15 replies to this topic

[MajorPheidole]

I went to feed my Pheidole and almost instantly I could see something was wrong. No Larvae, hardly any workers and I couldn't see the queen, and there was an unusual amount of workers carrying dead ants! So...upon closer inspection I looked and the reservoir had flooded the nest and there were dead ants everywhere, with most being stuck on the cotton wool.! Worse being the fact that I was going to move them as the water was nearly empty, however, there was clearly enough to drown half the colony! Gutted is an understatement!


I'm about 90% sure the queen is dead.

The colony the other day, healthy, nice plump Larvae, newly eclosed workers and the queen.

[AntLover101]

Maybe because it was too dirty. From the picture it looks like it's pretty dirty and you might have just needed to clean it.

[SMILEforAnts]

You should probably make a new test tube setup and encourage them to move. Hopefully the queen is still alive though!

[MajorPheidole]

Please don't take this the wrong way but have you even kept Pheidole pallidula? 'Too dirty'? Wow. Thanks for making assumptions about me and how I keep my ants.

I tried to keep them 'sterile' but it doesn't work for me and it didn't work for the ants. The queen/workers dug a chamber in the cotton wool for a brood chamber (which by the way this species requires 50-70% humidity for brood chamber) and so I decided to give them the tool (damp coconut coir) and they done the rest, excavating their own chambers/nests. I've raised, kept and gutloaded all their food too.

[MajorPheidole]

You should probably make a new test tube setup and encourage them to move. Hopefully the queen is still alive though!

Thank you. I'll probably just look for an alternative to a test tube. I really hope she is too, my favourite colony and species by far, hopefully the workers have coerced her somewhere.

[Crystals]

Sorry to hear that.  Hopefully the queen is alive.

I have never been able to give my colonies in test tubes anything more than a couple of small wood shavings or grains of sand.  Otherwise they stick them on the cotton and the water resevoir slowly floods out with gravity.

 

I usually move mine into small nests once they have enough workers if they like substrate or playing with cotton. 

 

There are some tutorials on building nests in the link below.  The 6th link down is also a thread for various founding chambers.

http://www.formicult...of-handy-links/

[MajorPheidole]

Sorry to hear that.  Hopefully the queen is alive.
I have never been able to give my colonies in test tubes anything more than a couple of small wood shavings or grains of sand.  Otherwise they stick them on the cotton and the water resevoir slowly floods out with gravity.
 
I usually move mine into small nests once they have enough workers if they like substrate or playing with cotton. 
 
There are some tutorials on building nests in the link below.  The 6th link down is also a thread for various founding chambers.
http://www.formicult...of-handy-links/

Darn, so it was my fault don't mean to come across snappy/stand-offish, it's just so annoying and it sucks, any advice is welcome on what I may off done wrong. I spotted the queen earlier , however, I can't tell if she's dead or if the workers are moving her. Thanks for the links
I'll read over them tonight when I get in.

[Crystals]

The best bet is to place the test tube into a foraging area with another clean test tube in the mean time.  It will allow them to move to safety, or drag more sand in to sop up the water.

 

Some species do well in test tubes, while others don't do so well.  That being said, I have had colonies that piled stuff against the cotton without flooding.  But it was rare and flooded 95% of the time.

 

I know how bad it can be to lose a favorite colony.  Hopefully the queen is alive.

[Jonathan21700]

Pheidole pallidula are a really nice looking species but I haven't found them still. I think they might of relocated the brood and the queen inside the soil in some hidden tunnel or chamber. I think the queen is alive as you can se her staying on the cotton in picture one. Nice colony lots of brood! Good luck!

Edited by Jonathan21700, April 8 2015 - 12:03 PM.

[MajorPheidole]

Thank you all. Just an update - the queen unfortunately is dead:( They moved this morning and I now have a clear view of her lifeless body, which they seem to be moving about instead of moving her body to their designated area where they've moved the majority of the dead ants.

[Gregory2455]

The queen looks pretty alive in that third picture.

[antmaniac]

Too much condensation can be a risk. 

[MajorPheidole]

Sorry, the pictures aren't in chronological order whatsoever. The top 3 are pictures I took of the colony on the 3rd of April and they had constructed chambers/nests . Thee next one not long after I first noticed they had eggs and the last two were taken at the start of March, after I had given them substrate in the test tube and they moved back in. There's about 30 workers left and 5 majors caring for the brood that they saved.I lost about 40+ workers and the queen. What you have to remember these aren't native to my country and I have to keep them pretty locked up to prevent the queen escaping.

[Crystals]

Sorry to hear she did not make it.

[Nexus]

Sorry for your loss, it's a really cool species... Are you gonna take a new one ?

 

From the picture, I think the reservoir flooded because you pushed the cotton too deep. When you prepare your testtube, you have to let a little dry layer. Capillarity will do the rest.

[Crystals]

It is likely that the ants had some brood or dirt against the cotton, and the capillary action then flooded the tube.