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Post by TenebrousNova on Jan 17, 2012 11:41:41 GMT
I've tried that, and it worked. Thanks. (Log 8)There's plenty of eggs now, maybe fifteen or twenty? The first larva seems to have hatched as well.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jan 27, 2012 9:45:47 GMT
(Log 9)Queen Sigma appears to have a ball of about 20 eggs. She still accepts food readily. The plates of the worker's gaster seem to have stretched apart slightly. I haven't seen her eat before, but I suppose the queen has been feeding her.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jan 28, 2012 18:31:30 GMT
I hope this colony does well for you as Camponotus are nice large ants to observe, as my nico colony has given Jen and myself a lot of fun.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 3, 2012 10:33:01 GMT
(Log 10)The queen seems to have lost her interest in the honey for the time being, and isn't as keen to eat crickets as before. In the photo below, she can be seen nibbling at a cricket and the worker holding her eggs. She has also gained a bit of weight. She caused the mold by dumping discarded bits of food at the back where the cotton is. Fortunately, they pay close attention to the eggs and clean them regularly.
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armyant
Callow Ant
Posts: 56
Likes: 6
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Post by armyant on Feb 3, 2012 10:55:23 GMT
wow, your queen looks huge
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 3, 2012 11:05:46 GMT
She's 15mm long. Biggest ant I've ever seen for real, let alone kept.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Feb 21, 2012 9:17:46 GMT
(Log 11)Both queen and worker are still interested in honey. They also like mealworms, which the queen picks up bodily to have a chew on. It seems that they've eaten some of the eggs, but there's still about fifteen. No evidence of any larvae just yet, although a few eggs seem to have stretched out a little and seem to get a bit translucent. Hopefully this means a developing larva inside.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 18, 2012 8:15:53 GMT
(Log 11)There's roughly six (Comparatively) small larvae, the largest of which is the size of a full-grown Lasius larva. It will be a long time before they reach the pupa size, but I'm more grateful that her majesty hasn't seen fit to eat her unhatched offspring. They seem to grow a little when I put insect food in, so I must be doing something right. There's about fifteen eggs, and since they were mostly laid days apart from each other I suppose more will begin to hatch soon. I imagine that a grown larval queen of this species must be a sight to behold.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Mar 23, 2012 17:33:32 GMT
(Log 12)The larvae are surprising me with their growth rate- the largest is just over half the length of the worker. I thought that they would grow as slowly as the eggs took to hatch. The queen seems to enjoy fruit flies, and presumably these are what she's giving the larvae.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 3, 2012 8:31:50 GMT
(Log 13)This tiny colony appears to be favouring quality over quantity, as there's a small ball of eggs and one enormous larva- the biggest I have ever seen. Judging by its fast growth, it will pupate within another few weeks, as it is almost as big as the worker. There were some newborn larvae, but I suspect that these might have been fed to their elder sibling.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 19, 2012 8:00:40 GMT
(Log 14)Similar incident with the Pheidole here- the worker has died. Some weeks before that, the large larva was very close to pupation but was eaten by the queen, along with the other brood. I have left her alone with a dead cricket, but she ignores it, where before she might have tore into it. I am not sure if she's capable of raising another batch of brood if I can feed her. I won't give up on this queen just yet.
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barney636
Callow Ant
I don't do stress.....
Posts: 59
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Post by barney636 on Aug 25, 2012 7:54:05 GMT
I am keen to know how she is doing now. Is she still going?
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 25, 2012 9:48:19 GMT
I am keen to know how she is doing now. Is she still going? It's a tale of woe, really. She has refused food for the last few months. She is still alive though, which is why I haven't closed this journal. Her worker was killed when she somehow got past the cotton and into the water reservoir, which was dry by then. She couldn't get back out, and I tried removing the hard cotton with a pencil. I ended up achieving the opposite effect and she was killed. She ate all of her brood including a larva that was getting close to pupating, thus eliminating her chances of founding a colony. I moved her into a different test tube and tried feeding her, but she simply isn't interested. It's a shame, she's a beautiful looking queen and her workers had very nice colouring to them. I might try again sometime, or maybe with a different type of Camponotus.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 25, 2012 10:44:40 GMT
I know this species isn't cheap to buy, and are described as being nocturnal (but mine are very active in daylight) by Peter; but they might be worth thinking about if you have the money sometime as the price includes P&P. www.myantshop.com/camponotus.htm
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barney636
Callow Ant
I don't do stress.....
Posts: 59
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Post by barney636 on Aug 25, 2012 19:25:56 GMT
Sorry to hear that. I hope she manages a recovery but I think it very unlikely. Good luck mate.
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