🐜 Camponotus nicobarensis – Week 2 Update
It’s been about a week since I introduced my new colony, so here’s a small update on their progress.
📈 Colony development
The colony is still in a very early stage, but there are already a few interesting observations.
Originally, the colony had 7 workers, but unfortunately one ant did not survive the shipping.
Current status:
- Queen: 1
- Workers: 6
- Brood: still present (no major visible changes yet)
At this stage, I’m not expecting rapid growth, so stability is a very good sign.
🔍 Behavior
The colony is still quite cautious, which is completely normal at this size.
One interesting thing I noticed is that almost always only a single worker leaves the test tube at a time, while the rest of the colony stays inside.
Most activity is currently limited to the area right at the entrance, and they are not really exploring the arena yet.
Activity slightly increases during the evening hours, which fits well with their typical behavior.
🍯 Feeding
Feeding is working well so far.
They accept:
- sugar sources (honey or sugar water)
- small protein sources
Overall consumption is still low, which is normal for a colony of this size.
🏠 Nest situation & setup
For this colony, I’m using an AntCube (10 × 10 × 20 cm) as the arena.
The nest is a combination of a gypsum nest and natural wood (tree bark) to provide both stable humidity and natural hollow structures, which this species prefers.
The arena uses a white sand-based substrate, which creates a nice visual contrast and makes it easier to observe the workers.
However, there is also a small downside:
eggs and larvae are much harder to see on the bright background.
I also added natural decoration like wood and roots to create a more natural environment.
The nest is heated with a 5W heating mat (12 × 12 cm) placed behind the nest.
At the moment, the colony is still living inside the test tube, which is placed in the arena, and has not moved into the prepared nest yet.
I currently do not cover the test tube on purpose, to give the ants a long-term incentive to move into the nest.
Still, I let them decide on their own and simply observe how things develop.
🧠 First impressions
So far, the species appears to be:
- calm
- easy to manage
- well adapted to the setup
Even though there is not much visible change yet, I really enjoy observing their behavior at this early stage.
🔎 What’s next?
For the next update, I’ll focus on:
- brood development
- possible increase in activity
- first signs of colony growth
👉 If you have experience with early-stage Camponotus colonies, feel free to share your tips!