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Post by formica on Sept 26, 2009 10:17:51 GMT
I have ordered a queen with a couple of workers from antsectopia. I have never kept camponotus before so are there any things I need to know?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 26, 2009 14:38:06 GMT
I have not much info to offer, but my Camponotus are slow when it comes to eating or foraging. They seem to prefer a fairly dry nest with only a hint of moisture. It may be a good idea to keep the colony in the tube they come in until it gets bigger, and keep it in a warm dark place. They are at home nesting in a just damp peat and sand mix, and you could even try keeping them in a cork nest as they live in dead tree stumps in the wild. I don't know about in Europe where these ants come from, but they can infest wooden buildings in America. You will find some useful stuff on the genera in the species profiles, and I'm sure other members have perhaps posted about Campo's somewhere on the Ant Hill This is what Antstore has to say about this specie. "name: Camponotus cruentatus homeland: south Europe caste: Majors and minors appearence of the queen: Colour: red-black appearence of the workers: Colour: black nest building: Build their nest under stones and wood with greater underground areas; also only soil nests nutrition: Honeywater or insects temperature: Kind of tough (room temperature). In the nature they keep hybernation (Should be seasoned during the winter at cool places) air humidity: Moderate climate number of basins: 1 basin is adequate dimension of the basin: At least 60x30x30 cm (adjust to the colony size) soil conditions: Sand, humus planting: sand / loam with branches, roots, moos accessories: Lamp, radiant heater level: For beginner shipping info: No shipping by temperatures over 35°C specifics: quantity: one fertilized queen with workers (see selection); brood (depending on the season and development)
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Post by formica on Sept 26, 2009 16:48:16 GMT
It is all right for me to move them into their habitat as I'm housing them in a plaster nest inside a large small pets play pen. Would I also be able to have this as a journal on this part of the forum? I would normally post in the ant journals chamber but thats been deleted.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 27, 2009 8:03:39 GMT
Yes, it is fine if you wish to use this thread as a journal. The reason Jen decided to remove the "journals board" was it took up space and very few were using it. The thing we could do is perhaps make a sub-board(s) for journals, but a main board for journals is simply not needed. It should be okay to put your ants in the home you have planned for them, as long as you remember they will be going into hibernation in about 7 weeks from now, as they would do in the wild. I have created sub-boards for journals, so if you wish to keep this as a journal, I will move it
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Post by Zarbi on Sept 28, 2009 8:27:20 GMT
I've had a look at this species on a google search, and they are a nice looking ant. I think a plaster nest or ytong may be best as they can chew through plastic or wood. Put a glass top on your set up as it will stay clear for watching them through, and they can't chew their way out.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Sept 28, 2009 9:07:13 GMT
I had worker of Camponotus ligniperda chew through plastic once, as they were sent from Antstore in a soft plastic pot and chewed a hole, so when Jen opened the box they came in there were lots of little confused faces peering back up at her ;D Here is a nice photo of a cruentatus queen. Attachments:
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Post by formica on Sept 28, 2009 16:23:37 GMT
Ade has said he will post the ants now, as I did not process the payment properly. They will be all right in the play pen as it has the plaster in it. The set up I'm using is the same one Jenant posted with the play-doh and all but inside the play pen.
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Post by formica on Oct 4, 2009 16:50:44 GMT
my queen arrived a few days ago and came with three workers,three large larvae, one small larvae and one egg. I am just going to keep her in sand with the heat rock in the play pen. The heat will make the colony grow quicker if I place the tube under the stone. The tube is very small and I will move them in when they have about 20 workers. The tube is sealed with a green cap and they like to nest there. This makes it very difficult to feed them as if I take of the cap they will all escape.
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Post by formica on Oct 9, 2009 17:21:50 GMT
Yesterday I fed my colony a mealworm pupa, and they seemed to love it. They are also moving their larvae up to the far end of the tube. I believe This is because the the heat rock is there.
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Post by formica on Oct 22, 2009 14:17:26 GMT
I moved this colony into my airing cupboard. The brood has seemed to develop a lot as well. My only fear now is that the mealworm pupae I put in a while ago is turning slightly black. They ate some of it but when I received them their carps were full. I beleive that the pupae is developing so I am worried.
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Post by Zarbi on Oct 22, 2009 15:31:02 GMT
It's probably just gone bad and needs chucking out, as mealworms do go black when they're rotten and end up smelling awful
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Post by formica on Oct 23, 2009 16:28:06 GMT
Today I looked in and discoverd the queen has laid 4 new eggs.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 24, 2009 8:19:57 GMT
I've decided to get one of these queens for myself, as the ants that Antsectopia were getting in from China never arrived. Ade is quite angry about this, as his supplier said they were being sent, then went back on his word As Adrian is away until mid December, his wife is dealing with any ant orders for the next few weeks. Unlike some ant species Queens which have stopped egg laying until next Spring, Campo queens do seem to lay late into Autumn, so we will have to compare notes on this species regarding their brood development over the coming Winter
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Post by formica on Oct 25, 2009 18:27:57 GMT
Well I am pretty stuck. As I have moved this colony into the airing cupboard the water is evaporating. Normally, I would move them into a different test tube but the only problem is I cannot. The tube The ants arrived in came with a green cap on it which the ants keep their brood in and this makes it extemely difficult for me to feed them or let alone move them. I am not going to make the mistake of underestimating their speed as when I look in and they move their brood they move very quickly. As you can imagine, as soon as I will attempt to open the cap they will move extremely fast and escape. Another problem is that they get frightened very easily so I do not like disturbing them. I don't really know what to do.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 25, 2009 20:41:55 GMT
Try keeping them somewhere cooler for a few weeks, as this being a European ant species it does hibernate in the wild. If they become less active it should make it easier to move them, as it is the heat that's keeping them moving so fast.
I keep my ligniperda colony in a small plastic tank, half filled with damp peat and sand. This tank is kept in an unheated room, as are all my ants. I find that if they're kept at room temperatures of between 52F to 60F for the Winter, they go into a state of mild activity bordering on a kind of semi-hibernation. Moving any ants is easier when they are not very warm, as they are much slower and may even fall asleep for a short time until they warm up again.
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