miszt: (3. Jul 2008 13:48)

ligniperda seem to develop a bit faster than herc, generally Camponotus ligniperda queens have much more red where the petiole and gaster join and have a lighter brown color, herc queens are generally much darker, and simlar to many other species of Camponotus, workers are harder to determine, as the colors can vary allot, I have 2 herc queens, one set of workers has a lighter red thorax than the other, my ligniperda colony have a yellow thorax, but sum have more red or darker

badman: (3. Jul 2008 14:51)

my ligniperda queen has a huge bloated gaster, the herculaneus queen is much more like a large army ant, with a more proportional gaster, very badass looking.

the herculaneus workers have shorter legs and a darker thorax, if you put the two side by side you can tell the difference, but tyring to judge it based on a picture would be tough.

miszt: (3. Jul 2008 15:07)

Yep, my point was that color is not a good way to determine an exact species, but i probly should have said that more specificly lol

Kale^^: (9. Jul 2008 13:51)

Hey miszt, i just put 2 Camponotus herculeanus queens into one tube, they have one worker and a bunch of eggs right now, i let them be in the fridge for about half an hour, in own tubes and then put the queen i found today with the older lady. They both were frightened at first but now they seem to be kissing

http://www.muurahaiset.net/gallery/files/1/1/9/09072008_025.jpg
They are in the fridge now, to cool down and to avoid any collisions.

Zagone: Re: Camponotus herculeanus (7. Feb 2009 18:40)

I have a colony of Camponotus herculeanus and I was wondering if it's important for that their arena/basin has moist soil? Mine gets dry fast because I put the wrong granulation in the bottom, and it's a fuzz to keep it moist because my lid isn't quite done yet, so it's hald-way covered with glas, and the other half with a towel.

And yes, I do have escapees now and then. :P But I will ahve my lid on Monday.

Anyway; they have water and they eat plentily. Gave them 2 mealworms the otehr day that I had cut in half,
they took 3 of the halves into the test-tube, and 1 half they left outside, guarded it for a day and a night but now they've abandoned it, I guess it dried up or something.

I'm not sure how many workers I have right now, because I can't see into the nest, but as soon as my lid's done they'll have access to a y-tong nest that I've made them.

But my question is; is my basin too dry?

JimmyVe: Re: Camponotus herculeanus (10. Feb 2009 13:23)

I don't keep these ants myself, but most species like to put there brood into a moist spot. So i suppose it could not harm to moist the nest area.

Zagone: Re: Camponotus herculeanus (10. Feb 2009 19:17)

I think I'll manually moisten it now every other day, now that I've finnished my new lid and have easier access to them. But the new lid means that their intended home is finally installed, so hopefully they'll move thare in a week or two, or maybe sooner. Once they do, I can redo the arena with proper granulation and some better soil than what they have now.

Thanks, btw. :)

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