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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 25, 2017 19:37:51 GMT
The day before I ordered my Camponotus xiangban queen, I also ordered this lovely Formica rufibarbis colony from AntsHungary. Like the xiangban queen they have been posted today, I hope they arrive on the same day. There's a healthy looking queen and fourteen workers in total. Here's a few sneaky preview photos AntsHungary sent me today before they were posted. I look forward to this colony's arrival!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 28, 2017 12:04:42 GMT
They arrived with the Camponotus xiangban this morning! One of the fourteen workers was sadly dead on arrival, but the others look great. The rufibarbis queen is very big, definitely larger than both my fusca queens. Her thorax is a nice reddish colour, but sadly the test tube isn't made of a very clear plastic so I can't do it justice in photos. They've already tucked into some honey! No brood, but that's expected. The queen will probably lay eggs later next year. Here's the test tube and a few other things AntsHungary included. He also drew me a smiley face which pleases me, immensely. Let's hope they do well!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 29, 2017 7:02:08 GMT
This is another ant species I have kept, but sadly I no longer have the journal which would have been helpful for reference. Good luck as I hope this lovely ant does well for you as it is virtually extinct here in England in the wild.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jan 31, 2018 19:08:50 GMT
There's very little to report from this colony since there's little activity and no brood yet. Still, the queen and workers seem healthy enough and certainly spring into action when I open the test tube to give them food. They've even eaten a small cricket!
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Post by jeoff82 on Feb 1, 2018 21:13:31 GMT
I think I recall my colonies start producing eggs around the end of Feb time so keep a look out.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 5, 2018 0:53:57 GMT
Still no indication of eggs. The queen looks well fed so I'm not sure why the delay is. The colony still loves the occasional small cricket.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 15, 2018 14:37:00 GMT
At last, there's a small clutch of about 4 or 5 eggs and already a few newborn larvae! I'd just about given up on this colony, too. Hopefully they'll be able to raise a new generation.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 24, 2018 12:20:27 GMT
The brood are growing quickly and the queen has laid another clutch of eggs. I'm glad she's finally decided to spring into action.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 24, 2018 23:09:15 GMT
There are now three cocoons! I'm quite optimistic about this colony's prospects now, considering I've owned them for nearly a year now with no signs of progress.
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