7 replies to this topic

[RushmoreAnts]

Camponotus vicinus

 

Abstract

 

Camponotus vicinus is a large species of Camponotus in the subgenus (Tanaemyrmex). Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) species such as C. vicinus and C. semitestaceus are distinct from common species in subgenus Camponotus (Camponotus) such as C. pennsylvanicus and C. modoc, as their exoskeletons are generally shinier than their dull counterparts, and their legs are longer and lankier. Workers and queens are typically larger, thought this is not always the case. It is native to the western United States and Canada, preferring to live in high elevation, mountainous regions. Unlike many species of Camponotus, C. vicinus do not typically nest in wood, and are therefore not technically 'carpenter ants', though they are similar to wood-dwelling Camponotus in many other ways. Colonies are usually found in soil under stones. Nesting in or under wood is the exception, not the rule. Colonies are polydomous, meaning they can have multiple nest locations. In the case of C. vicinus, this often means colonies claim multiple stones, as if separate cities connected by their pheromone trail highways. Queens are 16-20 mm long and workers are 7-15 mm long. Like most Camponotus, C. vicinus is polymorphic, with the large major workers possessing fat, muscular heads.

 

Many populations of Camponotus vicinus are known to be polygynous (colonies tolerate multiple queens), which is fairly unique among large ant species, as polygynous species tend to trend smaller than their monogynous counterparts. Not all populations of C. vicinus are polygynous, however; many are monogynous like the majority of Camponotus species and ant species in general. Monogynous C. vicinus are easily distinguished from polygynous C. vicinus, as they will immediately show signs of aggression when put in the same enclosure/space of another queen. This aggression may include lunging with mandibles agape and the gaster curling forwards to spray formic acid before the expected biting occurs. Queens demonstrating aggression should be separated immediately. Polygynous populations will not show aggression towards each other, and will adversely touch antennae, groom each other, and huddle close together in groups.

 

As with all Camponotus species, C. vicinus are omnivores, requiring sugary foods to fuel the adult workers and protein from insects for the growing larvae and to aid the queen in producing eggs. Since they are large ants, brood development is slow, with nanitics arriving in roughly 8 weeks after the queens first lay eggs.

 

Resources

 

    Journals:

 

    OhNoNotAgain's Camponotus vicinus, laevigatus (quercicola), CA02 - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

     TechAnt’s Camponotus vicinus Journal (Photos) - Page 2 - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

     

     Dspdrew's Camponotus vicinus Journal [145] (Updated 12-4-2023) - Page 4 - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      There appears to be a lack of journals documenting a mature colony of this species, or even a colony over 100 workers, as most journals tend to fade away

     after a few months. I intend to change that. As you will see, I have no shortage of resources for this species.

 

     Articles:

 

     Camponotus vicinus - AntWiki

 

      Camponotus vicinus (Neighbor Carpenter Ant) Care Sheet – Canada Ant Colony

 

      Reference genome of the bicolored carpenter ant, Camponotus vicinus - PMC

 

      Camponotus vicinus - Navajo Nature

      

 

Camponotus modoc

 

Abstract

 

Camponotus modoc is a species in the subgenus (Camponotus). Like C. vicinus, it is found throughout the western United States and Canada. These are a species of carpenter ant, with colonies frequently nesting in and under rotting wood. A common misconception with carpenter ants is that they eat wood. While this is true of termites, who both eat and nest in wood, ants lack the enzymes necessary to digest wood, and instead only nest in it. Colonies will occasionally nest in soil under stones, though this is the exception, not the rule. They seem to be slightly more adaptable than C. vicinus, nesting in a wide variety of habitats from forests, mountains, and open plains, wherever there is wood to inhabit. They are similar to and related to Camponotus pennsylvanicus, whose range trends east of C. modoc. Most C. modoc populations are west of the Rocky Mountains, while most C. pennsylvanicus populations are east of the Rockies. There are some regions where the two species overlap, however. The Black Hills of South Dakota, of which I am well acquainted, is east of the Rockies yet still in the western United States. This allows large populations of both C. modoc and C. pennsylvanicus to co-exist, a rare exception to the east-west divide. C. pennsylvanicus have predominantly black legs and shiny golden hair covering the inferior portion of the abdomen. C. modoc lack the golden hair and are less hairy on their abdomens overall. They have bright red legs and slightly larger heads. Other than that, both species are dull black and quite similar in appearance and behavior and thus are often confused. Workers are 6-14 mm and polymorphic, while queens are 15-18 mm. Colonies are generally monogynous and quite aggressive to any living thing that is not her own workers.

 

Their diet is omnivorous like all Camponotus species. Workers may tend farms of aphids which produce sweet nectar which the ants consume. In exchange, the ants protect the aphids and move them to prime locations for feeding and breeding. I have personally observed Camponotus modoc majors sitting on top of Formica fusca sp. group nests and hunting the Formica workers as they enter and exit the nest. The majority of Formica fusca sp. group colonies I encounter in the Black Hills have at least one C. modoc major atop the nest hunting workers at midday. C. modoc is the dominant Camponotus species in the Black Hills, being found on nearly every hill and in far more abundance than any other Camponotus species.

