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Welcome to Lazy Tube - Serafine's Camponotus barbaricus

camponotus camponotus barbaricus lazy tube

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#1 Offline Serafine - Posted December 7 2016 - 6:27 AM

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Camponotus barbaricus
 
Camponotus barbaricus is a very large Camponotus species from the western mediterranean region. Despite their impressive size they are mostly shy, timid giants that are really easy to care for if you're okay with their mostly nocturnal lifestyle. Compared to most other large Camponotus species they grow surprisingly fast and - good care provided - can reach a thousand workers within around a year and a half to two years (my own colony grew to around 4000 workers within just 2 years).

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Appearance / Coloration
 
Workers: 5-18 mm*, black head and abdomen, middle segment dark red to fiery orange (varies between individual workers, nanitics are almost black)
Queen: 16-18mm black head and abdomen, middle segment black with varying amounts of red
Males: 16-18mm, black, very slim, small head

*it seems the largest workers only are produced when the colony already has more than 10.000 workers (for my colony this was in summer of year 3)

 
Behavior
 
Most obviously these are definitely nocturnal ants. While the colony is still small (less than 1000 workers) you will very rarely see many of them outside during day time unless you cover their outworld with a towel or something similar - if you can't live with that these ants aren't for you.
 
They are shy and very careful - unlike many other ants they will not boldly go where no ant has gone before. When a new nest is attached to their exisiting one it will often take them hours to explore the new space and days to occupy it. Workers will happily occupy every hollow space in their setup (after some time of checking if it's safe) but aren't much into digging as long as they have enough living space.
Large colonies have dozens to hundreds of workers just sitting in the open in small or large groups - this makes it very easy to take pictures. The really large majors tend to only come out at night though, together with the bulk of the colony's foragers.
Although the ants can live happily from just dead and pre-killed food they can also very aggressively hunt down flies and injured arthropods. Be careful with large crickets of the genus Acheta ("Heimchen") though, these are really tough and can cause a lot of trouble for many ant species.
 
When you happen to have escapees - don't panic. The workers will usually just move around slowly exploring their environment and as long as you don't cause them to panic (in which case they can run surprisingly fast) it is very easy to just gently push them into a direction, let them walk into peice of cardboard/paper or put a small glass cup over them (they will often start to climb up the sides of the glass cup so you can lift the glass and put them back into their outworld). In fact Camponotus barbaricus workers usually are so timid that you can let them walk onto your fingers without problems. Don't pick up agitated workers though (particularly not the majors as they have quite a bite).
 
Camponotus barbaricus have sort of "behavior tiers" depending on their colony size. These changes are very noticable as the colony will very significantly change it's behavior from one day to the other - like from one day on there's a lot more workers outside than before, certain food items are suddenly attacked aggressively, outposts are established in places with favorable conditions (usually water tubes), outposts become satellite nests, ants start are sitting on top of their nest or satellite nests during the night, later they start sitting in the open during the day, etc.
 

Diet & Nutrition

Sugars
Camponotus barbaricus workers love liquid stuff, if it's too viscous they won't take it. They will happily drink chicken soup but avoid honey or even pure maple syrup if there's something less viscous available. Sugar water (4:1) and diluted maple syrup (4ml maple syrup + 10ml water or 2ml maple syrup + 2ml glucose powder + 10ml water) work well. I haven't found any sort of fruit or vegetable they like.[/size]

Protein
Like with sugars these ants love their food liquid. Fresh insects (locusts, crickets, flies, bee brood, roaches, mealworms) which are just gooey liquids in a hard shell are perfect, frozen insects are accepted but not to the same degree as fresh food. Wet cat food is appreciated but the workers mostly just lick of the liquids and only carry a small part of the meat to the brood, there's "soup type" cat food though which is mostly liquid with just a few solid parts and gets licked up in no-time.
Superworms usually get rejected, just like most cooked or boiled stuff. They occasionally eat raw shrimp and fruit flies as well.
They do eat protein jelly (which isn't really great ant food to be honest) but not with the same energy as other stuff. It's more like a nice in-between snack for some additional food variety. Also they usually just lick the surface and leave about 80% of the jelly untouched.


