Hello! I am a new antkeeper with some concerns about the growth of my colony. I have a colony of camponotus (I believe pennylasivuncus) and this is my first colony every. I understand that carpenter ant colonies grow slow, however, I am concerned with the growth of my colony.
Here is the timeline of events:
Ant queen was collected in April 2024
5 nanitics workers during first year
1 regular worker during first year (I think because she is much bigger than the rest)
Diapause began late october
Ants are awoken on march 9th, 2025
Beginning of 2nd year eggs transition into final development stage but remain stuck their.
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This is where I'm worried about how I affected the growth of my colony. It has three months since my ants have awoken and they have yet to gain an additional worker. Is this normal? Many off the brood are at the final stage. Before I have seen the brood move around but now they don’t move anymore. I understand I might have hibernated them too early and this might have affected the brood.
Ants used to be fed every three days, now they are fed every other day. I switch between a sugar and a protein each time. Ants are fed honey, maple syrup, cooked burger meat, cooked chicken, and deli turkey.
I have noticed that right away when feeding the ants tend to attack the meat and not the sugars, However, I have not observe if they feed the meat to their brood as I don't want to disturb them. Do I need to start feeding a more insect diet such as nightcrawlers?
I am very concerned. I have included some pictures.
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