 

Resources

 

     Journals:

 

     THG's Camponotus modoc journal - Page 6 - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      KB's Camponotus Modoc Journal - Discontinued - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

     In spite of how common the species is, I could only find two detailed journals on C. modoc. At least they breached the 100-worker mark, unlike any of the C.      vicinus journals.

 

     Articles:

 

     Camponotus modoc - AntWiki

 

      Care Sheet - Camponotus pennsylvanicus - Ant Care Sheets - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (Applicable to C. modoc as well)

 

     Camponotus modoc - Navajo Nature

 

      Carpenter Ant (U.S. National Park Service)

 

     Camponotus pennsylvanicus (Eastern Black Carpenter Ant) Care Sheet – Canada Ant Colony (Applicable to C. modoc as well)

 

Update 1

 

May 30, 2025

 

Ants_Dakota, I, and some other friends were camping in the Black Hills. It is cold up in the mountains, and we were uncertain whether Camponotus had flown yet. I decided to flip over some rocks and logs just in case. Around our campsite I found Formica fusca, neogagates, sanguinea, and rufa species group colonies and Tapinoma sessile colonies, but no Camponotus queens. Then we decided to hike up a small mountain behind our campsite, and as usual I flipped over rocks.

 

Look at that view! (43°50'16.1"N 103°33'29.0"W)

 

However, this time I uncovered the founding chamber of a Camponotus vicinus queen! She has no brood yet, as the nights had been in the high 30s F (~3 C), too cold to raise brood. The days were just starting to warm up when we were camping, being in the 60s and 70s F (15-20 C).

 

Encouraged, we continued flipping over rocks. Thunder_Birds found five more dark-variant queens, and Ants_Dakota found two. All queens were found in a small area (~100 square meters) in a dried-up riverbed which began at the top of the mountain and ran down its west slope. They were all under stones with a top surface area between 0.5 - 1 square ft. (~500 - 1,000 square cm). We returned to the campsite with 8 queens total.

 

The queens are of the dark variety, mostly jet-black with splotches of orange on the anterior of their abdomens, with reddish orange creeping up some of their thoraxes and superior regions of their abdomens. Absolutely beautiful specimens.

 

An interesting curiosity is that we found only C. vicinus queens in an area completely dominated by C. modoc. We found zero C. vicinus colonies in the region, yet zero C. modoc queens. My only guess as to why this could be is that the riverbed just recently dried up (there were several rainstorms in the weeks prior), allowing the new vicinus queens to take hold of the newly uncovered environment which had not yet been claimed by C. modoc queens. There should have been more C. modoc queens, however, as there were numerous rotting logs scattered around, perfect for C. modoc queens.

 

Shortly after we arrived back at the campsite, one of the queen began twitching, curling up, and dying for no apparent reason. I tried to snap her out of it by dunking her in water for a few seconds and exposing her to fresh air. After around 30 minutes this seemed to work. Her legs and antennae began to uncurl and work like normal, and she is alive to this day. The incident was quite strange.

 

We placed the queens in test tubes setups, and attempted to combine two of the queens, however they immediately got into aggressive postures and lunged at each other, and we concluded that they are of a monogynous population. We originally planned to have a couple three-queened colonies, yet that option is not viable anymore. A couple queens began laying within 12 hours of being placed in test tubes.

 

Later that day, Ants_Dakota and I tried looking for more queens. This time we went down the east slope of the mountain, though this was out of the riverbed and we found no C. vicinus queens. Ants_Dakota found a C. modoc queen under a rotting log, however.

 

May 31, 2025

 

The next day Ants_Dakota, Thunder_Birds, and I tried to follow the riverbed further. In doing so, we found another spot which was crawling with queens. We found another five C. vicinus queens under rocks and another two C. modoc queens, also under stones. C. modoc usually nests under wood like the first queen we found, so these queens were an exception.

 

Another C. vicinus queen began curling up and dying. I tried the water and fresh air routine. She responded, yet never fully recovered. She is still alive yet has a severe limp and her front legs remain curled up and unusable. Needless to say, she does not look good.

 

In total on the trip, we collected 13 C. vicinus queens and 3 C. modoc queens, a surprising ratio considering C. modoc are completely dominant on that mountain. I took 7 C. vicinus queens and 1 C. modoc queen, while Ants_Dakota took 6 C. vicinus queens and 2 C. modoc queens. Thunder_Birds is not interested in ant keeping anymore, so he didn't take any, even though I offered.

 

June 4, 2025

 

After we got home, I placed all queens on heat and fed them a mealworm slice. They are doing well and laying more eggs. Ants_Dakota and I will be each keeping a personal colony and selling the rest on the Wilderness Anting Shop.