Development time

At 25°C/77°F
Workers: 2-3 months/8-12 weeks
Egg - Larva: 3-5 weeks
Larva - Pupa: 2-3 weeks (majors may take longer)
Pupa - Worker: 3-5 weeks

At 30°C/85°F
Workers: 1-1.5 months/4-6 weeks
Egg - Larva: 1-2 weeks
Larva - Pupa: 1 week (majors may take longer)
Pupa - Worker: 2-3 weeks

Notes: Young colonies often only raise a fraction of their eggs at a time, while the others stay dormant and only hatch when the first batch of larvae is about to pupate.



Antkeeping information
Recommended for beginners: Yes, but patience is required as the initial colony growth rate is rather slow. Also consider that colonies can become really massive after a few years.
Temperature: Outworld: 18 - 30°C, Nesting area: 25 - 30°C*
Humidity: Outworld: 30 - 50% (careful watering si advised as they like it rather dry), Nesting area: 40 - 60% (room hunidity is fine, you don't need to water the outworld at all)
Nest types: Sand-clay farm, gypsum, Ytong, acrylics and 3D-printed nests (preferably with a bottom coat of sand-clay or grout). The ants are very dry-resistant however the nest should feature a water source, like a water test tube attached to the nest.
Formicarium size: Should fit the current colony size.
Formicaruim accessories: Heat source (heat mate, heating cable or heat lamp).
Substrate type: This species can walk well on most surfaces. Glass, vinyl tubing, acrylics, sand, clay and grout pose no issues. They can also climb vertical and upside down on glass. Vinyl tubing shouldn't be too steep (30% angle or less) as the majors have trouble climbing steeprt angles.

*Some ant shops state 21-24°C which is way too cold. Below 25°C the brood grows very slow. Anthouse, a spanish ant shop (they gotta know) states 30°C as ideal nesting temperature which matches my own experience.
It's best to heat only one side of the nest as the different stages of brood (eggs, tiny larvae, big larvae, pupae) prefer different temperatures.


Additional antkeeping information
These ants can be kept at room temperature but vastly benefit from a heat source (heating cable, heat mate, heat lamp).
Young colonies will only be active during the night. They generally show little daylight activity.
Do NOT try to feed these ants inside their tube. Some of the workers might become extremely aggressive and accidentally escape or get lost. As soon as they have their first workers put their tube into an outworld and offer food there.
The ants are sensitive to nest vibrations but calm down very quickly. They can get used to certain vibrations.
They do not bother with camera flashlight but react very strong to other light sources (flashlight, daylight). Red foil does NOT work well if the light source is strong.
Weak red light does not bother them much, if the light source is moved slowly and not pointed directly at the nest.
Can be kept in a dry nest as long as the nest has a water source (integrated or a water test tube directly attached to the nest).
If the ants pile brood in the outworld and the outworld is not significantly warmer than the nest it is usually a sign that the nest is too moist (or they are about to move).
These ants should NOT be forced to move. They have a very good understanding of their own colony growth and will move on their own when they are about to outgrow their nest or when nest conditions become unfavorable. Force-moving them will seriously stall their development.

Test tubes of 30x200mm are great starter nests. These large tubes feature a huge water tank (sufficient for 6-8 months) which means you won't have to move your ants before the colony grew to a good size.
The entrance area should be sized down with cotton and a large straw (as passage) to reduce evaporation.


Colonies that have lost their queen can adopt a new queen after a few months of being queenless. It's always a bit of a gamble but there's a good chance it may work out as there are studies indicating that Camponotus species growing to huge colonies have a tendency towards secondary oligogynity and that adoption might be a common founding strategy for them.
 

