I have a camponotus pennsylvanicus colony wich has 4 workers which do nothing they just stay with the queen
Is that normal? I mean they could go out of the test tube and explore the outworld
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Workers doing nothing?
Started By
yoman503
, Jul 19 2016 3:13 PM
12 replies to this topic
#2
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Posted July 19 2016 - 3:18 PM
Saftron
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Its normal, a typical Camponotus colony resting.
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#3
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Posted July 19 2016 - 7:33 PM
Reacker
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Ants spend a lot of the time doing a whole lot of nothing. It's entirely normal.
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Posted July 19 2016 - 7:39 PM
drtrmiller
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I actually have a brainstorm note jotted down for a topic on my upcoming YouTube channel, "Ants are boring, managing expectations."
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#5
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Posted July 19 2016 - 8:24 PM
Bcam43
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I find that ants are incredibly efficient at everything they do, including resting.
If they have nothing to do that will aid the colony they'll rest and do nothing. I find this is often when the colony is infantile and you have small amounts of brood that requires feeding or other similar situations.
Once they have something to do, they'll do it 
#6
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Posted July 20 2016 - 10:32 AM
sgheaton
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Was it somewhere that I read/saw slight -like the humming of a nearby motor - would cause enough vibration to an ant colony to prevent stagnate workers?
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#7
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Posted July 20 2016 - 11:36 AM
Batspiderfish
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If by "prevent stagnation" you mean "stress them out", then I would believe it. 
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#8
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Posted July 20 2016 - 12:01 PM
Loops117
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Large and small colonies do this, and it's common throughout different species. Also if i'm not mistaken, young C.pennsylvanicus colonies mainly forage at night, while staying in the nest during the day. With so few workers and brood, you may likely just be missing it their active times. Once they become a large (or very large) colony they'll start to become a little more active during the day. And then, it's still possible for pools of workers to not do a single thing while the rest of the colony works. If traffic starts becoming congested to/from the destination, workers will stop working to allow the paths to be more efficient.
#9
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Posted July 20 2016 - 1:37 PM
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I'm going to install an earthquake machine under your house to prevent your stagnation.
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#10
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Posted July 21 2016 - 6:11 AM
sgheaton
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Let me start the required HOA form for this.......
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#11
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Posted July 21 2016 - 10:25 AM
When colonies are small, they don't do much at all. Once they get larger, they're a lot more entertaining. Acromyrmex on the other hand work non-stop, no matter how small the colony is. They have been some of the most entertaining ants I have had.
#12
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Posted July 21 2016 - 11:48 AM
Vendayn
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When colonies are small, they don't do much at all. Once they get larger, they're a lot more entertaining. Acromyrmex on the other hand work non-stop, no matter how small the colony is. They have been some of the most entertaining ants I have had.
Yup. Even when my colony only had around 10 workers, they still were more active than even my large Pheidole megacephala colony. Probably least "laziest" ant species in California. And surprisingly easy. My colony I didn't even do anything with them for most of the month, until the other day. They are pretty self sufficent, though your formicarium sure helps with that.
Though, Pogonomyrmex californicus are really active and probably Pogonomyrmex in general. I've had 10 worker sized colonies, that were almost as active as Acromyrmex are. Pogonomyrmex californicus are a pretty fun species as well.
#13
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Posted July 21 2016 - 12:46 PM
Yeah, I agree Pogonomyrmex stay pretty active once they have a few workers.
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