 

Camponotus vicinus - A

No eggs from this queen yet.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - B

Queen B laid several eggs so far.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - C

One egg from this queen. At least she's caring for it. It's still really early, so I'm sure she'll lay more.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - D

This queen also laid several eggs already, and along with Queen B is the most productive so far.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - E

This queen laid two eggs so far. A good start.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - F

No eggs from this queen, but there's still plenty of time.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - G

This is the queen that never fully recovered. I'm keeping her in her snap cap vial with some moisture until (if) she recovers. No improvements so far.

 

Camponotus modoc

The C. modoc queen also laid several eggs and is on par with the most productive C. vicinus queens.

 

Edited by RushmoreAnts, Yesterday, 3:33 PM.

[Izzy]

Great start to this journal. All of your journals have been super high quality. I need to take note on how to make mine better!

 

Shortly after we arrived back at the campsite, one of the queen began twitching, curling up, and dying for no apparent reason. I tried to snap her out of it by dunking her in water for a few seconds and exposing her to fresh air. After around 30 minutes this seemed to work. Her legs and antennae began to uncurl and work like normal, and she is alive to this day. The incident was quite strange.

Another C. vicinus queen began curling up and dying. I tried the water and fresh air routine. She responded, yet never fully recovered. She is still alive yet has a severe limp and her front legs remain curled up and unusable. Needless to say, she does not look good.

 

I've seen some weird behavior like this as well. On one occasion I caught a Camponotus sansabeanus queen that was "dead" by the time I drove 45 minutes back from where I caught her. She was curled up and completely non-responsive. For some strange reason I decided to put her in a test tube (who puts a dead queen in a test tube?), and when I checked on all the sansabeanus queens I caught, she was alive and I couldn't even tell which one she was out of the twelve I had caught!

Also a few weeks ago, I had a Camponotus laevissimus queen that died in a similar fashion. I threw her in a container with some other dead Formica queens that I assume had gassed themselves in my collection containers (I now drilled tiny holes in some of my collection containers just for Formica, and haven't had this problem), and assumed maybe she died from something similar. Five days later I was looking at the container and saw her twitching. I couldn't believe she was still alive, as she had no food or moisture at all. I quickly dropped some water on her, in hopes it would hydrate her, and put her in a test tube. She does seem to have some amount of leg paralysis/wonkiness like you have mentioned (a common thing I've noticed in Camponotus queens when they don't get water for an extended time) but she has a pile of eggs and seems well enough. Hopefully she'll make it.

 

Anyway, looking forward to your updates. I'm excited to see how your modoc do. Modoc was the first species I ever kept, so naturally they didn't do well because I was awful, but the one I've caught since seems to grow so unbelievably slow (two workers since last year). Not sure if I just have a queen with bad genetics or what, but hopefully yours will fare better.

[RushmoreAnts]

Great start to this journal. All of your journals have been super high quality. I need to take note on how to make mine better!

 

Shortly after we arrived back at the campsite, one of the queen began twitching, curling up, and dying for no apparent reason. I tried to snap her out of it by dunking her in water for a few seconds and exposing her to fresh air. After around 30 minutes this seemed to work. Her legs and antennae began to uncurl and work like normal, and she is alive to this day. The incident was quite strange.

Another C. vicinus queen began curling up and dying. I tried the water and fresh air routine. She responded, yet never fully recovered. She is still alive yet has a severe limp and her front legs remain curled up and unusable. Needless to say, she does not look good.

 

I've seen some weird behavior like this as well. On one occasion I caught a Camponotus sansabeanus queen that was "dead" by the time I drove 45 minutes back from where I caught her. She was curled up and completely non-responsive. For some strange reason I decided to put her in a test tube (who puts a dead queen in a test tube?), and when I checked on all the sansabeanus queens I caught, she was alive and I couldn't even tell which one she was out of the twelve I had caught!

Also a few weeks ago, I had a Camponotus laevissimus queen that died in a similar fashion. I threw her in a container with some other dead Formica queens that I assume had gassed themselves in my collection containers (I now drilled tiny holes in some of my collection containers just for Formica, and haven't had this problem), and assumed maybe she died from something similar. Five days later I was looking at the container and saw her twitching. I couldn't believe she was still alive, as she had no food or moisture at all. I quickly dropped some water on her, in hopes it would hydrate her, and put her in a test tube. She does seem to have some amount of leg paralysis/wonkiness like you have mentioned (a common thing I've noticed in Camponotus queens when they don't get water for an extended time) but she has a pile of eggs and seems well enough. Hopefully she'll make it.

 

Anyway, looking forward to your updates. I'm excited to see how your modoc do. Modoc was the first species I ever kept, so naturally they didn't do well because I was awful, but the one I've caught since seems to grow so unbelievably slow (two workers since last year). Not sure if I just have a queen with bad genetics or what, but hopefully yours will fare better.

Both queens have completely recovered and have a normal amount of eggs. Since this happens when the queens are captured, it must have something to do with the process of them being captured. I have no clue what, however.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 2

 

July 28, 2025

Now all of the successful queens have nanitics, and I have some more surprises in store on top of that.

