So, my Crematogaster colony is up to 7 workers, growing fast after being heated on my windowsill. Although sunlight is usually bad for ants and can cook them/flood the tube, I used these little cover panels to shade them (and most importantly the tube resovoir), and no leaks or overheating has happened. Their test tube is blocked off with a cork stopper with a hole drilled through, so they can forage for dead insects on the window, and are provided with honey and strawberry jam for sugars. I love seeing them drag tiny moths back into the tube!
I recently came up with a new moving technique for this colony, as their cotton was moldy and the water was running low. First, I set up a fresh tube. Then i get a blanket to move the queen (the large surface of the blanket=easy to see escapees). I use light forceps to move the queen into the new tube, the grab the old cork stopper and close the new tube with the queen inside. I then put both tubes on the windowsill facing each other, the now open old tube with all the workers and brood inside. Here's the genius part: because they were free foraging, the "home" pheromone trails all lead to the old cork stopper, which is on the new tube. So they instinctively wander inside, where they meet their queen. Within half and hour, all the brood was moved in. It is similar to beekeeping where they move the queen to control where the hive/colony goes. Hope this was interesting and could help people with similar situations!
