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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 22, 2018 12:06:05 GMT
Last night the workers actually chewed up the cricket I offered them and this morning I can see the larvae feeding on tiny pieces, so hopefully their development will speed up now.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 23, 2018 12:59:14 GMT
There's now a fourth cocoon and the workers are busy eating another cricket. Hopefully there will be a population increase next month.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 23, 2018 18:04:56 GMT
Here's the brood today. Bonus photo of a fat major:
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 25, 2018 10:44:35 GMT
More larvae have pupated, bringing the count up to six.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 26, 2018 21:56:20 GMT
A new worker has eclosed, so the population is back up to 29. There are still six cocoons and quite a few larvae that look as though they'll pupate soon.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 29, 2018 12:45:25 GMT
Most of the eggs have now hatched. I can count about 30 eggs, 53 larvae of all sizes and 6 cocoons. Some of the eggs look like they were laid very recently, which I'm pleased to see. Last night I accidentally left the lid ever so slightly ajar so I later had to catch two workers that were traipsing across the floor! They were safely returned to the colony.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 3, 2018 17:43:04 GMT
There are now seven cocooned pupae and the queen's laid a fresh clutch of about 15 eggs in addition to all the ones that are hatching. Hopefully there's going to be a lot more workers in the coming months!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 4, 2018 1:11:47 GMT
A larger larva, a major, is now spinning its cocoon, making eight. Soon after topping up the sponges on the nest I noticed them taking four of the cocoons into the foraging box, presumably because it was getting a bit humid for them in the nest. I need to remember that these are a desert species and don't really need much moisture at all.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 5, 2018 18:08:31 GMT
Eight cocoons at the moment! Here's a photo of the nest showing all the brood.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 5, 2018 21:47:24 GMT
Worker #30 has just eclosed! She's quite a small girl compared to some of the others.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 15, 2018 12:53:26 GMT
Worker #31 has eclosed today, leaving eight more cocoons. The larvae appear to be growing a bit slower, possibly due to the cooler weather we're having now.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 21, 2018 8:45:04 GMT
Yesterday the 32nd worker eclosed. There's still another ten cocoons and several larvae are now reaching the size to pupate.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 1, 2018 18:47:18 GMT
There's 34 workers at the moment. Just about all of the eggs have now hatched but the larvae have been growing fairly slowly. Not warm enough for them? I still can't get the workers to bring food into their nest. When they do accept a cricket, they'll chew it up in the foraging box so I can't be sure how much the larvae are getting.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Oct 11, 2018 13:30:34 GMT
This colony is still alive and well, but they've been barely growing since the last update. The queen has stopped laying eggs for the time being and all of the cocoons have eclosed, leaving a pile of small to medium sized larvae that are growing very slowly. Here's a major, defending the colony from the paparazzi. Very fat worker who'd just been drinking sugar water: Queen: At the moment they're nibbling at a young newly killed locust so hopefully that'll give the larvae a boost.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Nov 23, 2018 0:32:45 GMT
There still aren't any eggs but the larvae (Of which there's at least 40-50, I'd say) are slowly but steadily growing still. The workers will still come out for food when it's offered. Here's a worker that ran onto my hand when I took the lid off: And a major, who was considering biting me in the first photo (But luckily didn't): Attacking a cricket: Queen with some of the brood:
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