 

Camponotus vicinus - A

This is my most successful vicinus colony and will have 7 or 8 nanitics. They already have 4, and I'm currently waiting on a couple pupae and large larvae. The queen recently began laying the second generation. A couple days ago I gave them an outworld. This will be my personal colony.

 

 

As discovered by Ants_Dakota in his journal, a scientific study by Hansen and Akre concluded that C. vicinus queens average 4 workers in their first generation.

 

Camponotus vicinus - B

This queen is a dud, and she still only has eggs.

 

Camponotus vicinus - C

She died.

 

Camponotus vicinus - D

3 workers so far and will reach 6. She also is laying a second generation.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - E

This queen isn't super successful but isn't a dud. She has one pupa and a few second gen eggs.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - F

2 workers and 3 pupae. Still above average.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - G

She fully recovered and now has 3 pupae and a second gen of eggs. Slightly below average.

 

 

Camponotus modoc

Turns out this queen is quite camera shy. she got pupae twice and ate them, and now she still only has eggs.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis

 

Abstract

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis is a species in the subgenus (Camponotus) and is one of the most widespread and successful Camponotus species in all of North America, being found on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. They have been recorded from Georgia to Quebec and in Oregon all the way up to Alaska. Their namesake comes from the Latinization of New York, with 'nova' meaning 'new' in Latin. This is expressed through their common name, the New York Carpenter Ant. Workers and queens have a distinct color pattern, with black heads and gasters with red mesosomas. Workers are 7-16 mm long, and queens are 14 - 18 mm. Colonies are monogynous, but are also polydomous, meaning they can have multiple nests.

 

As their common name suggests, they nest in rotting wood like C. modoc. According to AntWiki,

 

"Camponotus novaeboracensis is found in several habitats including deciduous forest, pine/oaks on sand, beach maple, hardwood forest, mixed hardwood conifer forest and oak-evergreen forest, as well as oak, ash, cottonwoods, aspen, willow woods and grasslands (Wheeler and Wheeler, 1963) in addition to black cherry forests (Yitbarek et al., 2011), grasslands and shrublands (Barber, 2015) and open fields (Oberg, 2012). Buren (1944) concluded it was more boreal than C. pennsylvanicus."

 

The species is polymorphic like most Camponotus species, yet its majors stand out due to their massive size compared to similar species. Workers are curious and love to investigate new sights, sounds, and smells. Camponotus in general navigate by sight more than most ants.

 

Resources

 

     Journals

 

     DerpyBoas' Camponotus Novaeboracensis Journal (Colony died, Discontinued) - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      THG's Camponotus novaeboracensis log - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      Crystal's Camponotus novaeboracensis Journal - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      Articles

 

     Camponotus novaeboracensis - AntWiki

 

      Care Sheet - Camponotus novaeboracensis - Ant Care Sheets - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      Camponotus novaeborecensis (New York Carpenter Ant) Care Sheet – Canada Ant Colony

 

      New York Carpenter Ants (Camponotus novaeboracensis) For Sale | Stateside Ants

 

      BCAntKeeper's Polygyny Experiments - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - Oligogynous Colony Experiment

Ants_Dakota came across a massive Camponotus flight a few weeks ago (after the Black Hills trip) which involved Camponotus novaeboracensis and herculeanus. He caught around a dozen novaeboracensis queens and gave me the surplus. I got 4 queens. Most North American Camponotus species, according to OiledOlives who is studying entomology, are oligogynous, meaning they can have multiple queens, but the queens must be in separate chambers/opposite sides of the nest. This works well with Camponotus, as they are also polydymous, meaning they have multiple nests per colony, making separating queens easier. As such, I will be experimenting with oligogyny with these queens. I will keep them in separate test tubes and nests but let workers commune in their outworld. 

 

There were two color variants in the queens Ants_Dakota found. One had a bright, shiny red thorax, and the other had a dull, dark red thorax. He gave me two of each. The queen that's doing the best (dark variant) has 4 workers and 11 pupae, as well as around 30 eggs and small larvae. The next best (a light variant) has 14 pupae and around the same eggs and small larvae. The other two, a dark variant and a light variant, have 5-6 pupae and around 15 eggs, so are genetically inferior. If the oligogyne experiment works, the more productive queens should be treated with higher regard, as they will be dominant and laying more eggs.

 

 

 

 

 

Camponotus herculeanus

 

Abstract

 

Camponotus herculeanus is a species of carpenter ant (subgenus (Camponotus)) and is one of the most successful and common ant species in the world. It is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia. In North America, it is found from the desert southwest in Arizona and California all the way up to the forests of Alaska, and all the way east to New England and Quebec. In Europe, it is found in most nations, with the notable exception of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. They are found in southern Europe in Spain and Italy, and all the way up through Germany and in the Nordic nations of Norway and Sweden. Their range extends across the entire nation of Russia, the largest nation on earth. From the populated east past the Urals, through Siberia, and all the way to the Pacific coast on the Kamchatka peninsula, this singular species can be found in abundance. It is found in Japan, Korea, and much of northern China in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, as well as the nation of Mongolia. Its reach extends through Kazakstan and the Caucus nations, as well as throughout Türkiye.

