Recently, I bought a Camponotus socius colony from a vendor. They was a bit on the expensive side, but based on antwiki and related sources, it sounds like you can only find them in non-disturbed areas. In Florida however, non-disturbed areas just get harder and harder to find. So based on these circumstances, it sounds like they are quite rare.
Also, are their eggs normally pink? I have never seen regular colored eggs in this colony, which is surprising to me. Not only this, but all first instar larvae remain pink until further development(I don’t even feed them pink food). I have also noticed they will not eat dead prey, in no circumstances. I tried dead crickets, superworms, and dead fruit flies, but they have not accepted anything except live fruit flies. In a few days the colony will hit four workers, which is exciting to me as it has taken them months to get pupae.
Also, does anyone have any tips for taking quality photos with a normal device camera? I use a macrolense attachment, but it doesn’t help drastically…
Here is some photos:
Colony Overview

Queen cleaning gaster:

Queen alone:

Edited by FloridaAnts, July 3 2022 - 10:10 AM.