Basic information
Origin: Northern Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Lybia) and southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Sicilia, Malta and other mediterranean islands).
Habitat: prefers open landscapes but avoids arid areas
Colony form: monogynous
Colony size: several 10.000 workers
Colony age: queens live for up to 20 years, workers can reach an age of up to a decade (on average they probably only live for 3-4 years though)
Founding: claustral
Workers: extremely polymorphic
Nesting sites: under stones and dead wood, rarely pure soil nests
Feeding: Trophobiosis, Zoophagy (liquid sugars and arthropods)
Hibernation: see below
Diapause:: Short "hibernation" (3-5 months at 15°C/60°F), can be done in an unheated room, has an endogenic rhythm;
they may skip hibernation under certain cirumstances (this basically boils down to "when they feel like it"). This species doesn't really hibernate, they become just very inactive.

Reproduction: Nuptial flight during warm days in June


Taxonomy
-Familia: Formicidae/ants (Latreille, 1809)
--Subfamilia: Formicinae/scaly ants (Lepeletier, 1836)
---Tribus: Camponotini (Forel, 1878)
----Genus: Camponotus (Mayr, 1861)
-----Subgenus: - Tanaemyrmex (Ashmead, 1905)
------Species: Camponotus barbaricus (Emery, 1905)
-------Subspecies: - Camponotus barbaricus xanthomelas (Emery, 1905), Camponotus barbaricus eubarbaricus (Cagniant, 1970)


 

Tested foods
 
Preferred
Accepted
Reaction inconsistent
Refused (ignored or dumped)
Not yet found/used
 
 
Diluted marple syrup (diluted with 3-4 parts water, additional sugars increase receptivity)
Sunburst ant nectar (they love it)
Honey (pure)
Honey water (1:1, ferments VERY quickly during summer, not recommended)
Sugar water (1:1)
Brown sugar water (3:1/4:1)
Frozen raspberry bits
Frozen strawberry bits
Frozen blueberry bits
Coconut flower syrup
Cane sugar molasses (they nip on it sometimes but mostly ignore it)
 
 
Green bottle flies (box from pet shop, very popular)
Honey bee pupae (and sometimes larvae, very popular)
Wild spiders (they LOVE those, it's a delicacy)
Dry salt (yes, they have a dish with some salt crystals on it (originally was salt water) and occasionally lick from it)
Meat fly pupae (box from pet shop)
Wild grasshoppers
Drosophila melanogaster (cup from pet shop, they only accept them once every few weeks)
Drosophila melanogaster (same as above)
Freshly killed Dubia roaches (above 1000 workers)
Freshly killed locusts (above 1000 workers)
Freshly killed crickets (above 1000 workers)
Red mosquito larvae (fish food from pet shop, they only really take them when they are wet and even then only rarely)
Small crickets (box from pet shop) - they're not taking them anymore after they grew to 20+ workers
Small grasshoppers in slices (box from pet shop) - they're not taking them anymore after they grew to 60+ workers
Cooked superworms in slices (box from pet shop) - they never really liked them much and now are completely ignoring them
Drosophila hydei (box from pet shop, they got immediately disposed)

 


Event Index

Ants are getting a proper outworld

First worker (born in my care)

First majors

Moving into the new nest

Setup expansion 1 (plastic box)

Setup expansion 2 (more plastic boxes)

Setup expansion 3 (two more nests)

Setup expansion 4 (6 new acrylic outworlds)

Setup expansion 5 (new big glass outworld)

Setup expansion 6 (two more nests)

First (de)alate



Colony development

November 16th '16
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January 8th '17
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January 23rd '17
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February 17th '17
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March 1st '17
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April 5th '17
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July 2nd '17
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July 9th '17
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July 29th '17 (first majors)
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July 7th '17
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August 9th '17
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August 10th '17
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Septermber 5th '17
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October 15th '17
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November 27th '17
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December 28th '17
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January 28th '18
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March 11th '18
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June 16th '18
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October 18th '18
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Januay 1st '19
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April 10th '19
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August 13th '19
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October 17th '19
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Edited by Serafine, May 14 2022 - 6:15 AM.

