antjordan: Just got 2 new queens! A couple of questions... (11. Jul 2009 07:24)

Hey everyone, today I noticed 2 queens walking on my driveway ( I assume they are queens and fertilized because I saw other winged ants around)

So anyways, I put them into two separate plastic tubes using the test tube set up ( water/cotton/ant/cotton).

However, I'm a bit concerned since I will be going on vacation for around 3-4 weeks.

My major concerns are:

1) That the water in the tubes will become dried during this period of time. I filled the test tube 3/4 of the way with water so I'm hoping this will be sufficient until I return. In your experiences how long does it take for the water to evaporate?

2) That the workers will hatch while I'm gone and will starve to death. In your experience approximately how long does it take for the first batch of workers to arrive?

Thanks in advance!

SteveUK28: Re: Just got 2 new queens! A couple of questions... (11. Jul 2009 09:56)

Well depending on tempreture.. water can last like a year in the test tube.. so id not worry about that.. Workers usualy come within like 6 weeks.. So i imagine u wont have any by the time u get back.. They should be perfectly fine.. Just make sure they are dark.. and nowhere thats gonna get too hot!

antjordan: Re: Just got 2 new queens! A couple of questions... (11. Jul 2009 17:31)

Well depending on tempreture.. water can last like a year in the test tube.. so id not worry about that.. Workers usualy come within like 6 weeks.. So i imagine u wont have any by the time u get back.. They should be perfectly fine.. Just make sure they are dark.. and nowhere thats gonna get too hot!

Thanks for the info! :)