EGoody05: 2 questions from a beginner (30. Jan 2008 23:22)

[font=] [/font][font=Arial] [/font]
Hello everyone out there from Kent, UK.
I have 1 queen ant and 4 workers (obtained from ebay)
They are Lasius Niger.I have the Wild science ant jungle layered with sand /soil connected to the small starter kit from the ant store with the farm and foraging tank. I have set up with the sand/pebbles provided (dampened the sand)

My 2 questions are;
she laid 10 eggs 7 days ago, then about 6 more today
1) Is that normal

2) who fertilises her ? one of the workers or did she come pre fertilised

Any help would be grateful !! I hope they all hatch - I can't wait

miszt: (30. Jan 2008 23:29)

yep thats normal, she was fertilzied during whats called the Nuptial Flights (when you see loads of flying ants everywhere), Lasius Niger are mated 2+ times by diffrent males, and are provided with enough sperm to last for upto 15-20 years :)

Its unlikly the eggs wont hatch, generaly eggs that are bad (unfertilized) are eaten quickly by the queen

Your colony should be hibernating at the moment, I would recomend you contact the seller and ask them how long, if at all they have hibernated this year, if they have not, then you must hibernate them next winter! and every winter after that, obviously as you have only just got them i suspect that you wont really want to hibernate her now, but if you miss out next year, and any other years your colony will not be healthy, and will grow allot slower (see my caresheet on how to do this, its a sticky on the forum)

enjoy your new colony!

EGoody05: (30. Jan 2008 23:48)

Thank you for the prompt reply

I read your caresheet and it is excellent
I will contact the ebay lady as she is still selling and will definately hibernate them next winter as I am lucky enough to have a shed
Interestingly I only covered the ants up 5 days ago as I spent the first few days gawping at them - I am just having a brief glimpse with a magnifying glass every other day and to check the food. I think the queen is happier in the dark. I accept all advice gratefully xxx

miszt: (30. Jan 2008 23:52)

Lasius Niger adapt to light, dont worry about covering them up :) (many species do need dark)

Also if you dont cover them up, they will be less likly to cover the walls of their nest with sand, so you will be able to see in better :) but Photophobia develops quickly in ant queens, so covering them up for any length of time will cause this to happen, so that they will become stressed when exposed to light in the future

Glad to hear the caresheet was usefull :D

EGoody05: (31. Jan 2008 00:03)

Blimey - I will uncover them !!!
Thanks soooo much

JimmyVe: (31. Jan 2008 18:55)

Hello EGoody05 and welcome to the wonders of ant keeping. ;)

If i'm wright they are still in the test tube ? It better to keep that covered, the out world needs daylight but inside the nest (tube) it must be dark, you can remove the cover if you want to look but cover it as much as you can.

@ miszt: It always better to keep the nest covered. ;)

Let us know who you are,
here .
Thanks !

miszt: (31. Jan 2008 19:18)

I should make this clear, many, if not most, species of Ant need darkness, and the colony will fail without it, if you are not sure whether your species needs darkness, keep them dark!

I disagree with Jimmy as far as Lasius niger goes tho, in my experience, they are fine in the light, i have a colony which I offered the chance to be in the dark, and they didnt take it, having spent the first year of their life in the light, and in lab conditions, they also do not behave any diffrently, whether in the dark or light (there are various refrences to these, if i find the link i'll post it up, otherwise The Ants has some good info on keeping ants which makes these refrences)

SteveUK28: (31. Jan 2008 19:26)

do pallidula need a dark nest ??

miszt: (31. Jan 2008 19:37)

I assume they do, i've read refrences to Pheidole species not doing well in light

ashhad1: (31. Jan 2008 19:53)

what about camponotus Ligniperda?

[1] [2]