 

Unlike most species, herculeanus prefers colder climates, and thrives in them. According to AntWiki, it is the most cold-tolerant ant species known, being able to withstand temperatures of -40 C (and -40 F; this is the temperature where the two scales line up). This explains why they are so common in places like North Dakota, Alaska, northern Canada, Norway, and Siberia. They are a boreal (forest dwelling) species, thriving in the Canadian Shield. Like many ants, this species tends aphids. Like most Camponotus species, it has a symbiotic relationship with certain species of gut bacteria, which helps them digest food properly. It has been theorized that many of the long-term issues ant keepers have with Camponotus are due to diets not supporting these bacteria. Scientists have researched diets to support these bacteria, and Ants_Dakota and I have compiled some of that research to experiment with Camponotus diets with our colonies. Workers are 7-16 mm long, and queens are 13 - 17 mm long. From my personal observations, this species isn't the longest or largest, but it definitely has the stockiest frame and best build.

 

Resources

 

     Journals

 

      Camponotus herculeanus from zero journal - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      Crystal's Camponotus herculeanus journal - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      Camponotus Herculeanus colony - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

 

      Articles

 

      Camponotus herculeanus - AntWiki

 

      Hercules Carpenter Ant (Camponotus herculeanus) | Ants for Sale – Canada Ant Colony

 

Camponotus herculeanus

Ants_Dakota caught four of these queens. He kept 2, I kept 2. He originally thought he caught 5, but one turned out to be a very, very, very dark novaeboracensis. As such, he sold his 2, thinking the other was herculeanus when it was not. So I'm giving back one of my queens.

 

The colony I will keep is of a very dark color variant. This species has so many color variations based on location ranging from nearly all black to having bright red mesosomas like novaeboracensis. My queen is all black except traces of red on the inferior and anterior regions of the mesosoma and a little on the adjacent segments of the legs. It is not visible except under close insepction, so to the naked eye she looks all black. She is also very successful like the better novaeboracensis, with 2 workers, 9 pupae, 1 large larva, and around 25 eggs and small larvae.

 

 

Ants_Dakota will take back this queen. She's a darker variant too, but with bright red legs.

 

Edited by RushmoreAnts, July 28 2025 - 2:19 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 3

 

August 16, 2025

All colonies continue to compete in the race to grow as large as possible before hibernation in a couple months.

 

Camponotus vicinus - A

This queen is an interesting case. She has 6 workers, though that original first generation had 8 brood. The thing is, two of the brood have been larvae this entire time. Finally, today one of them pupated, but they are still growing much slower than their sisters in the same generation. The queen also laid the second generation, which has 6 eggs. If all brood develops, they will have 14 workers before hibernation. Significantly slower than Camponotus (Camponotus) species, but great for vicinus. They focus on quality over quantity, that's for certain.

 

From what I can gather, the species name 'vicinus' refers to is variability (in what exactly I'm not sure, I'm assuming color). However, to me, vicinus looks a lot like the English word 'vicious'. By coincidence or not, Camponotus vicinus are quite vicious. Their queens are the most aggressive insects I have ever seen. Whenever I feed them, the queens will rush at the food and lash out with their large mandibles. Then they will repeatedly spray it with formic acid. They will do this for several minutes straight before finally realizing it's not dangerous. It's not just insects, either. They will actively attack liquid hummingbird nectar. I've seen a queen spray the sugary nectar with formic acid. It made the nectar bubble slightly. They will also attack cotton, forceps, my finger, and hypothetically anything else that could fit inside a test tube. For any Trekkies in the audience, these are the Klingons of ants. It fascinates me how ants come standard with either nature's mustard gas or venom-tipped katanas besides their mandibles.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - B

Surprisingly, this dud queen actually managed to raise a pupa.

 

Camponotus vicinus - D

This queen has 4 workers and 2 pupae, although queen hasn't laid very many eggs yet, and only has a couple.

 

Camponotus vicinus - E

This queen's sole pupa just eclosed. She actually has the most eggs and larvae out of all the queens, so she may catch up to the rest before winter.

 

Camponotus vicinus - F

As of now this is my second most successful colony, with 5 workers and a couple pupae, although barely any eggs yet. This queen is an anomaly amongst all the queens Ants_Dakota and I found, as she is the only vicinus queen that gets fat. She was never fat before I gave them a byFormica feeder with nectar, so it appears she became that way via eating. However, I am still concerned that she may have a type of parasitic infection which causes her gaster to swell abnormally, which is not uncommon amongst queen ants. We will see how she does.

 

Camponotus vicinus - G

She did it! This formerly dying queen now has a nanitic! Two more pupae are darkening and close behind, and the queen laid several new eggs.

