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Hi all
I have a small colony of Camponotus largiceps as well as C. c ruentatus.
Regarding the C. largiceps:
1. Do they hibernate? there seems to be conflicting information on this
2. What is their favourite food and what is considered a balanced diet? I feed them honey water and Dubia roaches right now, is that enough?
Regarding Cruentatus?
1. When do they start hibernating?
Thanks!
I think both (C. largiceps & Cruentatus) should have a small alleviated form of hibernate - similar to Messor barbarus for example.
So try to reduce the Temperatur for 4-6 weeks during ~ december to february to 15 degress +/-.
They will not stop completely the activity but all is reduced.
Maybe you know or can find out from which area your colonies came from and take a look on a climate diagram.
Your Food seems to be good. You can try to alternate it a bit. For example a bit pure honey, sugar water, maple syrup and for Proteine u can try all Kind of fly, Spiders or other insects you can find.
My favourite is Schokoschaben / Shelfordella lateralis cause they have good size and a soft armor and for small colonys I prefer fruit flys (the not flying Kind from zoo market).
Hi there :)
Cannot comment on C. largiceps, but I have kept C. cruentatus and hibernated mine from Late October to Mid-February. They seemed to do quite well. The fridge temperature was around 7 - 10 C.
Do make notes to check on them weekly to make sure the hydration is adequate, but not too much. A great way to look at it is to see some slight condensation droplets, if there is none it may be too dry in the nest which can be dangerous.
I took a younger colony out and they began to eat a cricket 2 hours out of diapause in the attached photo from a few years back. I also offer them a wider range of food, they like:
- Liquid protein :
Tablespoon of raw egg yolk + tablespoon of honey + small coffee cup [general average size 8-12 oz] + tablespoon of white granulated sugar + two drops of blue food coloring) . Mix well for 1-2 min.
-- This helps you see that they're taking in the right foods and vitamins from the yolk & the sugar diet which will be a visible blue in their social stomachs (and in the larvae too).
Other foods:
- Crickets dropped in boiling water (kills chances of pet-store grain mites)
- Mealworms dropped in boiling water
- 2-5 live Fruit fly larvae (D. hydei [the larger variant])
Hope this helps & good luck!
FC