9 replies to this topic

[PTAntFan]

Ug,

 

This is going to be tough.  Unfortunately, when I caught this tiny queen I placed her the only test tube I had available.  Not only is it large, but the cotton and water are all the way at the bottom of the tube.

 

So, I was trying to move them today into one of Terry's GroTubes by connecting it to the tube, letting workers discover it, then keeping the test tube under direct light while the GroTube was dark and pre-hydrated.  I progressively increased the temperature in the test tube by drawing my lamp closer and closer.  But no dice.

 

The queen did move, but no more than halfway up the tube. She went all the way to the connector to the new formicarium and then came back to the middle and plunked down, ready to just burn up I guess.  In the end, I removed the heat because the tube was hot to touch and I didn't want them to MOVE or DIE.  Now they're all sitting in the condensation water, some drowned already.

 

Anyone have other suggestions?  I'd really like to get them out of there, it's nearly impossible to feed them now without workers escaping.

[Foogoo]

I'd just do a force move. Dump them directly into the open top of the grotube and have bottle caps or feeding dishes handy to trap escapees. Or you can use tweezers to gently pull the cotton nearly to the opening and then reconnect the tube, sort of a motivated move.

Some people also have had luck with placing the tube on top of an aquarium pump or something else that vibrates (don't get too creative now). That nearly killed my D. insanus colony, who still refused to move.

Edit: Or you can just place the entire tube in a larger box. Let them continue using the tube as their nest but now you have an outworld for them to feed in.

Edited by Foogoo, August 24 2015 - 3:20 PM.

[PTAntFan]

Yeah, I'm heavily leaning towards option three on that list.  They completely defy gravity.

[William. T]

Use force. Ants are stubborn and some will die before they move. You don't seem to have a species that is fast.

[drtrmiller]

Hmm.  What type of light/heat source were you using?

[Crystals]

Several ideas in this thread - How to move your ants:  http://www.formicult...nts/#entry14571

[PTAntFan]

Light source is generic clamp on 120 lamp with 65W reflector flood bulb.  It produces surface temperatures above 100F at close distance.  Thanks for link, Crystals.  I'll look now.

[drtrmiller]

UV and heat combined offer the greatest incentives to move, in my experience. For example, an LED bulb with the same light intensity as a UV reptile bulb will have almost no effect. I always had the easiest forced relocations with a 60 watt UV bulb.

I also gradually start at one end and creep the light along at close distance. It is usually not necessary for temperatures to become too extreme. Forced moves typically take 5-15 minutes. Any longer, and it's usually safer to abort.

Edited by drtrmiller, August 25 2015 - 1:47 AM.

[Foogoo]

I moved a few colonies this weekend using a reptile heat lamp. The Pheidole were relatively easy. I had to almost literally touch the bulb to the Crematogaster nest for them to budge. You will however, have the same issues with condensation.

 

I try to avoid force moves if possible since I've had a few colonies die off despite a relatively smooth and gentle forced move. I think putting them in a larger outworld would be the easiest and safest solution. If you put another tube in the same box, they may eventually choose to move to that on their own.

[William. T]

I moved a few colonies this weekend using a reptile heat lamp. The Pheidole were relatively easy. I had to almost literally touch the bulb to the Crematogaster nest for them to budge. You will however, have the same issues with condensation.

 

I try to avoid force moves if possible since I've had a few colonies die off despite a relatively smooth and gentle forced move. I think putting them in a larger outworld would be the easiest and safest solution. If you put another tube in the same box, they may eventually choose to move to that on their own.

I don't do force moves very often. I wait until the colony is at max bursting point. Like when I can't close the cotton stopper because of all the brood. They will move on their own.