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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 14, 2018 0:11:09 GMT
Another cocoon has darkened considerably so I expect the thirteenth worker to eclose in the days to come. I've also watched a larva start to spin her cocoon, with lots of movement of the head. Watching through a magnifying lens, I could see periodic gulping movements from the mouth as a fine thread of silk extruded from it. When she's done, there will be eight cocoons.
The workers are getting bolder and I had to shoo one of them back into the test tube, since she came charging out as soon as I opened it to feed the colony. Like I said in one of the first entries of this journal, the workers are much faster than they appear!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 15, 2018 15:33:48 GMT
Here's the xiangban queen sitting on her pile of brood:
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 16, 2018 1:39:17 GMT
Worker #13 has very recently eclosed! Not the luckiest number, but still a welcome addition to the colony's ranks.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 21, 2018 8:48:35 GMT
There are now eleven cocoons and one of them has begun to darken! The colony is still feeding well and haven't caused me any problems so far. I'm sure that as it grows, more workers will join in the escape efforts at feeding time, but I find that a drop of sugar water works well as a distraction whilst I'm putting in insect food and removing debris with tweezers.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 21, 2018 14:09:47 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 25, 2018 10:29:37 GMT
There are now fifteen workers. A few more larvae are spinning their cocoons, so the count remains at ten.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 30, 2018 15:06:27 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 2, 2018 14:02:57 GMT
The worker population is now back up to fifteen. Hopefully the sixteenth worker will eclose within a matter of days.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 3, 2018 1:07:02 GMT
The 16th worker has now eclosed.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 8, 2018 15:28:25 GMT
Just as a new worker has started eclosing, one of the older ones has died. So we're still at 16 workers.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 12, 2018 11:18:48 GMT
Today there are even more eggs and about fifteen cocoons. The colony still has a hearty appetite.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 13, 2018 15:59:23 GMT
I wish my colony had that much brood and that many cocooned pupae. Brood development is so slow in my colony, so if you get too many I am open to offers.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 16, 2018 12:18:22 GMT
The 17th worker has eclosed and I think the 18th will do so later today.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 17, 2018 12:42:01 GMT
There are now 18 workers.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Sept 20, 2018 12:31:07 GMT
There's now twenty workers at last. There's still lots of eggs, several larvae and fourteen cocoons.
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