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tomiwish: Formica fusca colony does not leave its nest (26. Jun 2010 23:28)

Hi!

I am new here so I hope I am in the right place to ask the following question.

My new Formica f usca colony arrived last Wednesday. I dug a small nest/hole in the sand for them. Ants moved to their new home very quickly (within minutes). They ate some honey and took a dead insect down to their nest. They closed the entrance and have not left since last Wednesday . It this a normal behaviour? Am I missing something? Currently the weather is very hot in London, so it is inside the antfarm.

There are two small larvas. Attached are two pictures of the antfarm.

Thanks for your help!

AntNoob: Re: Formica Fusca colony does not leave its nest (27. Jun 2010 04:23)

How many are they?

Small colony's are not out foraging so much, so that could be it.

Maybe the sand has collapsed in the nest, and killed them.

tell us what happens

Creature: Re: Formica Fusca colony does not leave its nest (27. Jun 2010 08:59)

Some ants lock them selves in , when they have enough food. I saw that my Pheidologeton did the same thing. It took them half a day and they came back out of the nest. But formica fusca are not so fast with digestion.

matt-man123: Re: Formica Fusca colony does not leave its nest (27. Jun 2010 10:03)

is that not the main chamber at the front?

tomiwish: Re: Formica fusca colony does not leave its nest (27. Jun 2010 12:40)

thank you all for getting back to me so quickly. the colony is small, only 7 workers and one queen. at the front is the main chamber and that's where they have been living so far. you can't see the ants on the picture, because it had been taken before they arrived. i can see them through the glass and they always look as they were "sleeping". It takes them a minute or two to start moving when they see the light. I will keep observing them and see what happens.

Creature: Re: Formica fusca colony does not leave its nest (27. Jun 2010 12:48)

Thats normal. The colony is so small that the food they already caught is enough for a while. They will come out as soon as they are hungry again. Its a normal behavior and its not a problem for them to dig themself out

tomiwish: Re: Formica fusca colony does not leave its nest (27. Jun 2010 18:35)

Thank you Creature.