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Post by Rion Wulfe on Aug 1, 2013 3:24:15 GMT
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baggers
Nurse Ant
Posts: 109
Country: England
Pets: Royal pythons, dog, cats
Favourite Ant: Leaf cutter ant
Likes: 12
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Post by baggers on Aug 1, 2013 5:35:02 GMT
Wow lovely looking ant queen she's massive, where was she caught?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 1, 2013 7:08:40 GMT
While she could possibly be a Camponotus queen, she does look more like Formica; but I wouldn't rule Campo out as she is big enough.
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Post by Zarbi on Aug 1, 2013 8:10:42 GMT
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Post by Rion Wulfe on Aug 2, 2013 1:12:47 GMT
She was caught on Hilton Head Island, SC, which is just north of the Georgia border. The area is VERY VERY tree thick. (We can hide a Super Walmart behind an Azalea bush)... So 'wooded' is well within the definition. There's a lot of swampland too,.. and the ocean is a stone's throw away. It's very hot, and we have no real winter.
Wulfe
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Post by Rion Wulfe on Aug 2, 2013 1:18:46 GMT
Is there any place I can find detailed pictures (possibly taxonomical?) of queens of the proper families?
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Post by daniele1272 on Aug 2, 2013 6:47:35 GMT
ant web may have them pics, although they are museum samples you might be able to find more info there and also you can download an info sheet now on the website. worth a try an she is real nice.
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Deleted
Hibernating
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2013 7:10:55 GMT
My guess is Camponatus floridanus
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Post by Rion Wulfe on Aug 2, 2013 7:11:49 GMT
Thank you, Daniele. I think she's amazingly beautiful. She has possibly 15 eggs right now, possibly more, a lovely little cluster of white that she dotes all over constantly. I know she's merely coating her eggs with anti-fungal saliva... but it sure does look like she loves them the way she gently taps them with her antennae.
Wulfe
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Post by Rion Wulfe on Aug 6, 2013 2:03:41 GMT
Update: She is now in her testtubes I got delivered today. Wow, did she ever NOT want to be messed with! My last colony was very docile, I'm used to queens going quietly, or skittishly, when I needed to move them to other containers. She bit the forceps I used to coax her into the testtube SEVERAL times, zipped out of the little petri dish, and took off over my desk. I managed to scoop her into the testtube along the way, but I'm sure if I put my hand on her, she would've chewed me a new one, literally. Once I got her and her brood into the new tube, she settled down right away and is relaxing and tending to them anew. It was exciting! Here's a current picture:
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Post by Rion Wulfe on Aug 10, 2013 3:10:39 GMT
And here's the larvae that have hatched! Taken in black and white with my Samsung Galaxy S2.
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Post by Rion Wulfe on Aug 27, 2013 23:43:42 GMT
WOOT! The first worker just eclosed!!
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Deleted
Hibernating
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2013 20:30:51 GMT
This is a great looking queen.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 28, 2013 22:25:53 GMT
What shape are her eggs Rion? Camponotus tend to lay more oval or elogated eggs, whereas Formica eggs are round and more like little golf balls in shape.
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Post by scedd on Aug 29, 2013 9:45:41 GMT
Looking good!
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