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Post by occultus on Jan 8, 2016 21:52:44 GMT
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shane
Ant Photographer
Ant Species Image Gatherer
Posts: 1,738 
Likes: 819
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Post by shane on Jan 8, 2016 23:50:56 GMT
Always wanted a colony of them but I find them expensive, maybe in summer I may try a colony of them. and grats they look a nice colony to have.
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Post by occultus on Jan 9, 2016 1:33:14 GMT
Always wanted a colony of them but I find them expensive, maybe in summer I may try a colony of them. and grats they look a nice colony to have. To be honest, I had no idea that a golden ant existed until last week. They are stunning though, especially when the light catches them on the right angle. I know that you will get some cracking photos of this species when you grab a colony mate! Note to self: Stop buying more Ants!!! I have two more colonies arriving next week. That's it for this year though...  |
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Post by Thebugman on Jan 9, 2016 8:22:53 GMT
You always find the most interesting and exotic ant species. I can't wait to see how this colony develops they are a stunningly beautiful species.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jan 9, 2016 8:47:27 GMT
Beautiful ants occultus and I like the way you caught the sudden twitching of the larva on your video.  |
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Post by occultus on Feb 23, 2016 1:54:38 GMT
These shy little ants are making steady progress. The brood and larvae have increased. My one concern so far is that they don't seem to like light disturbance and they have been eating their own cocoons when just slightly stressed.  2016-02-23_01-35-01 by che hawkins, on Flickr  2016-02-23_01-35-42 by che hawkins, on Flickr I'm sure that when they get enough workers they will start forage more often. Out in the wild, I think they live arboreal high up and like to avoid conflict? |
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Post by Jenny on Feb 23, 2016 5:54:19 GMT
I love the colour, great photos occultus |
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Post by occultus on Apr 8, 2016 18:53:58 GMT
Camponotus sericeus now have 7 workers. It would be 8 but believe it or not one of the workers sneaked into my suitcase and is now living in Cambodia.
The test-tube is bone dry and dirty but colony refuse to move into the clean test-tube.
In the video you can see one of the workers trying hard to feed on a small cricket, everyone else is just happy to watch the little worker struggle.
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Post by occultus on Jun 16, 2016 22:01:34 GMT
My Camponotus sericeus colony has now reached 12 workers "YAY". I have finally realised that this species can walk straight over PTFE so I've added a lid to their set up. The workers are not very long lived, however the population is starting to grow nicely(plenty of cocoons). Temp stays at 28 Celsius and they adore blue bottle flies.  |
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Post by occultus on Jun 16, 2016 22:07:40 GMT
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Post by occultus on Jun 30, 2016 0:41:03 GMT
The colony now has 19 workers. The test-tube is getting rather claustrophobic.  Camponotus sericeus: 19 workers by che hawkins, on Flickr  2016-06-29_09-45-49 by che hawkins, on Flickr Good job I had a custom built nest created by Nardimai. I went for something quite different with this nest. The colour of the nest is black and the arena is also black. My thinking is that the golden gasters and red heads will contrast great with the black decor. The black nest will also offer the ants some comfort and at the same time I can still see all the activity.  2016-06-29_09-47-31 by che hawkins, on Flickr Once the ants settle down, Ill upload a nest overview |
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Post by occultus on Sept 16, 2016 18:48:26 GMT
Its been over a month since I last seen this colony. They moved into a tiny gap near the water pipe that's purposely built to offer water on-demand. The workers are still foraging, but I'm waiting patiently for the colony to reemerge. Last seen on 01/08/16  Camponotus sericeus 01/08/16 by che hawkins, on Flickr |
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Post by occultus on Dec 14, 2016 6:21:45 GMT
Now the elegant Camponotus sericeus colony are getting rather large in number. I discovered that there are two rather large majors inside the nest.
They are inside a new nest that is more appropriate for their size and I can observe them easily.
They are very peaceful ants however they spring into action when food has been discovered.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Dec 14, 2016 7:57:57 GMT
What kind of nest are you keeping them in, and at what temperature?
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Post by occultus on Dec 16, 2016 11:47:13 GMT
I'm keeping them inside a tiny grout nest for the moment, test-tubes provide the humidity. Temperature is between 23c-26c at all times.
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Camponotus sericeus 08/01/16 by che hawkins, on Flickr
Camponotus sericeus 08/01/16 by che hawkins, on Flickr
Camponotus sericeus 08/01/16 by che hawkins, on Flickr