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#2 Offline MichiganAnts - Posted December 9 2016 - 9:00 PM

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well all workers have roles. the oldest are your foragers,which is what I'm guessing the aggressive one is. and the youngest tend the young, the others do whatever is required. i will say a box that holds fishing lures (with alot of small compartments) can't be turned into a formicarium of sorts. wait until you see the colony do "democracy" its very amusing watching them try to decide to do something.

 

good luck!!


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#3 Offline Serafine - Posted December 10 2016 - 7:49 AM

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Journal start


The colony originally belonged to MoonAnts who ordered a colony of Camponotus barbaricus and a colony of Messor barbarus from a shop - and ended up getting two of each. I had already decided that I would want a Camponotus colony soon, so one thing came to another.

The ants arrived in their tube at Nov 12 after a voyage of full five days with DHL - yes, it took them FIVE DAYS for a package delivery from northern Germany to southern Germany. Seriously. At least they delivered the package at Saturday morning (most other mail services do not deliver at weekends).

The colony was in good condition and got pretty active when unpacked, fortunately they cooled down quickly when placed in their emergency setup. I later discovered that one of the workers (the biggest one) had died, either during the voyage or just after their arrival. Since there was no way to remove it without completely disturbing the ants I just left it in the tube (they moved the carcass to cotton block at the front end of the tube while all living ants cuddled together at the wet cotton end).

Here they are in their tube.
LgibIIC.jpg

So this was their first "emergency setup".
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Since I didn't have the time to order anything more sophisticated I just took one of my freezer containers and drilled some holes in it - worked fine for the start.
The ants are under the red "paper tent", still in the test tube in which they arrived.


Here is their first meal, some sugar water (was taken quickly) and a raisin (was ignored entirely) in the plastic top of a pringles tube. They also discarded he dead worker during the second night.
NwLUmiw.jpg
I did not want to remove the cotton at the end of the tube for reasons of hydration and disturbance (don't think they would have liked to nest in a cabriolet) so I just pushed a drinking straw through it. This worked very well and I intend to continue doing this with all my eventual future colonies.


Everything went fine, they were about to be sent into hibernation and suddenly... a wild bunch of eggs appears!
M8dasJe.jpg

Well... no hibernation then.

That means they're gonna need some protein. I already added some honey (which didn't seem to drain much interest) and caught some fruit flies, cooked them for a few seconds and added them as well. The fruit flies were taken instantly (three were eaten and discarded the rest stored in the tube at the dry cotton end), except the last one (which was ignored).

The local pet shop had superworms so I bought a box, fed them for about four days with paprika and apples, then boiled them and put them in the freezer. They probably gonna last me for a year, if not more.
YoPQa3G.jpg

The first one was directly fed to the ants (crushed plus a bit of water) and got massive attention - the worker sat there for hours and just filled up on superworm fluids.
Shortly after that the ants effectively canceled all foraging and I haven't seen them out for almost a week. Apparently they were full up to their antennae with tasty superworm soup.



So I ordered a massive setup at AntKit (enough for years to come)... and then the fire destroyed their director's home, their development labs and their entire product storage.
My setup won't arrive here for at least two months, probably three. I don't have any issues waiting and wish AntKit the best but that also forced me to act.

This primitive setup won't hold for three months - when all the new workers hatch I'm gonna be in trouble. Even worse the foraging worker doesn't seem to have any problems walking over the surfaces I sprayed with PTFE and is potentially small enough to squeeze through the ventilation holes. I needed a new box.

Fortunately the local hobby market has a broad variety of storage boxes and after some search I even found one that doesn't allow ants to just walk out between the bottom box and the lid.
c2Nd8gR.jpg

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This should be sufficient even for half a year if needed. I even added insect grid to the the air holes at the sides just to be sure in case they can really walk on the PTFE areas.



So... the colony just got relocated to the new container (still in the tube under the tent). Wow, they were not amused. When picked up the tube to take a look at them they became quite busy. When I replaced the drinking straw with a bigger one that is potentially large enough to let the queen pass, in case they want to relocate, they got REALLY busy - well, at least one of them.

