🐜 Camponotus nicobarensis – Week 3 Update

🐜 Camponotus nicobarensis – Week 3 Update

At first glance, not much has changed — but looking a bit closer, there are small signs of progress.

📈 Current status

The colony is still in an early stage, but it’s slowly developing.

• Queen: 1
• Workers: 6
• Brood: likely increased slightly (hard to tell exactly)

With only a few workers available, the colony can only support a limited amount of brood at this stage.

🔍 Behavior

Compared to last week, there is a slight increase in activity.

So far, I had mostly observed that only a single worker would leave the test tube at a time, while the rest stayed inside.

That’s why it was interesting to see two workers in the arena at the same time for the first time (early in the morning).

This could be a first sign that the colony is:

• becoming more active
• starting to explore its surroundings a bit more

Overall, the behavior is still quite cautious.

🍯 Feeding

Food intake is still low, but consistent.

They accept sugar sources, and small protein sources are also taken.

For a colony of this size, this is completely normal.

🏠 Nest situation

The colony is still living in the test tube and hasn’t moved into the prepared nest yet.

I continue to give them the freedom to choose and avoid forcing a move.

The test tube is intentionally not covered, to create a long-term incentive for them to relocate.

🧠 Impression

Even though progress seems slow, I get the feeling that the colony is starting to settle in.

These small behavioral changes are especially interesting to observe at this stage.

🔎 What’s next?

For the next update, I’ll focus on:

• further increase in activity
• brood development
• possible first larger explorations of the arena

👉 If you’ve had similar experiences with young Camponotus colonies, feel free to share!