102 replies to this topic

[OhNoNotAgain]

New CA02 video. The trophallaxis of the queen duo is hilarious.

 

https://youtu.be/vUBVULnGle4

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, June 8 2021 - 1:29 PM.

[PetsNotPests]

Really neat to watch them preform trophallaxis like that. With these larger species, you can really see everything they are up to. Nice video.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Solo CA02 has two workers….

I moved duo CA02 to a “tub.”

Good vicinus queen and workers I dumped into a mini-hearth. They are now next to new vicinus who had 4 workers when I got her.



Cola test tube has some huge empty cocoons. Check out these new workers. They are the size of Veromessor queens lol. Right side is CA02 for comparison. These are big queens. ❤️

[OhNoNotAgain]

I turned off the lights and saw an unusually big “worker” head into the duo’s CA02 tub to explore. Um, queen, what r u doing.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Winged CA01 was keeping foil over her brood (not very smart) and her adoptive nanitic was trying hard to escape the tube, so I put them in a tub.



Solo CA02 I put into a mini-hearth with the connecting tube removed. She is in there chilling with her three workers.

Duo CA02 is still in tub.

Second winged CA02 still only at tiny larvae.

Found a vicinus queen in a tube dead. Gave her one larva to sad sansabeanus.
Postmortem photos using various lens.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Just a quick note to say that I did crazy things. I kidnapped a pupa from Good vicinus and gave it to Sad Sansabeanus, the one who lost her workers to Tetramorium, because she has no surviving larvae.

 

Also, I knocked the larvae out of the double CA02 group and gave one pupa to the 2nd winged CA02. She was so confused, attacking the pupa at first, and now seems interested in it.

The double CA02 group hasn't even figured out all their brood is scattered in the outworld ... they are too busy sleeping.

 

In the meantime, the first winged CA02 MIGHT be INFERTILE. Her natural larvae are turning ... humungous.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Massive probably male CA02 larva. (Worker is adopted.)
I think it was about to spin a cocoon?

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, July 6 2021 - 8:29 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

I can’t imagine the existential crisis and confusion the adopted workers will feel when they realize their queen is not fertilized and is capable only of producing useless males….🥺🤣😱😢😫😵‍💫

Yes I’m anthropomorphizing.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, July 6 2021 - 8:40 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Some photos of Camponotus:
EDIT grrr rotated….
Good vicinus


Double CA02 (they’ve lost 2 pupae as donors, one of which got eaten by winged02.)



Colas

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, July 19 2021 - 12:37 PM.

[eea]

can't wait to see the massive female alate/supermajor larvae

[OhNoNotAgain]

can't wait to see the massive female alate/supermajor larvae

Here it is ... the winged male from the unfertilized queen! And her very confused adopted worker. "Why do I have a brother? Is this my real mother? What's going on?"

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 10 2021 - 8:23 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2021/8/26 update
Received a new CA02 today. She has just one worker and no brood surviving, so I kidnapped another pupa from the duo and gave her that. I put her into a test tube that had just delivered a M. mexicanus (her old shipping tube was running out of water) with her worker, new pupa, and food.

So total proven fertile Camponotus queen/colonies:

Duo CA02 with workers and brood from 2021, test tube
Single lame CA02 with workers (and just had more brood) 2021, mini-hearth
New CA02 with worker 2021, arrived today, tube
Colas with workers from 2020(?), tube
Vicinus “bad luck” from 2020 - smallest brood and worker count, mini-hearth
“Good” vicinus from 2020 - largest brood and worker count, mini-hearth
“New” vicinus from 2021(?) - middle of road, mini-hearth

Fraggles in separate journal.

New CA02:

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 26 2021 - 7:58 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Annnnd I found new CA02 dead. So much for that one.

Otherwise as listed above.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 27 2021 - 7:01 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Today I split the CA02 duo, because I just keep hearing about them turning pleo after diapause. I'd rather not see that happen since I only have 3 queens, and one of them has bum front legs. (I have heard of ONE person's CA02 staying poly, but the odds otherwise are just not very good.)

 

Because the Duo's set up gets hit with sunlight in the late afternoon, sometimes the colony leaves the test tube and hides in a shaded corner of the outworld. Well, today, about 3/4 of the colony was hiding in the outworld with a queen and all the brood, while 1/4 was in the tube with the other queen. The 1/4 in the tube I dumped into a mini-hearth, then kidnapped a few more workers and about 1/3 of the brood, and also added to the mini-hearth.

 

So now I've split the CA02 into 3:

 

- Alpha (still in THA outworld + tube, might move them somewhere else so I can use the outworld for other ants)

- Beta (in mini-hearth)

- Lame (in mini-hearth)

 

I'm a bit sad to split up the Duo. They did VERY well together and most of the time the queens were side-by-side, acting buddy-buddy and like they enjoyed each other's company.

But I just can't risk them killing each other after diapause.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, September 16 2021 - 4:18 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2021.11.16

Today I put the Camponotus in the garage. (No, doesn't freeze around here.)

CA02 alpha, beta, lame.

C. vicinus good, "lucky," and "new."

C. quercicola

Also the Tetras.

 

Only Camponotus that didn't go in the garage are fragilis.

[OhNoNotAgain]

2022.03.27

Just to note that I brought the Camponotus (and Lios and Prenos) in from the garage.
I had to water them about three times over the winter.
Today I also cleaned their sugar water dispensers and fed them all fruit flies.

[OhNoNotAgain]

The colas came out of the garage with this massive brood pile which they keep in the middle of their outworld….

[Dumpling]

Update?

[OhNoNotAgain]

Soooo a year later here are the Camponotus stats (aside from fragilis):

3 separate CA02 queens: still alive. None of them had a good 2022. They’re all at just a few workers.

Good vicinus still has a lot of workers crammed into their mini hearth.

“New” vicinus also did well in 2022 and is giving “good” a run for their money.

“Lucky” just can’t seem to catch up again. She was caught at the same time as “good” but suffered a loss of her brood early on before I got her. She only has a few workers.

Colas: not as huge a brood pile as this time last year, but they seem to be doing well.

Most all Camponotus now have grain mite and possibly book lice infestations grrrrr….

Photo 1: Good vicinus: so full of ants it just looks black.
Photo 2: Play “spot the quercicola queen”!
Photo 3: The lame CA02 (she has a bad leg) ironically is doing the best of the three.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Hmm so riddle me this. I brood boosted “lucky” queen and she looked so excited to have so many larvae.
Fast forward a week or two and she’s dead.
Did some pathogen get transferred? Or just coincidence?
I returned the brood to “new” vicinus and we will see how they do.