7 replies to this topic

[mallonje]

I started collecting last year, and as a noob I made noob mistakes. 

I stared off carrying a test tube setup in my pocket - yes water and all - that is until one day I squatted down and my knife shattered the tube in my pocket. So I swapped to an empty polypropylene tube, however on active days dumping stuff in and out of my pockets lead to cracking and breaking. On top of all of that trying to catch in a test tube is, well near impossible.  

I upgraded to a "super tube"/ "baby soda bottle" / "bottle preform".  Wider mouth, stronger plastic, bigger, took up more room, lead to a few odd questions with my friends about what exactly was in my pocket. But I have to say though, I loved them. Easy to clean. Easy to transfer (just slide your test tube setup in and gently scoop up a queen). Big enough I could catch multiple queens (of the same species) in one tube, and transfer them once I got home.

 

Then Mid-august last year my wife came home from Target and gave me these travel jars - $.75 each, slightly larger mouth then the preform, smaller profile, same benefits. So I thought I'd share.    

 

 

 

[dermy]

I used to use baby food jars, a few tiny holes punched in the lid. I would then put some moist paper towel [loosely inside the jar so there's lots of nooks and crannies for Queens to hide in] and then go around and collect as many Queens as I could in said jar. Come back home and then start preparing setups for each queen [or sometimes multiple queens depends on species and how well I know they'll accept being around other queens.] But that's just when I'm going around the block or something close by.

[Rstheant]

I just fill small sack with tubes, containers and other stuff, and catch queens on sight. I try not to put many queens in one setup; some queens are not polygynous, unless I know they won’t kill each other.

[nurbs]

You can use cosmetic containers. Get them on Amazon in packs of 50, very inexpensive. They can double as feeding trays and you can also turn them into liquid feeders.

 

https://www.amazon.c...SRHNKQB34J08RGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by nurbs, March 6 2019 - 11:07 PM.

[Reacker]

Centrifuge tubes work well. They're substantially more durable test tubes with lids included. They're also very cheap in bulk.

[Rstheant]

You can use cosmetic containers. Get them on Amazon in packs of 50, very inexpensive. They can double as feeding trays and you can also turn them into liquid feeders.

https://www.amazon.c...SRHNKQB34J08RGE

That’s a LOT of queens! Mrymecocytus spp.? I have some of those, from the Container Store. I just don’t use them, because they are slide in lids, that easily fall off.

Edited by Rstheant, March 7 2019 - 3:22 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

The picture with tons of queens is of the C. vicinus nurbs caught up near Yosemite last season.

[Dethundrel]

I use paint caps from Michaels. They are flexible so can mash them flat against the ground and have their own snap closed lid attached. Easy to carry 3-4 in your pocket and I keep a couple dozen in my backpack.