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I'm quite new with ants keeping (well talking about a real colony with a Queen).
Small Introduction:
I'm from Portugal live at a small town called Pombal. I have been ever interested in ants, they where all the times interesting to me, the BBC documentary´s about ants and such where all the time a lot of amuse for myself. I had capture some Lasius niger and put them in a small Formicarium, poor girls just died there =/ after some remorse's about the RIP ants (lol) I just decided to watch the poor animals instead of defining their death sentence. Some time later my family just cut down some pine three and get it home to process it, and in the three was an amazing colony of ants (don't know the specie, just know they were quite big and had some red color) I tried to save the colony, but the L asius niger colony's around my place just kicked their ass, poor guys, I still saved some princess and workers, but at October or around they just took off for their nuptial flight. And I just gave up from them and just store the wood. Years later I just decided to do what this thread is about. Getting a colony in a formicarium, and watch them rising.
I was about to do this thread some days ago when my Camponotus c ruentatus arrived.
My Idea it's to make a "forum log" if we can call it like that, and report what is going on with my colony (I searched the other forum members threads and posts, was really helpful for me, so I will give some payback)
You may ask why Camponotus c ruentatus, well basically my requirements where:
A big sized ant
South European ant (because it will be more easier to keep as I live there)
Their aggressive (what is quite interesting) ,
Their food selection, been mainly carnivorous, what will be quite fun to see some insects getting attacked by my future ants ^^.
Financial Report.
AntStore:
1x Digital Thermo Hygrometer 17,90€
1x Book: Principal of keeping ants 2,90€
1x Camponutos Cruentatus 17,90€
1x Thermal Cable 3m 12,90€
1x GLS 27€
1x Paypal Fee 2,36€
Subtotal = 80,96€
Hardware:
2x Ytongs 600x250x150 12,40€
1x 90x25 glass
1x 90x18 glass
2x 90x10 glass
2x 18x10 glass
1x All glasses 27€
6x test tubes Freebie! After some search a blood clinic just gave me one !
1x 5kg's White Cement 1,36€
Subtotal = 40,76
Total = 121,72€
Shopping list:
1x Digital Timer power switch
2x silicone
5x Cable meters
1x male power connection
1x female power connection
Time line Report
I will try to keep this first post with a full story line.
Day Moth Year
-29/08/2011
Order Placed at AntStore, shipped just a few ours later.
And I bought the Ytongs
-05/08/2011
Package arrived My work place
-06/08/2011
Got time to pickup the package at my work place (Due vacations).
The Queen arrived in good shape! , had 2 cocoons, and a small eggs pile.
I placed the the test tube over the thermal cable (like crossing over it), the queen just moved her cocoons and eggs to the cable I could record the room temperature was 21/22 degrees and the themp over the cable was 28/29º.
Just got a fly, killed it, dropped her on boiling water, left the fly get colder, cut a small piece and putted it in the test tube, after the queen noticed the small piece of smoke she just did go for it, and eat it all! Still the queen was quite hibernated. I just left here in a quite place with the cable on, and at night I just switch it off.
-07/08/2011
I just foolish decide to open the test tube and try to give her some more fly (I know they don't need so much foo, however i thought as she eat all the fly I placed there before she would still be hungry), She was totally awake, and being really aggressive with cotton that I moved. However I checked the water tank and it was empty.
One cocoons it's getting black.
-08/08/2011
I just go on look out for test tubes, no pharmacy had them >.< so I tried a clinic and they just gave them for free =)
-09/08/2011
At lunch time I hat put the test tube in the fridge for 5 minutes, got the other test tube ready (what is bigger and have a much bigger water tank) just connected them with some tape, the queen did some checks on the new tube (looking scared at foreign territory), I placed the thermal cable under the new test tube, and in 5 minutes she just started moving the cocoons and the eggs to the new home.
I Just came back home and check the test tube, and I noticed that there is an ant coming out from the cocoon! And the other ant got a small black dot now.
Guys I Think I have too much cotton at the water tank (comparing with the original test tube) it diameter it's just a few mils bigger, but the original test tube arrived almost empty and the rest of the water in it just did go away really quickly . I did some test to check if it would flood the tank, and if it was letting water pass by, I got a small piece of paper inside of the tube, and it was coming wet (when it was touching the cotton sure).
However I'm quite insecure if the cotton was just wet, because I pushed it inside, and if it have to much cotton what can happen? Can it get dry (the cotton)?
On my thread you may notice that I forgot to advance the months it says 08 but was 09 September !
Update-
I just swapped the test tube, the one I placed before had to much cotton and wasn't letting the water pass by, problem fixed on time I guess ^^.
One of the cocoons just born but then he just disappear, for what forum friend told me (theantman, thank you for replying my question =)) it would be defective or they killed him due stress reasons.
My Ytong's on progress!
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1724/31082011012.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1724/31082011012.jpg
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8718/31082011011.jpg
http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/1543/31082011010.jpg
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/9933/31082011008.jpg
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3248/31082011007.jpg
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/452/31082011006.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/2760/31082011003.jpg
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/553/31082011002.jpg
I just finished my exploration last week, and the ytongs aswell.
However I still didn't connected the Ytong to the exploration.
My numbers increased!
4 workers born, however 1 died.
One interesting behavior, when the ants where in the test tube, when I reached 3 workers+queen, one ant just start to patrol the tube like searching for an exit. Then she just start attacking the cotton (the one at opposite side where the queen stays), and some time later even the queen has join the cotton attack.
In the process 1 ant died, and the they stopped attacking the cotton.
I put the test tube at the exploration (opened) and they simply didn't checked the area around the tube, I just put a fly in the test tube and they just ignore it... but then another ant born, and just moments later after the newborn one ant just left the pipe ant start a small patrol. Then I decide to put a little of honey on his way, and that was what she was looking for! She just spent all day carrying the honey to nest, The other ants before where almost just satying still, now they became active!
So now I have 3 ants + queen, 3 cocoons and 1 larvae, however I don't know if there are eggs >.<
Should I hibernate the ants at December till January something like that ? 1 month, month half ?
Hi Eman, from the information i can find on this species:
Hibernation:
Yes, from late November to late February at 10-14°C
Thank you very much Andie. Here is still to hot for hibernation.
I hope my numbers increase until hibernation time ^^
The worked out Ytongs
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/628/01102011001.jpg
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/1711/01102011.jpg
"Moist system" working ^^
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8981/08102011002.jpg
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/8634/08102011.jpg
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6804/20102011001.jpg
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/439/20102011.jpg
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5648/20102011002.jpg
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/9972/20102011003.jpg
Looks like you have made a really nice job of carving that out =D> so you can send me that spare one you've made :)
Looks great, well done =D>
I wish I could get that here in Brazil
The spare one is glowed to the main one =)
Yeah It took a lot of work, to carve that out.
I "washed" the ytong with white cement, so it get no holes and get the clean white nice color!
I filled the chambers with mix of sand and clay, it got a nice look ^^ and the ants get something to dig.