miszt: Camponotus herculeanus (24. Jul 2007 00:50)

My new Herculeanus Queen is on her way, have spent the last 2 weeks getting her new home setup, so thought i'd post my setup now and make updates as the colony grows :D

The tank is a very large tank, as I want to be able to house the colony in one place for at least a few years, its ~ 60x50x30

At the bottom i've used Clay Agregate balls for moisture retention and release, and covered this with compost made from Pine tree bark, I cooked the compost @ 200C for 30 minutes prior to adding it to make sure theres no nasty bacteria in it.

The nesting site is cork, several pieces layered ontop of one another, should be a perect nesting site as its going to get nice and moist from the soil and clay bass, behind the nest is a small slow growing fern called a Boston fern, it will only grow about 20cm a year, so just needs a trim about every 3-6 months. The fern also likes to be in a warm and humid enviroment, so should settle in well for the ants to explore

Cork is great for boring insects, the ants should have lots of fun making their home inside it, there are already several holes in the cork, presumably from other insects that lived in it when it was in the country side, I boiled the cork for a few minutes before adding it to make sure it was clean

I've settled the tempreture during the day ~24C using a heat pad on the back wall outside the tank attached to a thermostat (obviously this will change when they hybernate, then they will go into a shed), and the humidity @ 70C by keeping the Agregate topped up with water. Theres also a 40w bulb in the roof for a bit of light heating

There is a large shell which will serve as a feeding platform for the early stages of the colony untill i start using live food, also 2 fake flowers will be the honey platforms.

To add: a very small 'bog area', which will essentially be a small dish with some live moss that can be kept extra damp for extra humidity and drinking water, various sticks and twigs coming out of the earth, very tiny flat plants like Lichens

Last thing i need to do is make the setup escape proof, can anyone recommend anything that Herculeanus find particuly difficult to walk on?

JimmyVe: (24. Jul 2007 07:25)

Last thing i need to do is make the setup escape proof, can anyone recommend anything that Herculeanus find particuly difficult to walk on?

I would use PTFE and a lid of course (the PTFE would be perfect for when you are feeding them, otherwise the lid would do just fine, these are rather big ants so if you use a grid(http://www.antstore.net/shop/product_info.php/info/p99_Safety-mesh-guard--white-.html) it would be escape proof.
For the PTFE make it about 6cm wide.

miszt: (24. Jul 2007 09:50)

The setup as a lid already, its an old reptile tank i used to have, do you know what PTFE actually is? I dont realy want to have to pay such a large postage cost for such a small item lol is it some kind of Parafin mixture?

Dr.House: (24. Jul 2007 11:31)

Always remember, google is your friend ^^
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene

JimmyVe: (24. Jul 2007 11:33)

Fluon PTFE (Poly-TetraFluoro-Ethyleen) in dutch, don't now what it is in English. ;)
You are wright, it is a bit expensive only to buy this, the shipping cost are more then the bottle of PTFE.
But i must say, this is the best glide material there is.

miszt: (24. Jul 2007 11:49)

ah Teflon :) kool got it, i can get that @ my local hardware store cheers peeps!

miszt: (25. Jul 2007 11:04)

UPDATE:

Queen arrived today with 2 Coccons and 1 large Larvae and a bunch of eggs :) She was a bit frantic when I opened her up, so i've put her in a warm n dark corner of my living room to 'chillout' in the hope that she wont eat them all! Pics coming in a few days

Only problem is the test tube has no water in it, and its too long for any of my needles to reach, so I may have to release her into her nu tank earlier than I'd hoped so she can drink, the moisture left in the cotton wool should be fine for a week tho hopefully

JimmyVe: (25. Jul 2007 17:29)

If you can place the tube into you farm, cover this up with some sand and put a small dish with some fresh water in front of the tube. This way she could stay in here 'home' and still get some fresh water, and if she likes she could move to the farm. ;)

miszt: (25. Jul 2007 17:37)

Yep I'll do that once my pfte tape arrives and i can unplug the test tube safley, at the moment shes happily buried in her test tube :)

have to say, shes one of the most beautiful ants i've seen for a long time, sleak and beautiful shiny black with a dark rust color underneath, and she is a bit of a monster! certainly wouldnt want a bite off her lol

Very excited to see the first workers, the 2 coccons are quiet dark, so hopefully in the next few days they will emerge :)

miszt: (27. Jul 2007 01:13)

First worker has just come out of her coccon :D i'v left them blocked in still coz i broke the lid on my tank! *doh* gona have to get a glass cutter and make a nu one

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