Camponotus mitis

[TenebrousNova]

I bought this fascinating species from British Ants! They come from Japan and are a rather large species, even before you take their very long legs into account. C. mitis can move at very fast speeds and can even jump a few centimetres when they have to. 

The colony contains the queen and at least ten workers. I can't get an accurate count because as you can see, it's a tangle of legs in there. I shall have to order a large formicarium for them to move into! There's a few eggs and larvae.



The queen looks quite ordinary and doesn't share her daughter's lanky appearance.



They seem to appreciate honey and consumed a drop of it.



I also gave them a newly dead cricket. The workers immediately started nipping at it with startling speed to their movements. Hopefully they'll enjoy that.



Let's hope this colony does well! As always, please feel free to leave comments here.

[TenebrousNova]

Today I've placed the mitis colony's test tube into my last vacant acrylic nest and opened it. Only a few workers have ventured out so far but they're proving to be quite inquisitive, since one worker ran out before I could close the lid and went onto my hand. No signs of aggression from her even when I put her back in, but she did hop away from me.

It appears that the queen is laying eggs actively. I saw at least six pink eggs today!

[Jenny]

Pink eggs? I want to see those 

[TenebrousNova]

Mar 8, 2018 12:07:45 GMT Jenny said:

Pink eggs? I want to see those 

Here you are:

[TenebrousNova]

The colony has finally moved into their acrylic nest! It took them quite a while to even find it...you'd think like most ants they'd immediately want to explore the entrance when they found it, but for the most part they just walked over it or gave it a passing twitch of their antennae. Fortunately the queen fits quite comfortably in there, despite my initial reservations that she wouldn't. I've also been able to count the workers now that they're not all crammed in the test tube. There's twelve.

Very little foraging activity occurs however and they've been passing up the food I've offered them lately (Honey water, protein jelly, dried mealworm, pinhead cricket).

[TenebrousNova]

The colony is well settled in their nest but foraging hardly takes place. I think they do it at night. Last night I caught a worker in the foraging box drinking some honey water and a while ago I got them to eat a fruit fly, but other food has been rejected so far. All the ants still seem fine though.



The single larva is still there but has gotten very big now. I'm hoping before long it will pupate and that those eggs will hatch.

[TenebrousNova]

I've just noticed at least three tiny newborn larvae among the eggs, which probably explains why the workers have finally taken a bit of food (A locust leg) into the nest to chew on.

The older larva is practically as big as the workers now, so hopefully it'll pupate soon? It's certainly big enough to eat its younger siblings if it wanted, which could be why it's kept in another chamber.

[TenebrousNova]

I apologise in advance for the poor photo quality. Here's the new mitis larvae next to their older sibling, who still appears to be growing! I wonder if they will all get that big? It's quite an active larva, with a lot of head movement and its tiny jaws can be seen clicking together. It's also covered in a fine velvety hair, but they are short compared to the longer, hooked hairs found on other species.





Worker holding larvae:



This colony is quite calm when I'm checking up on them, provided the lid isn't moved at all. They've had a few more locust legs lately.

[TenebrousNova]

The big larva is currently spinning its cocoon! Considering how big it is relative to the queen, I think it could be a major...what do you think?



The younger larvae are growing surprisingly fast.

[TenebrousNova]

Here's a few more photos of the colony, to show how their brood is doing.

[TenebrousNova]

It's been less than a month, yet one of the larvae has already pupated! I'm surprised at how fast they've grown, despite the fact this colony barely accepts any food at all.



Here it is, compared with the monstrosity currently gestating in the adjoining chamber. I look forward to seeing both adults emerging from their cocoons!



The mitis queen has even laid a small clutch of eggs, which I'm very pleased with.

[TenebrousNova]

Not only has the egg pile grown a little, but two more larvae have now started to spin cocoons.

[TenebrousNova]

I've just found that another larva has pupated, making four. The first two pupae have not yet begun to darken, but I imagine the major will take longer to develop. At the moment the colony is eating a small cricket and a bluebottle leg. I forgot to mention that during the weekend one of the workers died (Old age?) and was eaten, reducing the worker count to 11. Hopefully before long, that number will go back up.

[TenebrousNova]

There's now five cocoons. I think the major one has turned slightly darker, so hopefully it won't be too long from now before she ecloses.

[TenebrousNova]

There are now 8 cocoons! The remaining larvae are almost ready to pupate as well, so hopefully there will be plenty of additional workers (When they eventually eclose, it's been over a month since the major pupa formed!!). Unless I'm mistaken I believe there are more eggs now as well!