Saved a colony of ants...(Camponotus pennsylvanicus)

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ShawnLG	Saved a colony of ants...(Camponotus pennsylvanicus)		Lead	[-]
Young Worker Ant Posts: 43 06/12/2008 4:32 AM	They where living in a door that I was disassembaling for scrap metal. I felt bad and purchased an ant farm for them to live in. I can only assume that the colony is only a year old(they had around 25-50 workers). I have saved the queen, brood and a few workers that did not run away. I had them for a week now and learned that the gel ant farms are not suitable for a full colony. I assome the gel has no protein and they where showing that they where very hungry when I feed them some insects for the first time. The gel ant farms are only toys for oberving worker ants. How do I setup a good habitat for them? Diet? What species could they be? I live in the North America on the east cost if that helps. The queen had layed a few dozen eggs since I had her. Some of the larva had since pupate. Last Edited By: ShawnLG 07/13/2008 12:05 AM. Edited 2 times.
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bobolak		#1	[url]	[-]
Minor Worker Ant Posts: 133 06/12/2008 5:14 AM	They are carpenter ants, probably Camponotus pennsylvanicus or similar species. You can try to make ytong, plaster or cork nest - I think the cork nest will be quite natural for them, because they live in decaying wood. They will dig in it easily, and it is easy to water. Remember about moisture, they can survive many weeks without food, but no more than a day without moisture. Feed them with insects and honey, then can also eat some meat or any sweet stuff occasionally. You can still use this gel as food, too.
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antdude		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 17200 06/12/2008 5:45 AM Borg Ant, Your Overlord	Hello ShawnLG and welcome to the forum. Quote of the Week: "No, I'd prefer a cooler WITHOUT an ant-door, thank you..." --unknown. Ant/AntDude @ The Ant Farm (Personal Web Site), Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL), and The Ant Farm and Myrmecology Forum.
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chazzbo 77		#3	[url]	[-]
Callow Ant Posts: 13 06/14/2008 8:16 PM	Yes, they certainly do seem to be Camponotus pennsylvanicus, but I haven't identified ants in so long my eye has probably become untrained. Anyway, as you mentioned, do not keep them in the gel. It will eventually shrink and then liquify, trapping many if not all of the ants in the process. I would also suggest a cork nest for them as it is a very soft wood. On the other hand, they are actually very at home living in soil even though they are "carpenter ants". By the way, I love the picture. If you decide to go the soil route, place a flat object such as a rock or something similar in there for them to dig under until they make suitable tunnels. Given the right conditions your colony will grow to sizable numbers. Camponotus species have always been one of my favorite to keep (second to Tetramorium, of coarse). I wish you the best of luck with them. Regards, Chalie EDIT: Just noticed that you have a lot of pupae there and some larvae, so you can expect a bunch of new workers to eclose soon. Good luck.
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chazzbo77		#4	[url]	[-]
Henchant Posts: 1355 06/15/2008 6:30 PM Henchant	Just wanted to add that I found 7 of these in an elongated flower pot this morning. Anyone searching for them, keep your eye out, as they're out there.
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ShawnLG	Update	#5	[url]	[-]
Young Worker Ant Posts: 43 07/01/2008 10:37 PM	Almost all of the pupae have hatch and the eggs that the queen has layed have started to turn in to baby larve. No workers have died latly. I have been feeding them mostly chrickets. They love em. You can see how fat their gasters are from a recent chricket meal.
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ShawnLG	C. penn. abandon gel	#6	[url]	[-]
Young Worker Ant Posts: 43 07/13/2008 12:15 AM	Yesterday I have added a small chamber for adding food instead of contaminating the gel farm with moldy insects. Tonight I have notice that the workers have moved their entire brood into the feeding chamber. C. penns. must hate the gel farm. Now I can't open the chamber up to feed them.
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mreece514		#7	[url]	[-]
Callow Ant Posts: 15 07/13/2008 4:47 AM	Could put the chamber in a bowl with some other chamber you wanted them to go into... make new chamber "better" then old one and they should move... looks like your ants are ok with that, maybe workers make moving less stressful? In any case... that will probably be what I will try next.. so I can leave it for some time without much worry. old container and new container in a bowl, placed in a much bigger bowl with water for a moat, my experience physically moving them was VERY bad. The very best of luck to you! Nice find.. we dont have many of the all black "carpenter ants" at my location, but I found one on a tree at work and they seem VERY high energy and fun to watch.
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Saved a colony of ants...(Camponotus pennsylvanicus)

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