ANTSTORE World of Ants

[MackAnt]

Hi everyone, good forum, Im Mack.

So today was flying ant day so I went and caught some queens. I have three. Two are the same, one is a bit bigger. I rushed out to get a nest because the store was closing and got 3 little gel nests. Then I read up and found out gel nests aren't that good.

The nests are 100mm x 55mm x 27mm and 2/3 filled with gel. I put a tiny bit of honey in each when I figured I'd have to rehome my queens. They love honey.

Can I still use the little containers without the gel? Tommorow is a public holiday so I cant buy test tubes for another 2 days.

Please tell me what to do, I looked for instructions but couldnt find any, only that I should use a test tube.

Thanks, Mack.

[MackAnt]

Ok so i read they need protein so I'm going to put 2 drops of soy baby formula in each.

I think i will take the gel out tommorow and replace with cotton wool balls on the bottom and a some sponge on top...

It looks like they have eaten most of the honey too so I will add some more.

They haven't dug in the gel. I am not at all surprised.

I dont really expect a reply by tommorrow but if anyone could help it would be great!

[jartok]

you need to take the gel out and put sand/loam mixture in or go and find a storage box and put some baked play sand in and then the test tube and the queen will live in the tube for a while till you can sort what u want properly

[MackAnt]

hey thanks jartok, what do I want properly?

edit: they dont like soy baby formula

[jartok]

you need to give them insects for protein - maybe some crickets or locusts you dont need much - the lasius niger wont need food tho untill workers hatch so its no big concern but if u want to give them something then its insects dead ones

you just need sand/loam mixture i dont know about ur websites must be somewhere or you can build a ytong nest pleny info on here about them

[MackAnt]

They didnt like the cotton wool/sponge either so I let them go. It just felt like I was torturing them. I hope they do ok.

If anybody can help me with what I need to get prepared to do this properly I'd really appreciate it, I think the flying ant will come out again soon it is only early spring. I've always really wante dto have a functioning ant colony.

[SteveUK28]

Hiya Mack,
Firstly to the forum, secondly it would help if you told us what queens they are.. But generaly speaking all ants start the same.. Which is basicaly a testtube, with water and wool at the end.. then darkness.. and them left alone untill they get first workers.. then you can put them into a small container and start feeding them.. and once there numbers are large enough.. then you can transfer them to a setup where they can make a nice home..

Hope thats helped a little

[MackAnt]

Hi Steve.

I would have no idea what queens they were, medium black is the best I can do. I live in West Australia, I tried looking up what type of ants we have and lets just say that didn't go too well.

With the test tube system do you mind being a little bit more specific? I'm really keen to make this happen.

Also, approximately how long does it take until she gets her first workers? I can understand she needs to be left completely undisturbed but how long should I wait before checking?

My ultimate goal is to have a colony of honey pot ants. Has that been tried before?

[Flan]

-> Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar <-

Can you show some photos?

[MackAnt]

Thanks Flan,

Is it really as simple as the photo? Put the queen ant in a test tube and then cotton wool. How wet is cotton wool?

Do I need to feed her before I put her in?

I let the queens I had go but if I get some more I can post photos.

[jartok]

the cotton should be wet enough so its providing water too the queen but not so wet that it could drown the tube - u can feed her in tube if you wish but u dont have too i always provide a fruit fly and if she dont touch it then take out and leave her

[Flan]

Thanks Flan,

Is it really as simple as the photo? Put the queen ant in a test tube and then cotton wool. How wet is cotton wool?

Well, i'm not sure if you understand. Check this vid Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar

Do I need to feed her before I put her in?

In short: It depends on the specie .

[MackAnt]

Great vid, thanks for that, didnt think to try you tube, there is quite a bit of info there. I think I got it now, if I catch some more I upload some pics and try and get the species identified somehow.