Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 17:04:12 GMT
17th April 2015
I received 1 Camponotus herculeanus queen with no eggs, larvae, or workers as ordered from Ants UK. I thought it would be interesting to start a colony with a queen only and watch it develop slowly over time and am prepared to be patient. The queen's test tube has been placed in a plastic tub within a glass vivarium with a hear mat under it and I have covered the back, sides,and top with cardboard to keep the enviroment dark and to keep stress levels to a minimum whilst ensuring adequate ventilation.
The vivarium is placed in a dark room which has no additional heating all year round so will also be used for hibernation as the temperature will rise and fall throughout the year matching the temperature outside but with protection from frost. Low temperatures in winter will be monitored and will be prevented from falling below 5-6 degrees centigrade. The room will also be free of any disturbances that could cause the queen any unnecessary stress as I have read that egg and brood eating is common with Camponotus spp. queens when exposed to stress.
Apart from her obvious large size, this queen is truly stunning to behold. I wasn't prepared for how beautiful she is, shiny jet black with red tones on her thorax. She appears to be very healthy and was monitored for a few hours after being placed in the vivarium and seemed to prefer the warmer half of the vivarium where the heat mat was placed, in fact she seemed to be warming herself, laying flat on the floor of the test tube for a few hours before returning to an upright position. She soon settled down and seems relaxed.
I received 1 Camponotus herculeanus queen with no eggs, larvae, or workers as ordered from Ants UK. I thought it would be interesting to start a colony with a queen only and watch it develop slowly over time and am prepared to be patient. The queen's test tube has been placed in a plastic tub within a glass vivarium with a hear mat under it and I have covered the back, sides,and top with cardboard to keep the enviroment dark and to keep stress levels to a minimum whilst ensuring adequate ventilation.
The vivarium is placed in a dark room which has no additional heating all year round so will also be used for hibernation as the temperature will rise and fall throughout the year matching the temperature outside but with protection from frost. Low temperatures in winter will be monitored and will be prevented from falling below 5-6 degrees centigrade. The room will also be free of any disturbances that could cause the queen any unnecessary stress as I have read that egg and brood eating is common with Camponotus spp. queens when exposed to stress.
Apart from her obvious large size, this queen is truly stunning to behold. I wasn't prepared for how beautiful she is, shiny jet black with red tones on her thorax. She appears to be very healthy and was monitored for a few hours after being placed in the vivarium and seemed to prefer the warmer half of the vivarium where the heat mat was placed, in fact she seemed to be warming herself, laying flat on the floor of the test tube for a few hours before returning to an upright position. She soon settled down and seems relaxed.
