ive recently caught some new queens and wondered how long i can keep them in a test tube without opening it to let new air in. would it be more preferable to put paper over the end with pin holes in?
the space inside is about 2 - 3 body lengths of the queens
I once saw in an ant-docu that they can live a very long time without much fresh air.
I would just close the tube or any other kind of nest with paper because they die in one or two days. Paper is just much easier.