Their reaction was quite interesting, these ants do not only have a clear distribution of tasks (one worker is the only one foraging, one worker is always carrying the brood around, not sure what the other two are doing) they also seem to have very distinctive personalities.
The foraging worker is clearly the most aggressive - she was the only one who instantly attacked the new straw. The other ants were more like "yeah yeah, don't freak out I'm coming already" or even "meh, I don't care", while she was like "OMG, OMG, Intruder, everyone attack it!". I just hope she didn't spray around any formic acid in the nest.
She even rushed out after I placed the tube in the new box and was looking really angry and ready to throw herself at everything.

Hopefully they will calm down now and do well in their new home. I don't think I'm going to be able to make any more pictures of the tube in the near future (I will add some better ones of the setup though) as I don't want to disturb them any more and that hyperaggressive worker will probably freak out again.

While I relocated them I also had a short clear view at their tube and wow - at first I though it was mold but then I realized that they've stored about four fruit flies and several superworm bits at the dry cotton end of the tube. They probably have enough food piled up to bring the larvae through their first two stages of development without having to forage.
These ants are some serious harvesters!


well all workers have roles. the oldest are your foragers,which is what I'm guessing the aggressive one is. and the youngest tend the young, the others do whatever is required. i will say a box that holds fishing lures (with alot of small compartments) can't be turned into a formicarium of sorts. wait until you see the colony do "democracy" its very amusing watching them try to decide to do something.

good luck!!


The four workers are all the same age, they're from the first batch (all nanitics).
Originally they were 5 but the largest one (that looked almost like a baby major with a bigger head than the other ones) died for some reason.
 
Here's a better pic of their setup. The yellow pebbles aren't grains/seeds but smaller rocks (just put them in in case they might need them for some reason).
lE0VEsg.jpg

And that's their warehouse full of dead fruit flies and stuff. They have literally used up all the space at the dry front end of the tube for food storage.
7Lbcy80.jpg
 
They are still carrying their eggs around which should hatch soon/any day now.

Edited by Serafine, March 10 2017 - 2:28 PM.

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#4 Offline Serafine - Posted December 24 2016 - 2:30 PM

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Just a quick heads-up.

First thing - the colony has larvae.
 
I had to relocate them back to the old setup because I had forgotten that it might be a smart idea to spray the long sides of the container as well. When putting them back into the new container I quickly checked up on them and saw a small patch of larvae at the bottom of the tube. Looks like 4-6 of them, not sure if they have laid less eggs than estimated, ate some of them or there are some more hidden larvae.

They are still barely seen outside but that seems to be the problem with a young Camponotus colony - they have such huge stomachs that they forage once and then don't need any more food for a week.
 
Anyway I've crafted another thing (most likely won't need it for a while though).

This is a feeder box made from a 125 gram butter box. Depending on how the lid is placed it allows for small or big ants to pass. That way I can feed them larger food but prevent them from dragging it into the nest in one piece where it might cause a mold outbreak when their eyes are bigger than their larvae' stomachs.
T6t70E4.jpg
 


Edited by Serafine, March 30 2017 - 12:25 PM.

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#5 Offline Connectimyrmex - Posted December 24 2016 - 5:00 PM

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Nice set up! I wish I could have camponotus. Those are amazing ants.


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#6 Offline Leo - Posted December 24 2016 - 5:19 PM

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i have some  :D nice stairway by the way 



#7 Offline MichiganAnts - Posted December 24 2016 - 7:25 PM

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if they are not foraging as much it may be hibernation time. eggs and larvae can hibernate. Camponotus will engorge themselves just before hibernation. how long since you saw workers out? 


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#8 Offline Serafine - Posted December 25 2016 - 2:13 AM

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They're currently only foraging about once every week (with only one worker doing all the foraging) - sometimes I see her, sometimes I miss her (but I know she's been out cause some of the food is missing). Last time they have foraged was about a week ago, when half of the honey from one of the pots (it was really big honey lake) suddenly had vanished over night. Usually they fill up the entire colony to the limit (the queen's gaster is HUGE after such a foraging trip) and then stay home until they need food again.

