7 replies to this topic

[futurebird]

I have two Camponotus pennsylvanicus colonies. Mostly because you all scared me with tales of how easily the queens can just randomly die in the first year or so. I really want to document these colonies to a large size and over several years. So, having two seemed like a good idea. 

 

One colony is in a wooden nest I made myself. The nest is pretty small.  Their outworld, however is large. It has rocks and sand and they like to explore it in groups of 2 or 3 ants at a time. I've never seen more than 4 ants outside of the nest at once... which is normal for a colony of this size. I do not water their wooden nest, but they have two water feeders in the large outworld and that seems fine. 

 

The other colony is in a more typical 3D printed formicarium with a clay flor. Their outworld is small. They also never have more than 4 ants out at once. They have a "nestmate" for water right in their nest and water in the tiny outworld. 

 

 

The colonies are the same size with 15 and 18 ants respectively. They have similar brood piles and eat the same diet. So, what difference could one colony having more space and a wood nest make?

 

 

The only difference I've observed is the ants in the larger space are MUCH bigger. They have not produced majors yet, but I see a few medians, with wider heads and bigger bodies. 

 

I wonder if the size of ants is influenced by the size of their space? Or maybe it's just a fluke? Have any of you noticed something like this in polymorphic species?

[futurebird]

I was worried that I exaggerated in my other observations. So I decided to photograph both colonies. 

 

 

 

 

Neither colony seems to be "winding down" for diapause... but that's another issue. 

 

I really do think there is a striking difference in the size and number of workers. Could it be the wood nest? Making them want to have ants who can expand it in the future? Could it be the big outworld? Or maybe they are just different and these are coincidences. 

[antgallery]

I have multiple colonies of Camponotus and none seem to be winding down yet, so I don't think you have to worry about that. This is also my first year keeping Camponotus though so I may be wrong.

[futurebird]

The difference in these two colonies continues to baffle me. 

 

Why would two carpenter ant colonies raised in the same environment with the same food turn out so different from each other? My husband wonders if they are the same species since the size difference is so noticeable. But they are sister queens caught on the same day!

 

[ConcordAntman]

That’s been my experience futurebird. I can attest to the unpredictable survivability of C. pennsylvanicus. I captured 5 queens in May 2018. Within two weeks, one died of stress, and another from a parasitic Phorid fly larvae infestation (exploding gaster). The remaining 3 founded colonies of quite different sizes. All 3 were caught within 7-10 days of each other in my back yard. All were started in test tube preparations, fed the same, and moved to THA Phalanx formicaria upon reaching 15-20 workers yet each colony inexplicably had a different size and temperament. One colony only grew to 15-20 workers, demonstrated extremely timid foraging behavior, and was euthanized after an unexplained queen death in 2019, 2 weeks out of diapause. My other C. pennsylvanicus colony was a more robust forager with about 35 workers but another unexplained queen death happened about a month out of diapause spring 2020. My third colony will be 4 years old in 3 weeks and it’s still humming along. 100-200+ workers with eggs and larvae. Pupae are on the way soon as there are a bunch of late instar larvae. They’re by far the most aggressive foragers of all my colonies. 
 

Like you, I’m puzzled by the extremely different behavior of 3 queens of the same species caught in the same yard just days apart. Since much of insect behavior is hardwired, I wonder if it’s all in the genes? Since a queen can mate with more than one male during the nuptial flight, and can be capable of selectively fertilizing her eggs with sperm from each of her partners. Multiple insemination has been has been witnessed in the laboratory and in the field (though some question whether multiple insemination results in viable sperm stores from all the partners). With this reproductive mechanism, the potential for enhanced genetic variability may be more than enough to account for the behavioral differences we see. 
 

I also have a C. novaeboracensis colony I founded in 2020 and a C. americanus colony I purchased in 2018 (after my first queen/colony death) which was originally founded in 2017. If I’m lucky, these ladies seem to be in it for the long haul! Let’s hope the luck holds out for both of our colonies. 

Edited by ConcordAntman, April 26 2022 - 7:37 PM.

[NicholasP]

The difference in these two colonies continues to baffle me. 

 

Why would two carpenter ant colonies raised in the same environment with the same food turn out so different from each other? My husband wonders if they are the same species since the size difference is so noticeable. But they are sister queens caught on the same day!

 

I believe after seeing the video that they are different species. Notice how the first colony in the video has redish legs while the second colony has basically pure black legs. That indicates that they are not the same species. I am 99.99% certain that the first ant colony in the video is modoc and the second is definitley pennsylvanicus.

[NicholasP]

Also note how the first colony's minor workers heads are bigger and a little bulkier than your second colony.

[futurebird]

So, some time has passed and sadly the "bulky but few" colony has just stalled. No brood. No eggs. Just about 35 big lovely workers and a few smaller ones. They hardly eat since they have no larva to feed. 

 

The other colony? It's booming. I've hooked up a second wooden nest for them. They eat like a black hole. There are piles of brood and eggs. And they have, at last started producing majors. They are so big! I think there are about 120 of them

 

I'm really sad about my stalled colony. It just goes to show that it's not always your fault. Both of these colonies have the same excellent care. A variety of foods, protein and sugars, water access at all times. Comfortable wooden nests that have become my favorite for my Camponotus sp. colonies. 

 

I'm at the point where I'm thinking maybe after winter the other colony will "reset" and take off?

 

Or maybe the queen is just out of sperm?

 

All of the ants in the stalled colony look healthy, including the queen. They are capable of being lively, but mostly rest...almost like they are sad not to have any brood. A city without children is a sad city. Their gasters are full, and they eat a little now and then, but never with enthusiasm. Only one or two ants explore the outworld. 

 

Anything I'm missing that I could try? I hope this isn't the end for this colony...