camponotous

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157 replies to this topic

#61 Offline Kalidas - Posted October 20 2019 - 9:51 AM

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Just fill a plant pot with Orbeez, some fertilizer and the plant. Then see if it grows without water. People at the store are going to be looking at me like I'm crazy when they see me with a giant pack of Orbeez :rofl2:


Well it is what they were orginally invented for. Should be fun to see if they work well with ants or not

#62 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted October 20 2019 - 10:03 AM

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yeah, I might just scoop up some pharoah ants and see what they do


There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#63 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 4 2020 - 5:11 PM

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Hello fellow Camponotus Keepers- it's Febuary which means sadly (or happily), diapause is winding down to a close. I will see, but I'm planning on taking my colony out around the end of March depending on how things go.


There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#64 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted February 4 2020 - 7:21 PM

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Mine have been out for a month now.



#65 Offline Serafine - Posted February 5 2020 - 5:21 AM

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I have 4 Camponotus colonies. I have realized only one of them eat the dead workers. Is that common? I was told they don’t waste the protein. My other Camponotus colony leaves their dead in the outworld. Both are c chromaiodes.

 

My C. barbaricus (species from southern Europe) sometimes eat their dead but not regularly. There are species well-known for eating their dead though like the asian C. nicobarensis.
 

Camponotus generally need a broad diet, always eating the same stuff isn't good for them (well, that's true for most ants).

 

You can also try feeding them pee (don't if you use any medicine or drink a lot of caffein) or urea (you can get clean urea from the pharmacy, just use a TINY amount like the tip of a knife and mix some sugar into the water as well) - Camponotus have an endosymbiont called Blochmannia which can break down urea and use it to create a number of vital amino acids (they're mostly important for brood development).


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We should respect all forms of consciousness. The body is just a vessel, a mere hull.

Welcome to Lazy Tube - My Camponotus Journal


#66 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 5 2020 - 8:46 AM

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I don't want to know how you found that one out... lol


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#67 Offline ForestDragon - Posted February 13 2020 - 5:44 PM

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I don't want to know how you found that one out... lol

it was a hot topic last year, its so weird


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#68 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 13 2020 - 5:45 PM

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wow lol


There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#69 Offline Serafine - Posted February 13 2020 - 8:47 PM

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It's actually official now, at least for one australian Camponotus species: https://www.research...nd_for_nitrogen


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We should respect all forms of consciousness. The body is just a vessel, a mere hull.

Welcome to Lazy Tube - My Camponotus Journal


#70 Offline NickAnter - Posted February 13 2020 - 8:54 PM

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Yeah, the whole urine thing was a very common topic last year.  Was in quite a few journals, and was mentioned a lot in the chat.


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#71 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 14 2020 - 6:07 AM

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there must have been some very interesting conversations last year lol


There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#72 Offline ANTdrew - Posted February 14 2020 - 9:54 AM

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Time to edit the title of this thread, too. Change Camponoutous to Camponotus


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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#73 Offline ForestDragon - Posted February 14 2020 - 10:11 AM

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Time to edit the title of this thread, too. Change Camponoutous to Camponotus

oh wow just noticed that and I'm going nuts



#74 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 14 2020 - 10:36 AM

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You can stop being my Formica queen when I check on her lol. I changed it


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#75 Offline Acutus - Posted February 14 2020 - 1:08 PM

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I have 4 Camponotus colonies. I have realized only one of them eat the dead workers. Is that common? I was told they don’t waste the protein. My other Camponotus colony leaves their dead in the outworld. Both are c chromaiodes.

 

My C. barbaricus (species from southern Europe) sometimes eat their dead but not regularly. There are species well-known for eating their dead though like the asian C. nicobarensis.
 

Camponotus generally need a broad diet, always eating the same stuff isn't good for them (well, that's true for most ants).

 

You can also try feeding them pee (don't if you use any medicine or drink a lot of caffein) or urea (you can get clean urea from the pharmacy, just use a TINY amount like the tip of a knife and mix some sugar into the water as well) - Camponotus have an endosymbiont called Blochmannia which can break down urea and use it to create a number of vital amino acids (they're mostly important for brood development).

 

 

Hmmmmmmm I may try adding bird mutes to the diet. I keep Raptors so I have a plentiful supply!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I have C. chromaiodes and C. castaneus. You think this would apply?


Edited by Acutus, February 14 2020 - 1:10 PM.

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Billy

 

Currently keeping:

Camponotus chromaiodes

Camponotus castaneus

Formica subsericea


#76 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 14 2020 - 2:49 PM

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I read a article on bird mute (sadly, and now I wish I didn't), and I don't know personally. Unless the bird mute is extremely close to human urine, I wouldn't risk it. But that's just me.


There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#77 Offline AntsDakota - Posted February 14 2020 - 2:51 PM

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National Geographic would have a great time putting this into one of their "Weird But True" kids' books.


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#78 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 14 2020 - 2:53 PM

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"Weird, But Extremely Disturbing and We Don't Even know If We Should Be Selling This to Kids"


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There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike


#79 Offline Acutus - Posted February 15 2020 - 9:39 AM

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Well since I have such access to the Urates of owls I decided to take some dried flakes of it and put it in 2 C. chromaiodes colonies and my C. castaneus colony. All 3 originally showed interest. The castaneus almost just as quickly lost interest. The Chromaiodes on the other hand continued to try and manipulate, carry, move or whatever the rather largeish flakes I put in.

 

I will next crush the dried urates into powder and offer it that way. I could also rehydrate the powder.

 

I read a article on bird mute (sadly, and now I wish I didn't), and I don't know personally. Unless the bird mute is extremely close to human urine, I wouldn't risk it. But that's just me.

Could you summarize what you read and how that pertains? I believe much of this study was started by observing species of ant actually using bird droppings as a nutrient source. (am I correct on this anyone)


Billy

 

Currently keeping:

Camponotus chromaiodes

Camponotus castaneus

Formica subsericea


#80 Offline Da_NewAntOnTheBlock - Posted February 15 2020 - 11:16 AM

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It was just on what bird mutes were, (after that I didn't want to read more), but I suppose if there was a lab analysis of bird mutes compared to human urine, you would get a definitive answer... I'm just not the guy for this lol. Maybe you could conduct an experiment on this yourself... 


There is a important time for everything, important place for everyone, an important person for everybody, and an important ant for each and every ant keeper and myrmecologist alike






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