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My first ever ant colony, starring Lasius niger


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#1 Offline Mandelstam - Posted September 20 2019 - 10:32 AM

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I just recently got into the hobby by catching a pair of L niger queens outside my building one sunny late July afternoon. This is going to be the story of one of them, the one who is right now looking like the most successful one.

 

I started keeping some notes on Google docs but I thought it could be better here, maybe I'll get a chance to get some advice on the way too. 

 

July 27, 2019
Caught two queens on the sidewalk. One without wings and one still with her wings. Put them both in their own pill bottle as that was the only thing I had on hand. Water behind a cotton ball like in a test tube. 

 

Ordered test tubes the same day from my local brewery shop, unfortunately they didn't have any in stock.

 

A couple of days later both queens had laid eggs in their pill bottles.

 

September 11, 2019

Noticed two workers with one of the queens, the one without her wings. 

 

September 12, 2019

A couple of more workers with the first queen. Still none with the winged one but I noticed a lot of mites running around over the cotton.

 

At this time I wanted the queen with the workers to move in to a test tube instead of the pill bottle. The water reservoir behind the cotton was almost gone. I prepped a test tube with water and put it inside a plastic container and covered it up. Opened the pill bottle and put it down beside the test tube and put a led spot light over it.

 

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September 18, 2019

No sign of wanting to move. Maybe around 8-10 workers now. A couple of days earlier I gave them a white dwarf isopod which they fed on. Doesn't show any interest in honey though. Noticed the workers had started to dig into the cotton ball and made a small tunnel. The water behind the cotton is now gone but the cotton is still moist.

 

September 20, 2019

Both queen and workers have completely moved into the cotton ball. Due to the diameter of the pill bottle it's quite a big ball of cotton. Brood is also moved into the tunnel/chamber. Put a small isopod with a drop of honey on a piece of tin foil with them. I've put a piece of thin hemp rope from the opening of the pill bottle into the test tube for ease of discovery and movement into it. Don't think they even been there to check it out. They seem extremely shy and unadventurous. Maybe because it doesn't have any cover. 

 

I guess I'll just have to be patient and keep the test tube close and present it as a nice appealing next home. The cotton will eventually dry out more and more and by then they'll go out looking for another place to nest? 

 

Side note on the other queen. She still has her wings and is still sitting over her brood. Looked closer and I see a couple of pupae in there. It's been more than a month and a half since she laid her eggs though. Could the mites be part of why it's taking so long? Or is it just within normal variance? If I eventually get her to move away from there is there a chance she can leave the mites behind? As soon as she has a few workers I'm thinking I'll present a new nest for them. Until then I don't want to mess with her.

 

I love my ants though. Think it's probably one of the most rewarding pet animals I've kept. So fascinating. 


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#2 Offline ANTdrew - Posted September 20 2019 - 10:41 AM

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Good luck! I'll be following their progress. Be patient; ants are extremely cautious when their colonies are small because each member has a proportionately bigger importance.

My Crematogaster colony did the same thing with their test tube. It has been dry for months and they never moved out. This species is fine just drinking water from their feeder and they don't need much supplemental humidity obviously.

Is there any way you could gently tug the cotton ball closer to the entrance? That might get them to move.


"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#3 Offline Mandelstam - Posted September 20 2019 - 10:48 AM

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Good luck! I'll be following their progress. Be patient; ants are extremely cautious when their colonies are small because each member has a proportionately bigger importance.

My Crematogaster colony did the same thing with their test tube. It has been dry for months and they never moved out. This species is fine just drinking water from their feeder and they don't need much supplemental humidity obviously.

Is there any way you could gently tug the cotton ball closer to the entrance? That might get them to move.

 

Yes I think I'll be able to tug it closer. There's no water left behind it so there's no risk of causing a flood or anything. Thanks for the idea! I'll do it before I go to bed and see what they will do. I just put in some food with them by the opening and I'll let them have a chance to feed before I do anything. 


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#4 Offline Mandelstam - Posted October 6 2019 - 3:01 AM

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Small update. Pulled out the cotton ball close to the opening as suggested. What that resulted in basically was a large, humid and comfy chamber behind the cotton ball where the colony now has moved into. Even if it's brightly lit 24/7. I'm thinking of maybe turning off the light as it's clearly not a deterrent but maybe a bit stressful. 

 

Started a mealworm culture a few days ago so I have food available. Already have isopods going for a terrarium setup. 

 

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#5 Offline ANTdrew - Posted October 6 2019 - 1:41 PM

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För fan! Förlåt, vän.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#6 Offline FeedTheAnts - Posted October 7 2019 - 4:22 AM

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But if they are completely behind the cotton then doesn't that mean you can remove it from the tube? If you did then it would quickly dry up and then they would want to move.


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I accidentally froze all my ants 


#7 Offline NickAnter - Posted October 7 2019 - 5:51 AM

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Grattis! I am sure they will do great.
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Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 


#8 Offline Mandelstam - Posted October 7 2019 - 6:45 AM

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För fan! Förlåt, vän.

 

No worries! I know it was your suggestion but if there's one thing I've learned so far with ants is that no one can predict 100% how they will react. It was a gamble. And the way I see it there's no real danger. They have food and water and an available new place to move in. Sometimes they are exploring the immediate surrounding outside the bottle so I'm sure they will find the test tube once they are looking for something new. 


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#9 Offline Mandelstam - Posted October 7 2019 - 6:50 AM

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But if they are completely behind the cotton then doesn't that mean you can remove it from the tube? If you did then it would quickly dry up and then they would want to move.

 

I'm sure I could be even more persuasive but right now I don't really feel that I have to. They seem to be doing quite well and they have the option to move if they need to. 


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#10 Offline ANTdrew - Posted October 7 2019 - 8:56 AM

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That's a good philosophy of ant keeping. I've had success with all my colonies by trusting their judgement and letting them make the choices that are best for them.

Edited by ANTdrew, October 7 2019 - 4:49 PM.

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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.




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