 

Camponotus modoc

She ate all her brood again and hasn't laid. I'm going to declare her a dud.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis Oligogyne Experiment - Failed

As soon as I gave Colony A (the most successful) their outworld, I placed queens C and D in as well (they didn't have workers at them time). As I have found out, Camponotus novaeboracensis workers are highly inquisitive and love to explore. They are bold and adventurous, filled with personality that many other ants lack. As soon as I put them into the outworld, several ants set out to explore. They found the other queens quickly and poked their heads into their test tubes. The queens rejected the workers, lunging at them. The workers were able to dodge them and flee, only to come back again and again, almost as if they were taunting the queens. One queen ventured into the outworld herself to feed on a mealworm I gave them. A worker slowly approached the queen from behind, like a cat stalking its prey. Then it ran up and tapped the queen's gaster with her antennae before darting away before the queen could react, like a child pulling a doorbell prank. That is honestly what these workers remind me of: mischievous children. Not wanting any harm to come to these children, I removed queens C and D, declaring the Oligogyne experiment a failure due to the queens' rejection of the workers. As such, all colonies will be kept separate. 

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - A

This colony is by far doing the best. They have 13 or 14 nanitics in their first generation. 2 or 3 of these are the size of full-sized minors, which larger heads bodies than the normal nanitics. While this is an impressive nanitic count, the queen really starts to shine in her 2nd generation. The 2nd generation comprises of brood ranging from 3rd instar larvae to darkening pupae. There are over 30 in total, which is insane for a founding colony. Not 30 trophic eggs, but 30 mature brood. One of these brood is a major pupa. Camponotus colonies often get their first major at around 25 workers. Seeing as this entire generation is more than that, this development makes sense and was expected, although is still exciting. Wasting no time (because this queen is a G), the queen already laid the 3rd generation, which also has just over 30 eggs. I have neither seen nor heard of a Camponotus colony doing this well. Given this queen's insane genetics, she likely would have survived in the wild if she wasn't eaten by predators. Before winter they should have 70 - 80 workers. Even my thriving Formica pallidefulva colony capped out at only 20 workers before winter.

 

As previously mentioned, these workers are curious and energetic. More often than not, at least one worker will be in the outworld eating or exploring. Many times, there will be 2, 3, or sometimes 4 workers in the outworld at once. I have never witnessed a Camponotus colony being so bold. My vicinus and herculeanus workers are all quite shy, and I rarely ever see them leave their test tubes. In complete contrast to the workers, the queen is the chillest being to ever walk the earth. She is completely unbothered by lights and vibrations. If the tube accidentally tips all she does is right herself and pretend like nothing happened. She is fat and lazy, perched on her massive throne of brood with a grand air of entitlement.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - B

My second-best colony, this queen also has around 13 or 14 workers, though their 2nd generation *only* has around 20 larvae, and their 3rd generation does not exist yet.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - C

Genetically this queen pales in comparison to A and B, as she only ended up with 5 nanitics. She does have a couple dozen eggs and small larvae though, so don't sleep on her yet.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - D

This queen got 3 nanitics, however they all died (I believe due to an acute mold outbreak). She does have a dozen or so eggs, though.

 

Camponotus herculeanus

This is my second-best Camponotus colony, doing better than novae B but not as good as novae A. They have 12 workers, 10 pupae, and around 30-40 eggs and small larvae. The queen is also exceedingly fat, borderline physogastric. She started out black, but now she has thick yellow lines permeating her gaster, symbols of her material wealth and status. The workers are also quite fat, although they are not nearly as adventurous as the novaeboracensis workers, and are indeed quite timid. The queen is just as chill as the novae queens, however.

Edited by RushmoreAnts, August 17 2025 - 6:56 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

ANTdrew has informed me that the large number of videos I post makes FC crash, so as per his request from now on I'm putting some of the videos in a different post.

 

 

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 4

 

August 31, 2025

Major growth continues in some colonies, but not in others.

 

Camponotus vicinus - A

This colony remains the same as last update, although they ate a couple eggs.

 

Other Camponotus vicinus

Also the same as last update.

 

Camponotus modoc

Dud queen.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - A

Currently my favorite colony, these novaes have 30 workers already with another ~25 large larvae & pupae and ~30 eggs & small larvae. Their major pupa is beginning to darken, and they also have a couple median pupae. They have tons of callows which are all much larger than the nanitics, and I would call them full sized minors at this point. The minors stuff themselves with food and tend to stay inside the nest, leaving the foraging to the nanitics. As such, there is frequent trophallaxis between the foraging nanitics and replete-like minors. I'm sure once the medians and major eclose they will be utilized in the same way.

 

They are hungry for protein, going through several large insects per week. Oftentimes four or five nanitics will forage at the same time. Despite having a fraction of my Pheidole bicarinata colony's population, this colony is almost as entertaining. These workers have personality!

 

 

Camponotus herculeanus

Unlike the novaes, this colony uses their queen as their main food storage. She is one of the fattest Camponotus queens I've ever seen. It's to the point where none of her gastral segments are touching each other, with millimeters of white, translucent thin skin in between them. Her workers are also fatter than the novaes on average. They have I believe 17 workers, with 12 more large larvae & pupae and around 40 eggs and small larvae. Initially they were much shyer than the novaes in the outworld, although once they got past 10 workers, they are now sending multiple into the outworld to forage as well.

