4 replies to this topic

[Swinferret]

So after much debate of the queens ID and from input by TC and YsTheAnt decided that the queen fits more as a camponotus nearticus, especially since i found her in my apartment and this species is a known household pest.( also i got her sizing wrong)

Anyways!!! Exciting news!!! I decided to check on her today and while she still only has 5 eggs her gaster has swollen quite a bit which leaves me to believe she's fertile!
Sorry for not getting a better shot, she was moving and it was harder to het her in focus, plus since i read that this species is shy ,and the queen may eat her eggs if she is too stressed, i wanted to make the process as quick as possible. I also read that a colony will even abandon brood if they are disturbed. So due to the queens shy nature I will be posting updates every 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to minimize stress.
Also I heard that the colony is inly successful if you heat them up so I'm doing the best I can with heat packs.

[rbarreto]

How long do the hot packs last? How much heat do they produce?

[Swinferret]

They last a few hours not long though, ill test the temperature soon but its warm not too hot i put it on one side so she can thermal regulate

[Swinferret]

New updates!!!!!
June 25th : i know it was before the two week mark bit i just had to see!

I took my a look at the test tube setup and was happy to see larvae! And one big one in particular. Sorry for the quality of the pics and again I'm super excited!!!

m.imgur.com/XWPe7va
Up close -


Today June 29th
Got a lil curious to see how the brood were doing especially with how warm our place has been since summer hit. I'm so excited!! First pupae !

http://imgur.com/PIPOMWA

http://imgur.com/AkEinAw

[Swinferret]

First link didn't work