11 replies to this topic

[mbullock42086]

i just lost two beautiful C. semitestaceus queens i had collected because the foil was coated with something toxic!! both ate from the dish and i found both twitching-dying.


    Now I'm worried that i may have poisoned my entire absquatulator colony too!!!!  That colony has been in my care for years, i don't want them to die.. several workers are just sitting out there not moving or foraging

[Amazant]

Are you sure it was the wrap and not the food? I have been using the wrap on most of my colonies for 3 years and nothing has happened to them.

[SleepyAsianAnter]

What did you feed them?

[mbullock42086]

Are you sure it was the wrap and not the food? I have been using the wrap on most of my colonies for 3 years and nothing has happened to them.

yeah its the foil, could just be a batch got contaminated but it killed a superstitionia donensis too. 

[mbullock42086]

What did you feed them?

for adults it's basically just the same jam I've been using for a while with no issues, larvae are eating fruitflies, and the semitestaceus i have in tubes arent affected and they ate the same exact stuff..  it's gotta be the foil.  

The semitestaceus that are fine are being fed without foil, and i just place a droplet of jam in there for the queens, they all have healthy larvae so it's not the fruitflies.

[Mdrogun]

This is so confusing to me. Isn't foil.... just foil? I wonder if they coated it with something or if quality standards have gone down during the pandemic. 

[Temperateants]

Sometimes if I am too lazy and I know a colony can clean up what I give them I don't use a feeding dish. You can always clean it up with a qtip and some water. Plus most of my ants like dragging the food I give them to the nesting area anyways.

[mbullock42086]

This is so confusing to me. Isn't foil.... just foil? I wonder if they coated it with something or if quality standards have gone down during the pandemic. 

yeah that's what puzzles me the most, it never happened before.  I don't use pesticides in my home other than borax and sugar.. perhaps its some cleaning agent they're using to prevent the spread of covid or whatever.  either way it sucks because i love the dark morph of semitestaceus and i was so stoked about finding two..  they flew on friday

[Temperateants]

How is your large colony doing? I recommend keeping the dead bodies of those queens, since in my experience with Camponotous (chromaiodes and pennslyvanicus, different species so it might not apply to you) a lot of queens will die quickly of parasitoid fly larvae.

[Ants_Dakota]

I just use a plastic cap of a bottle for a food dish. You might just want to do that.

[ConcordAntman]

Just noticed this. Curious, I’ve used Reynold’s Wrap foil as a feeding dish and as a base to hold my ByFormica nectar feeders for 2+ years with no issues. 

Edited by ConcordAntman, May 26 2020 - 7:48 AM.

[mbullock42086]

I just use a plastic cap of a bottle for a food dish. You might just want to do that.

yeah I'm doing that now..  i just hate how it trigger neophobia in some ants

 

Just noticed this. Curious, I’ve used Reynold’s Wrap foil as a feeding dish and as a base to hold my ByFormica nectar feeders for 2+ years with no issues. 

You're probably using foil you had for a while, this foil was new.  

 

How is your large colony doing? I recommend keeping the dead bodies of those queens, since in my experience with Camponotous (chromaiodes and pennslyvanicus, different species so it might not apply to you) a lot of queens will die quickly of parasitoid fly larvae.

It was 100% the foil..  i lost 20 absquatulator workers and I'm pretty sure the larvae all died, too because I'm not seeing cocoon discards..   the foil killed one of my superstitionia donensis scorpions too.  died whilst drinking from aa water droplet on the foil, so it's gotta be some sort of pesticide