ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Jamcom]

they wont eat anything i give them (as far as i can see) ive tried other ants(canibilizum ftw) mealworms,suger, and the suger honey mix, choclate but as far as i can see there not eating it

also you no were the queen has its abdomon and it is very big and has a clear layer you can see through (does this mean the queen is plump ? i know they have it anyway but its pretty big)

workers are very small and timid still, even the knew second generation workers but theres a massive egg pile,and brood cacoons to etc, but arre not eating?

also do i have to keep there nest dark (when they grow to like 100+ and move into the sand) as i would like them to get used to light (if possible)
thanks

and they jsut carry back out the old ants they took in to eat and from what i can tell have not been touched and havent even gone near the honey water

[jartok]

why would you know this ? as they should be hibernating :S

[Jamcom]

i dident realize my room was too warm and i found out they never hibernated about 2 weeks ago :S so by rights shouldent they be eating (they probably never went into hibernation

[SteveUK28]

well i imagine from what u are saying this is still a very small colony.. so your not going to see them eating at all. They are going to mostly eat at night.. and as they are such a small colony you wont notice. They should be kept in the dark to help them but its not a must. You have to make sure they have some fresh drinking water too.. and give them protein once a week.. dead bugs.. and if u get them from the garden then pls put them in boiling water to kill anything nasty.

Now as you have missed hibernation this year.. they might be a bit slow at coming on now... you HAVE to hibernate them this year... and if it was me.. i would try and put them somewhere cool now for at least a few weeks so they get a little rest.

Apart from that... good luck and Welcome.. i hope they mature into a nice colony for you.

[tail__]

If they have eggs and larvae they must have eaten something, they couldn't be made of void. Maybe they eat only when you don't watch, which is usual for very small colonies - one worker can go for food once a day and it will suffice.

Try honey mixed with raw egg yolk, this is complete food (energy + proteins) and most ants like it.

You don't need to keep ants in the dark, just avoid strong light (don't put them directly under the lamp).

And i also advise you to put them into hibernation. However, putting the colony directly from warm room into a fridge MAY be risky, it is the best to keep them a few weeks in a bit cooler room (ca. 15C) and then then start a winter period with ca. 5C. A month in fridge should probably suffice, although i give them usually two months of winter.

[Jamcom]

thanks alot