[Leafcutter]

They do love the heat Jon, honestly they speed around like Cataglyphis but with a different technique. The temp in my setup varies between 20 oC and 40 oC lol, and they don't seem to mind it at all .

[jonthefish]

I do like how you have the ytong towards the back of the arena.

[Leafcutter]

It much better than having it at the front as that obstructs the foraging behaviour. This way you can see all the ants foraging and running around. I like the nests quite a bit too so I'll be using a similar design for the rest of my Camponotus species once I get some 40 x 30 x 30 tanks. They'll be smaller versions of the nests I have in this setup.

[Leafcutter]

Just picked out the 1st dead worker of this colony since it has been in my possession. Got a quick picture of it:

[Leafcutter]

Lots of small larvae at the moment but I've decided the colony should have their diapause this year so I've dropped the temperature down to 17-18 C. Maybe it should be lower but as long as their metabolism is slowed.

Overall, one really good looking species, fast and very aggressive.

[Leafcutter]

Back up to 25-30C and cocoons galore! More eggs being laid by the day.

[Leafcutter]

Numbers are steadily increasing. 28C is the standard temperature they are kept at.

[Leafcutter]

Note the Camponotus storeatus look-a-like in this picture:

[RobJ]

Great looking colony you have going there


Thanks
RobJ

[Leafcutter]

We have loads of cocoons and some fat larvae, which most likely will become majors.

[andyj027027]

I'm pretty sure i saw this species in Madagascar or very similar, i took some really bad shots of them because they were marching on the locals toilet and i couldnt hold my breath long enough, i see if i can find them. They were nesting on a very dry beach just above the sand level. I have only ever seen these offered at a really high price Any way good luck with them, they are on my list

[Leafcutter]

I'm pretty sure i saw this species in Madagascar or very similar, i took some really bad shots of them because they were marching on the locals toilet and i couldnt hold my breath long enough, i see if i can find them. They were nesting on a very dry beach just above the sand level. I have only ever seen these offered at a really high price Any way good luck with them, they are on my list

Finding private sellers from Germany is the way to go. Although you won't be paying less than 350€ for a colony of this size. I have the details of a guy selling 50 worker colony for 350€ if you're interested, I'll PM you the details?

They are a great species and are fast moving, like Cataglyphis.

[andyj027027]

I'm going to have to wait until it warms up before i risk that sort of money, or i could put the donations link back up on my forum I would be interested in writing to him though. Thanks.

[Leafcutter]

I'm going to have to wait until it warms up before i risk that sort of money, or i could put the donations link back up on my forum I would be interested in writing to him though. Thanks.

I agree, I got my colony in Summer and took about 4 days from Germany to arrive, not a single ant was dead on arrival which was fantastic. These ants are quite hardy.

[andyj027027]

I found that pic from madagascar i took, looks very similar to your dead one but they're not listed there on Antweb

madagascan ant.jpg (411.78 KiB) Viewed 2754 times

[Leafcutter]

I'd say that is C.fulvopilosus, species are moving around all the time but depends on the last AntWeb entry time.

[Nile Antboy]

oh spectacular

[Leafcutter]

The Queen has been really busy lately, I can see lots of new eggs, development is amazing and I've spotted some Camponotus storeatus "look-a-likes" emerging too . I'd say this colony is booming right now and they love basking in the heat of the heat lamp, sometimes reaching 38C near to the lamp. The workers bring out most of the brood and pile it next to the heat lamp every day, since there are no predators, the ants are doing really well. Feeding is also a breeze as I drop in a few meal-worms and the ants do the rest.

[andyj027027]

So tempted to by that one on the Germany site for a mere E660.00

[Leafcutter]

A rather empty looking nest at the moment:







This picture speaks for itself, 3 storeatus look-a-likes and many many cocoons:

[Leafcutter]

Queen and brood.

[Leafcutter]

This lovely colony is now in the ownership of my good friend Che. He will document their progress from now on.

[Occultus]

The Camponotus fulvopilosus arrived safely yesterday. I hope they shall continue to develop smoothly like they have done in Leafcutter's excellent care.

2016-06-29_04-53-19 by che hawkins, on Flickr


2016-06-29_04-55-11 by che hawkins, on Flickr

[Occultus]

I've been caring for this colony a little over four months now. They have been developing considerably fast for a Camponotus sp and have outgrown their original Ytong nest.

I made the decision to move the entire colony into my Black Nardinest. They are right at home and I think they contrast nicely against the dark scenery.

When they first moved into their new nest, the queen enjoyed staying out in the open. This was due to the arena floor being hotter than the actual nest chambers..these girls like it hot (30 degrees Celsius)
Now she is snuggled into her chamber room :)

There's always at least 100 workers foraging at any given time.

[Leafcutter]

Beautiful. These ants are stunning and they do grow very fast indeed :).

[Yari]

Stunning really! Hope to see these in real life one day.

[Occultus]

Fed them a favourite treat of American cockroach, growth is as smooth as ever.