 

They also have a massive amount of dead fruit flies stored inside their tube (that's why I call them harvester ants) so they don't need to forage for protein. And then Camponotus usually lay eggs in batches, so the queen has literally nothing to do now that would consume any protein (and if you consider how long claustral queens can last when they're well-fed she should be fine for at least 2 months that way).

 

I already thought of hibernation but every time I look at them they are fairly active inside their tube (including the queen).


Edited by Serafine, December 25 2016 - 2:55 AM.

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#9 Offline MichiganAnts - Posted December 25 2016 - 1:27 PM

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id suggest to hibernate. if you check on them and see them pulling on the cotton then they want out. but id ask around, I'm by no means an expert


Owner of MichiganAnts, a YouTube Channel dedicated to all my Michigan colonies found and raise in my backyard

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https://twitter.com/MichiganAnts

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Keeper of:

 

Camponotus Pennsylvanicus

 

Camponotus Noveboracensis

 

Tetramorium


#10 Offline Serafine - Posted December 26 2016 - 6:12 AM

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Since they're already in a rather enclosed setup (only accessible through a long straw) and haven't made any efforts to block the entrance I'm just gonna leave them where they currently are.

 

The problem with Camponotus barbaricus is that they usually live in countries like Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lybia (~15-20°C there right now) - and every source you look up is telling you something different about their hibernation habits. Some say you should fully hibernate them from October- March, some say you should hibernate them a short time from December to February, some say they only have light hibernation with reduced activity and some say they don't need to hibernate at all.

 

Since I'm not sure if their low activity outside is caused by just being a small colony (they have been like that since I got them in early November) I'm going just for reduced room temperature (~18°C) and see what happens. Next year when the colony is larger and their degree of activity more obvious it'll probably be easier to decide on what to do.


Edited by Serafine, December 26 2016 - 7:54 AM.

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#11 Offline MichiganAnts - Posted December 26 2016 - 11:50 AM

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Since they're already in a rather enclosed setup (only accessible through a long straw) and haven't made any efforts to block the entrance I'm just gonna leave them where they currently are.

 

The problem with Camponotus barbaricus is that they usually live in countries like Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lybia (~15-20°C there right now) - and every source you look up is telling you something different about their hibernation habits. Some say you should fully hibernate them from October- March, some say you should hibernate them a short time from December to February, some say they only have light hibernation with reduced activity and some say they don't need to hibernate at all.

 

Since I'm not sure if their low activity outside is caused by just being a small colony (they have been like that since I got them in early November) I'm going just for reduced room temperature (~18°C) and see what happens. Next year when the colony is larger and their degree of activity more obvious it'll probably be easier to decide on what to do.

as for timing of hibernation, as long as its 3 months they should be fine. 


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#12 Offline Alabama Anter - Posted December 26 2016 - 12:32 PM

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Since they're already in a rather enclosed setup (only accessible through a long straw) and haven't made any efforts to block the entrance I'm just gonna leave them where they currently are.

The problem with Camponotus barbaricus is that they usually live in countries like Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lybia (~15-20°C there right now) - and every source you look up is telling you something different about their hibernation habits. Some say you should fully hibernate them from October- March, some say you should hibernate them a short time from December to February, some say they only have light hibernation with reduced activity and some say they don't need to hibernate at all.

Since I'm not sure if their low activity outside is caused by just being a small colony (they have been like that since I got them in early November) I'm going just for reduced room temperature (~18°C) and see what happens. Next year when the colony is larger and their degree of activity more obvious it'll probably be easier to decide on what to do.

as for timing of hibernation, as long as its 3 months they should be fine.
I think you might be used to more Northern Ants in your area but this isn't the case for EU....
I disagree. I think a small diapause is the best. It is true in the Mediterranean, that it is pretty hot, and it can snow. However I would stay on the safe side and do a diapause. Like what u can do is stick them in a cold place (basement) for a couple of weeks and take them back out.

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#13 Offline Shareallicu - Posted December 28 2016 - 7:49 PM

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The four workers are all the same age, they're from the first batch (all nanitics).

