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Your best bet is too stick her somewhere dark and leave her alone for a few weeks... maybe taking a peek once a week to make sure she is ok.. apart from that she will be fine.. she has enough food stores to keep her going untill first workers arrive so you do not "Need" to feed her. Anyways.. good luck and hopefully she will make you a nice colony :)
Okay, I've laid a couple of old socks on top of the tube; they should keep all the light out. Once the workers arrive, however, I'll want to keep it uncovered. There's some red acetate laid over top of it (currently under the socks), and that'll stay, but some light will still hit the tube from the sides. Should I move her to one of the tubes I've wrapped properly with the acetate, or does it not matter? If I should move her, should I do it immediately so she can be left in complete peace afterwards, or should I wait till she's had a chance to calm down from her recent ordeal before upsetting her again?
Hi all,
I've been reading round this forum over the last few weeks, and am hoping to grab a queen and start a formicarium when the ants in my town do their mating flight later this year (I think they'll be myrmica rubra in my area). Obviously I'd prefer to make as few mistakes as possible, since I'll be dealing with living creatures, so could you please read my plans and let me know if it sounds like I'm going to be doing anything wrong.
I've bought some plastic test tubes from eBay; more than I'm going to need (I'm planning to grab maybe three queens, and return all but one to the wild once I'm certain the colonies are going to survive). Am I right to assume I won't really need anything bigger than just a test tube (one per starter colony, that is) for the first nine months or so? The plan is to fill it with boiling water to sterilise it, let the water cool, tip two thirds of it out and block the rest in with cotton wool. Once I've got a queen in there, I'll plug the front with cotton wool and find somewhere to rest the tube on its side in some sort of dip so that it doesn't twist or roll. I'll remove the cotton wool plug periodically with tweezers so I can add some food , which will be a drop or two of sugar/honey water, and a crushed (and sterilised) insect or spider now and then. I'll try to keep the tubes covered by a red filter to avoid stressing the ants. I plan to get hold of a small fridge in which I can leave the test tubes for a few months over winter in the first year. Next year, I'll set up a proper formicarium and try to get the strongest colony to move in (I'll return the others to the wild, assuming they survived too). This will have one unit for the nest, and one for a foraging ground, connected by tubing.
Does all of the above sound sensible? I'm really not sure I've got the right idea about how to use the test tubes. Have I made any glaring errors in my plans? Any other tips that might help?
Hey Magicsushi that sounds really cool. I just have one question about the feeding though. Don't you think it would be difficult to remove the cotton ball, put in the food then seal it again without having ants escape?
Do you think it would be easier to place the tube holding the ants into another larger container, unplug the tube and just put the food in the container to allow the workers to find it? I think this method would be a bit better since it's easier to add/remove the food and also doesn't disturb the ant's nest so much.
What do you guys think? would this be a good idea?
That does sound easier. I was wondering about how to prevent escapes when feeding. I'd better have a think about finding some sort of container.
Well once workers do come along.. stick the test tube into an empty icecream tub.. thats what i use for all my queens.. works a treat :)
Well once workers do come along.. stick the test tube into an empty icecream tub.. thats what i use for all my queens.. works a treat :)
This is a better idea than just putting the test tube into a box or something.. like this you have some more control over the colony (you can still close the test tube later and move the colony easier that way). And when using a lid I find that I disturb the nest less if the tube is merely connected to the icecream tub/box/whatever you use. If you place the test tube inside the box and if you accidentally shake the box when removing the lid the test tube will start rolling over (even with aluminium foil around it) and the nest will panick and the ants will run all over (also out of your box). (Yes I have had this accident before :roll: )
Rocking the test tube definitely sounds like a potential issue. Hmm...I could either cut a hole on the edge of the tub, slightly smaller than the width of the test tube, and push the end of test tube through it (escape risk if I get it wrong!), or keep it in place with tape or blu-tack. Are those last two options dangerous for the ants? If so, I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something.
How do you stop the ants running up the sides of the tub and standing upside down on the lid while it's closed? I can foresee escapes and/or bites if that happens (okay, perhaps not bites with L. Niger, but I might end up doing this with Myrmica rubra someday). Do you use vaseline or something, or do the ants just not seem to bother trying it anyway?
lol.. ok i have some glass test tubes.. so i heat the end of the glass tube then push it through the plastic.. very tight and no ant is getting through it ;) and of course it wont roll.
If you have not got glass tubes then you can use plastic ones but heat the icecream tub instead.. but you have to be very carefull... as if you heat it too much it will obviously melt too much and you will be left with a massive hole. Good luck guys ;)
Been reading some other comments here, and now I'm wondering... should I be doing anything to keep the queen warm? The test tube is sitting on a shelf in my flat, and is covered up with old socks. Obviously I don't run any central heating at this time of year. The flat warms up a bit during hot summer days but never really gets all that hot. Should I be doing anything to increase the temperature in the test tube, or will it be okay left at room temperature? Is it a problem if the room gets cold at night?
(this is just an L Niger queen - maybe all the comments about heating are for continental species?)
Lasius niger is more than fine at room temp and in the UK i wouldnt even think about a heat mat.. so dont worry about it mate :)