 

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 5

 

August 31, 2025

Major changes (pun not intended but now exists, so deal with it) are occurring in many of my colonies.

 

THE INQUISITION

My Camponotus vicinus colony sits at 7 workers and 4 larvae they seem to want to overwinter. After a local cold spell, it seems this colony is wrapping up brood production for the season and preparing for hibernation. Camponotus vicinus colonies certainly grow much slower than Camponotus (Camponotus) colonies, although their workers are larger on average. The queens are unfathomably aggressive, although the nanitics seem rather timid. The minors, medians, and majors to come should prove to be far more aggressive like their mother.

 

I named the colony after The Inquisitors from Star Wars and the Spanish Inquisition they were named after. I thought that rather than describing the colony as a group of inquisitors that does an inquisition, it would be much more menacing and ominous to say that the colony IS the Inquisition. Obviously, I chose the name due to how much these queens love killing, going so far as to actively chase after forceps and moving cotton. Anything that moves (and even things that don't) are potential targets. As previously mentioned, queens will actively bite and spray hummingbird nectar with formic acid before calming down and realizing that the literal liquid is not going to attack them.

 

 

Camponotus vicinus - F

This colony nearly matched mine in growth, having 6 workers and 5-6 small larvae they will overwinter. It is the only other colony of mine that comes even close to THE INQUISITION and is why I am mentioning it here. As previously mentioned, she is a thicc queen. Seeing as she has grown her colony further and not died, I am fairly certain that she does not have a fungal infection and is just fat. She will be an excellent backup colony if anything happens to THE INQUISITION, although if they end up passing them next year I may change my mind. They are also notably redder than THE INQUISITION, which is unique.

 

 

Camponotus modoc

Died.

 

CRIMSON DAWN

The novaes got their first major! I was fortunate enough to be checking on the colony right when the workers started to gnaw at the pupae, and I was able to capture the entire process on video! The colony was around 40 workers strong at the time and had another ~25 pupae in que to eclose, along with 30 small larvae they were likely planning on overwintering.

 

 

Then tragedy struck. The queen, after laying ridiculous amounts of eggs and growing her colony faster than I ever thought possible, died suddenly and unexpectedly, likely of a latent fungal infection known as Sudden Queen Death Syndrome (SQD) triggered by the queen exerting herself, therefore weakening her immune system and allowing the fungus to reactivate and take her out.

 

This is not the end of the story, however.

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - B,

my second most successful colony, had around 18 workers at the time of their cousin's untimely demise. While it isn't nearly as impressive as Colony A, it is still well above average compared to all of their cousins currently in possession of Ants_Dakota. The average worker count for this batch of novae queens is currently 10-12, with the best having around 15. If this colony was in Ants_Dakota's care, it would be one of if not the most successful of his novae colonies. The queen is also noticeably fatter than Colony A's.

 

I was sad about the beautiful collection of polymorphic workers that sat without a queen, however. Considering they were well aware of the fact they no longer have a queen and the fact that C. novaeboracensis are some of the most docile, friendly ants I have ever encountered, I decided it would be an acceptable risk to see if they could be adopted into Colony B.

 

Upon connecting their test tubes, Colony A's workers immediately smelled the presence of a new queen, and several workers rushed over to investigate with zero hesitation. They were met by Colony B's workers, who opened their jaws and snapped at them. However, they were pacified by the queen, who decided to have an audience with these envoys. After some antennae-touching discussions, the workers began to groom their new queen. The queen then forced the envoys to get down as low as they could go into a submissive posture, as if they were bowing to her. Then the queen would thoroughly groom them individually before letting them go about their business as if they were her own workers. As word reached the colony if this treaty that had been signed, workers rushed over to pledge their loyalty to their new queen. They would walk over, bow, and allow the queen to rechristen them with her pheromones. Then they would walk away and go about business as usual. It seems the callows, which includes the major, were not required to go through this process, as callows have not fully taken on a colony pheromone yet. Oftentimes workers treat callows more like brood items than workers, and they are never seen as a threat.

 

Colony B's original workers, however, were still not happy about this new arrangement. A few did not accept the new workers, and seeing as these nanitics have tiny heads and tiny brains, it makes sense that they lack intelligence. They decided to attack a group of workers that outnumbers them more than 4 to 1 (only a few of Colony B's workers actually rebelled). This group that they were rebelling against also included many minor and median workers which are superior in size and strength to nanitics. The major was still a callow and not a threat at this time. Needless to say, the rebellion ended horribly for the rebels, with 5 or 6 being executed. The rest quickly fell in line. Of course, the rebellion had zero effect on the rest of the colony, as Colony A's workers were easily able to handle the threat without suffering any casualties themselves.

