- Tue Dec 06, 2016 9:37 pm
#18716

Camponotus barbaricus is one of the biggest ant species in Europe. Very tough.
Shows activity at day and night .They build their nests preferably underneath wood or stones.
Very fortified aggressive ant species (oh yes!).
A radiant heating should heat a stone or an angle of the formicarium in the daytime.
Taxonomy: Formicinae (Camponotini)
Colony form: monogyne (claustral)
Colony size: up to 10.000 Individuals
Distribution: Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Sicily), Northern Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunesia, Lybia)
Habitat: prefers open areas but avoids arid areas
Queen: 17mm, black
Workers: 8 - 17mm, black, red shine, extremely polymorphic (Minor, Media and Major workers)
Soldiers: not present
Males: black, very slim
Nutrition: Honey- or sugar water and insects
Hibernation: Yes (slight)
Temperature: 20 - 30 °C
Nest building: Build their nest under stones or in soil
Diet & Nutrition
All insect foods are frozen.
Accepted
Reaction inconsistent
Refused (ignored or dumped)
Not yet found/used
Honey (pure)
Honey water (1:1)
Sugar water (1:1)
Brown sugar water (3:1/4:1)
Marple Syrup (pure)
Frozen Raspberry bits
Sunburst ant nectar
Coconut flower syrup
Drosophila melanogaster (wild colony from kitchen) - recently they seem to prefer other foods and mostly leave the fruit flies untouched
Small crickets (box from pet shop)
Small Grasshoppers in slices (box from pet shop)
Cooked Superworms in slices (box from pet shop)
Wild spiders (they LOVE those)
Meat fly pupae (box from pet shop)
Red mosquito larvae (fish food from pet shop) - sometimes they take them, sometimes they don't
Drosophila hydei (box from pet shop)
Large crickets
Large predatory red mites
Dead honey bee (they get this when they have over 20 workers and a huge pile of brood)
Event Index
Ants are getting proper outworld
viewtopic.php?p=20995#p20995
First worker (born in my care)
viewtopic.php?p=21470#p21470
Colony development
16th Nov '16

8th January '17

23rd January '17

17th February '17

22nd February '17

1st March '17

9th March '17

17th March '17

20th March '17

25th March '17

1st April '17

5th April '17

10th April '17

17th April '17

22nd April '17

29th April '17

5th May '17

9th May '17

15th May '17

19th May '17

21st May '17 (some of the ants are definitely in the entrance area and not on this picture)

30th May '17

12th June '17

20th June '17

25th June '17

28th June '17

2nd July '17

9th July '17

14th July '17

19th July '17

23rd July '17

29th July '17 (first majors)

Camponotus barbaricus is one of the biggest ant species in Europe. Very tough.
Shows activity at day and night .They build their nests preferably underneath wood or stones.
Very fortified aggressive ant species (oh yes!).
A radiant heating should heat a stone or an angle of the formicarium in the daytime.
Taxonomy: Formicinae (Camponotini)
Colony form: monogyne (claustral)
Colony size: up to 10.000 Individuals
Distribution: Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Sicily), Northern Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunesia, Lybia)
Habitat: prefers open areas but avoids arid areas
Queen: 17mm, black
Workers: 8 - 17mm, black, red shine, extremely polymorphic (Minor, Media and Major workers)
Soldiers: not present
Males: black, very slim
Nutrition: Honey- or sugar water and insects
Hibernation: Yes (slight)
Temperature: 20 - 30 °C
Nest building: Build their nest under stones or in soil
Diet & Nutrition
All insect foods are frozen.
Accepted
Reaction inconsistent
Refused (ignored or dumped)
Not yet found/used
Honey (pure)
Honey water (1:1)
Sugar water (1:1)
Brown sugar water (3:1/4:1)
Marple Syrup (pure)
Frozen Raspberry bits
Sunburst ant nectar
Coconut flower syrup
Drosophila melanogaster (wild colony from kitchen) - recently they seem to prefer other foods and mostly leave the fruit flies untouched
Small crickets (box from pet shop)
Small Grasshoppers in slices (box from pet shop)
Cooked Superworms in slices (box from pet shop)
Wild spiders (they LOVE those)
Meat fly pupae (box from pet shop)
Red mosquito larvae (fish food from pet shop) - sometimes they take them, sometimes they don't
Drosophila hydei (box from pet shop)
Large crickets
Large predatory red mites
Dead honey bee (they get this when they have over 20 workers and a huge pile of brood)
Event Index
Ants are getting proper outworld
viewtopic.php?p=20995#p20995
First worker (born in my care)
viewtopic.php?p=21470#p21470
Colony development
16th Nov '16

8th January '17

23rd January '17

17th February '17

22nd February '17

1st March '17

9th March '17

17th March '17

20th March '17

25th March '17

1st April '17

5th April '17

10th April '17

17th April '17

22nd April '17

29th April '17

5th May '17

9th May '17

15th May '17

19th May '17

21st May '17 (some of the ants are definitely in the entrance area and not on this picture)

30th May '17

12th June '17

20th June '17

25th June '17

28th June '17

2nd July '17

9th July '17

14th July '17

19th July '17

23rd July '17

29th July '17 (first majors)

Last edited by Serafine on Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:32 pm, edited 25 times in total.
AaronT liked this
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