45 replies to this topic

[CAantz]

I just received a Camponotus us-ca02 and a Camponotus Vicinus queen from Sleepy. It’s awesome to see the sheer size of the us-ca02 queen compared to the Vicinus queen, who is already pretty large. This is my first journal and I will try to update it as much as possible without disturbing the ants too much. The Vicinus queen arrived with two eggs and the us-ca02 probably ate hers in the mail. I fed both ants a drop of honey. The Vicinus queen immediately drank about half of the drop (which was about the size of her abdomen) and the us-ca02 drank her whole drop which left her looking like an inflated balloon. I will hopefully have pictures later this week.

Edited by CAantz, May 3 2023 - 7:13 AM.

[CAantz]

The vicinus queen has 3 eggs and the us-ca02 doesn’t have any yet. Sorry for the bad photo, but the us-ca02 queen wouldn’t move to a better position, and I didn’t want to disturb her. Even in this weird position you can see the size difference.

[CAantz]

 

just found how to add a photo

[ZTYguy]

Lovely specimens you have there. Good luck with them!

[CAantz]

Thank you!

[CAantz]

I know this is off topic, but I just found this baby camel spider in the Santa Monica mountains. I thought these guys lived in the desert where there are sand dunes, so it was a cool find.

[CAantz]

Both queens are doing well. The us-ca02 has 9 eggs and is very swollen. The vicinus is lagging behind a bit with 5 eggs. There is some residue on the bottom of her test tube which I think is left over honey, but it might be slowing her down.

Edited by CAantz, May 8 2023 - 2:38 PM.

[CAantz]

 

here is the us-ca02

[ZTYguy]

Don’t worry about the vicinus, they are naturally slower growers. Care for her well and she’ll have a good first gen. The vicinus that I have currently are doing great, they just need time, patience and darkness.

[CAantz]

I just checked on the queens. The us-ca02 queen is up to 11 eggs! When she first laid her eggs, they were straight like grains of rice. Now they are shaped more like jellybeans so I hope this is a sign of them hatching soon. This vicinus is not doing as well and she is back down to one egg. I have no idea why as I only look at these queens once or twice a week. If she doesn’t lay and eggs soon I might move her into a new test tube with ought the residue at the bottom.

Pictures coming soon!

[CAantz]

The quality is not good because I only use my iPhone. I totally forgot to take a photo of the vicinus, but there wasn’t much to see anyway.

[CAantz]

Great news! All of us-ca02’s eggs are now larvae. Two of the larvae are quite large at about 3-4 mm. Hopefully they will pupate soon. The vicious queen is back in business with 5 eggs again. I will try my best to not stress her out and cause her to eat the eggs.

[CAantz]

[CAantz]

[CAantz]

Good news! The ca02 queen has 4 cocoons and a fifth coming soon. I expect there to be workers in about 6 or 7 days. The vicinus queen still has her small batch of eggs that are almost larvae.

[CAantz]

[CAantz]

Worker!!! The ca02 queen finally has her first worker. I took 4 days longer than expected for her to hatch, but she finally did and it looks like another cocoon is ready to pop any day now. She has started the next generation with 5 eggs that should be larvae soon. The vicinus is still stuck at 4 eggs, but she hasn’t eaten hers for a while, so they will hopefully turn into larvae before they get eaten. I do have a few questions about what do do now that there is a worker.
Should I give them a drop for hummingbird nectar as soon as possible, or should I wait until there are a few more workers?
I also have a formicarium that works like a tube and tubes set up. When should I move the colony in? Also, it it alright that I cannot put something around the tube in the tubs and tubes to make it dark?

[CAantz]

Edited by CAantz, June 13 2023 - 5:29 PM.

[CAantz]

Sadly they are refusing to eat and just attack anything I put in their test tube. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Virginian_ants]

Have you tried giving them sugar? They don't have larvae so they most likely won't accept protein. They might be at a stage where they are too scared and small to want to try to do anything until the rest of the nanitics arrive.

Edited by Virginian_ants, June 16 2023 - 5:14 AM.