 

I must point out, however, that when I say 'rebellion' I mean that in the most novae way possible. I never thought this was even possible, but I would describe the fighting style of Camponotus novaeboracensis to be casual, laid back, and chill. They simply lack vigor and aggression when they fight. When they fight, the worst that will happen is gentle limb tugging. They never seem panicked or aggressive, they just ever so gently tug on each other's limbs and on occasion lightly dab each other with formic acid until eventually they curl up and die rather peacefully. If I were to put their fights into words, it would go something like this: "So apparently I'm supposed to hate you, so... I'm just gonna pull on your antenna there for a few hours if that's ok. Die, [censored], I guess..." For contrast, I would describe Camponotus vicinus queens as behaving like rabid honey badgers 24/7. As such, there were only 5 or 6 casualties, and judging off of the huge power difference and the fact that all casualties were nanitics I will go ahead and assume they're from Colony B.

 

Shortly after the rebellion was dealt with, I moved the colony into a new test tube, as both colonies' old ones were molding over. I had to dump them since these ants are so docile, stubborn, and not really phased by light and vibrations. This is the only time I've ever seen novaes flip out. You can put them face to face with a foreign colony or put a walking roach head directly on top of their brood pile and they still will barely give a crap. After the move they colony quickly settled into their new status quo in Colony A's outworld.

 

As soon as the merger was complete and the rebellion was dealt with, CRIMSON DAWN, the combination of both colonies, was born. I named it after a crime syndicate in Star Wars, although the thing about SW Crimson Dawn is it's considered to be ruthless, which doesn't really fit novaes very well. The name is due to their coloration being more of a darker crimson than red.

 

The combined colony had around 50 workers at the time of the merger, although several of Colony a's pupae eclosed since then, bringing the total up to 60. They still have ~15 pupae left to eclose before winter. Colony B didn't bring any pupae to the table, but they did bring around 30 small larvae which will significantly boost the colony's early growth next season.

 

A few days after the merger, the colony eclosed its second major! Obviously, it was from Colony A as well, although a major is a major. It is ever so slightly smaller than the first major, but with its head shape and size, it couldn't be anything else.

 

 

Camponotus novaeboracensis - C & D

Died.

 

BLACK SUN

Keeping with the Star Wars trend, I named the Camponotus herculeanus after the Black Sun, a rival crime syndicate to Crimson Dawn. This is fitting seeing as C. novaeboracensis and C. herculeanus are natural rival species. It's also fitting considering how these ants are black.

 

With the passing of my blossoming novae queen, my herc queen succeeded her as the most naturally productive (CRIMSON DAWN is predominantly adopted workers; the queen has yet to prove herself and currently cannot come close to the hercs in biological workers). BLACK SUN now has 25 workers and 6 pupae, which will put their pre-winter total to 31, which is impressive in and of itself. They also have 30-40 small larvae for overwintering, the most of any Camponotus colony including novae A. While the colony doesn't have majors yet, it certainly has medians, which are an impressive twice the length of the nanitics and are considerably bulkier. The queen is not as fat as last update, although she is still quite rotund. It's more like a normal fat instead of a "how can she even move???" fat.

 

With the eclosing of all these minors and medians, the nanitics have become much less timid and are actually foraging at the same rate as the novaes. They also find new food faster than the novaes and seem more aggressive toward it.

 

While not nearly as aggressive as vicinus queens, herc queens can be nasty in their own right. Of the 5 Camponotus species I have kept, they rank 3rd in aggression.

 

1. C. vicinus

2. C. pennsylvanicus

3. C. herculeanus

4. C. modoc

5. C. novaeboracensis

 

 

1st is obviously vicinus.

 

Close 2nd goes to pennsylvanicus, of which I have kept several small colonies. When I was very young, immature, and impatient, I made the mistake of trying to worker-boost a pennsylvanicus queen with a pennsylvanicus major. pennsylvanicus majors have an insanely strong bite force for an ant, feeling like a human pinch when they bite humans. They are capable warriors that frequently hunt Formica workers, which are large and dangerous in their own right. The moment I placed the major in the test tube, the queen walked over and ripped its head off in one clean blow before the major could even respond. It was the most WWE thing I have ever seen an ant do and also taught me to never screw with a pennsylvanicus queen like that again. 

 

Ok, so hercs aren't quite that crazy, but they do still snap at insects and forceps. They are mostly chill and mostly act just like novaes, although if they feel threatened (which takes a bit of work to achieve), they can get nasty.

 

Mods tend to run from danger, which is a fairly unique response for Camponotus. The two responses are typically either to try to murder the threat or completely ignore it. Either go ballistic or stand there aura farming. Running isn't exactly a typical response, although mod queens seem to be rather docile themselves, though more panicky than novaes. Ants_Dakota has noted that they tend to be hyper aggressive towards other mod queens, as they are highly monogynous. So I know that they can get nasty if they just work up the courage, though their first response seems to be to run.

 

What more can I say? I refuse to come up with another analogy explaining just how peaceful novaes are. I mean, they're basically Swiss ants even though they're native to North Am- oh, I did another analogy, didn't I... well, let's pretend that didn't happen, shall we?

 

Edited by RushmoreAnts, Yesterday, 3:32 PM.