Originally they were 5 but the largest one (that looked almost like a baby major with a bigger head than the other ones) died for some reason.

 

Here's a better pic of their setup. The yellow pebbles aren't grains/seeds but smaller rocks (just put them in in case they might need them for some reason).
lE0VEsg.jpg

And that's their warehouse full of dead fruit flies and stuff. They have literally used up all the space at the dry front end of the tube for food storage.
7Lbcy80.jpg

 

They are still carrying their eggs around which should hatch soon/any day now.

What kind of substrate is that?  It's pretty :)



#14 Offline T.C. - Posted December 28 2016 - 8:13 PM

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My colony of formica species did the same thing. They put all the food at the front of the test tube. It actually worked out great.


Edited by T.C., December 28 2016 - 8:46 PM.


#15 Offline Serafine - Posted December 29 2016 - 3:04 AM

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What kind of substrate is that?  It's pretty :)

This is red desert terrarium sand for reptiles. When my ordered outworlds arrive I will use that to decorate them (on top of the grout). I really like the color.

Not sure but I think they have pulled some sand into the tube, probably as a hydration medium or for the larvae when they will start to spin their cocoons.

PT3105_Desert_Sand_Red_Packaging.jpg


Edited by Serafine, December 29 2016 - 3:04 AM.

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#16 Offline Shareallicu - Posted December 29 2016 - 12:36 PM

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What kind of substrate is that?  It's pretty :)

This is red desert terrarium sand for reptiles. When my ordered outworlds arrive I will use that to decorate them (on top of the grout). I really like the color.

Not sure but I think they have pulled some sand into the tube, probably as a hydration medium or for the larvae when they will start to spin their cocoons.

PT3105_Desert_Sand_Red_Packaging.jpg

 

Okay, awesome!  I was wondering if it would be safe to use this type of sand!  I really like the look of it.  Right now, I am just using dirt.  Not very pretty.



#17 Offline Serafine - Posted December 29 2016 - 3:36 PM

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Okay, awesome!  I was wondering if it would be safe to use this type of sand!  I really like the look of it.  Right now, I am just using dirt.  Not very pretty.

I'd say it is safe if you have ants that love it very dry (although it will probably work with most Lasius and Tetramorium). I wouldn't try this as a medium with ants that need more than room humidity in their foraging area.
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#18 Offline Shareallicu - Posted December 29 2016 - 7:19 PM

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Okay, awesome!  I was wondering if it would be safe to use this type of sand!  I really like the look of it.  Right now, I am just using dirt.  Not very pretty.

I'd say it is safe if you have ants that love it very dry (although it will probably work with most Lasius and Tetramorium). I wouldn't try this as a medium with ants that need more than room humidity in their foraging area.

 

oh okay, i think my formica would like more humidity



#19 Offline Serafine - Posted December 29 2016 - 9:45 PM

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Well you can try it in one of your foraging areas if you have a setup of multiple boxes and see how they like it. Problem with that sand is that it has a tendency to clump under high humidity (it is very fine and flows like a fluid while dry).


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#20 Offline Serafine - Posted January 4 2017 - 9:45 AM

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So I checked up on them again and removed the red (or more like magenta) acrylic sheet because it didn't do anything anyway and they're definitely not hibernating, in fact the queen has layed another batch of eggs. They also pulled a bit of the cotton to make some sort of nest for the larvae.

 

They still do not like light at all but they (involuntarily) confirmed that the queen fits though the straw (barely though) as she tried to hide in there first when I put them into the light. She can't turn around inside but obviously she can walk backwards just fine.

 

The tube is almost dried out so I expect them to move within the next weeks and offered them a fresh test tube (well, actually I just filled up the water tube that was already present in the setup). We'll see how it goes.

I also removed all food (except the honey) from the foraging area because obviously they don't need it (and don't want it anyway).

 

e5gXKhp.jpg

 

I find it sort if funny that they placed the larvae nest vertically on the tube side.


Edited by Serafine, January 4 2017 - 11:04 AM.

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