6 replies to this topic

[rarankhan]

Hi guys. I found a crematogaster queen roughly 7 months ago. I kept her in a test tube for 5 months, nothing happened. It was winter here so I am pretty sure she was hibernating. Then water kept pouring out and she nearly drowned once. I changed everything nearly happened again. So I moved her into a 4 in x 4 in x 4 in plastic box. Placed a damp paper towel on the bottom and 3 wet cotton balls. Never had to change anything since. Didn't feed her once even though I tried. Checked on her once every 2 days. Then 2 days ago I look and see little babies and a pile of eggs. The nanitics are so tiny relative to her, but I was so happy. The wait is over. Now my question is what do I do? What do I feed them? I placed a small slice of apple which I saw one of the nanitics drinking from. How long till the colony has like 20 workers, and do I need to keep them in a dark place or can I keep them in the light? When do I feed them meat, and is mealworms okay for that? Is an omni nest large okay to house them in as well, because I already have an empty one. Sorry if I ranted, thank you for your help. this is my first colony.  I'll post pictures later. 

[iXvXi]

I'm a little worried about the humidity and water supply. Paper towels and cotton balls will dry out very quickly if left exposed to air. If the nest dries out, your colony can die within hours.

The large omni nest is too big for a founding colony. They're likely to use the nest as trash piles ect. That will likely induce mold very quickly.

I'd suggest putting them in another test tube (watch videos on how to set them up properly). I believe Tar heel ants has a good video on it, antscanada also. Put the test tube in a tuber ware container to act as the outworld to feed the colony.

Now that your colony has nanitics, you should keep a sugar source available (byformica ant nectar) or regular sugar water or syrup water. You're also going to need to start supplying them with protein sources. The queen will need it to be able to produce more eggs and so will the larvae to develop (adults require sugar)

Check out crystals sticky on food preferences by species.

From my understanding, I'm pretty sure this species likes to go after wasps that pollinate the plant that their nest is near. They will most likely accept mealworms though (cut them up).

This species prefers the dark as most do. You can wrap the test tube in parchment paper or something similar to block out the light.

Edited by iXvXi, April 7 2016 - 3:31 PM.

[rarankhan]

I'm a little worried about the humidity and water supply. Paper towels and cotton balls will dry out very quickly if left exposed to air. If the nest dries out, your colony can die within hours.

The large omni nest is too big for a founding colony. They're likely to use the nest as trash piles ect. That will likely induce mold very quickly.

I'd suggest putting them in another test tube (watch videos on how to set them up properly). I believe Tar heel ants has a good video on it, antscanada also. Put the test tube in a tuber ware container to act as the outworld to feed the colony.

Now that your colony has nanitics, you should keep a sugar source available (byformica ant nectar) or regular sugar water or syrup water. You're also going to need to start supplying them with protein sources. The queen will need it to be able to produce more eggs and so will the larvae to develop (adults require sugar)

Check out crystals sticky on food preferences by species.

From my understanding, I'm pretty sure this species likes to go after wasps that pollinate the plant that their nest is near. They will most likely accept mealworms though (cut them up).

This species prefers the dark as most do. You can wrap the test tube in parchment paper or something similar to block out the light.

 

It's completely sealed, so the moisture holds. Can I soak a cotton ball in sugar water and leave it? I meant that could I transfer them to the large omni nest when they have like 50 workers, that's probably the amount I can hold in the current enclosure. Thank you for responding. 

Edited by rarankhan, April 7 2016 - 3:57 PM.

[Mdrogun]

 

I'm a little worried about the humidity and water supply. Paper towels and cotton balls will dry out very quickly if left exposed to air. If the nest dries out, your colony can die within hours.

The large omni nest is too big for a founding colony. They're likely to use the nest as trash piles ect. That will likely induce mold very quickly.

I'd suggest putting them in another test tube (watch videos on how to set them up properly). I believe Tar heel ants has a good video on it, antscanada also. Put the test tube in a tuber ware container to act as the outworld to feed the colony.

Now that your colony has nanitics, you should keep a sugar source available (byformica ant nectar) or regular sugar water or syrup water. You're also going to need to start supplying them with protein sources. The queen will need it to be able to produce more eggs and so will the larvae to develop (adults require sugar)

Check out crystals sticky on food preferences by species.

From my understanding, I'm pretty sure this species likes to go after wasps that pollinate the plant that their nest is near. They will most likely accept mealworms though (cut them up).

This species prefers the dark as most do. You can wrap the test tube in parchment paper or something similar to block out the light.

 

It's completely sealed, so the moisture holds. Can I soak a cotton ball in sugar water and leave it? I meant that could I transfer them to the large omni nest when they have like 50 workers, that's probably the amount I can hold in the current enclosure. Thank you for responding. 

 

There is no way you can keep a 50 worker colony of Crematogaster in a Omni Nest large. They will use the empty chambers as a trash pile and it will quickly mold and possibly kill them. I keep a 100-150 worker colony of Camponotus pennsylvanicus colony in a Omni Nest large and that is not really a good idea. You need to have something the ants can use as a nest without it being too big. Test tubes are great as they are very cheap. I'm sure some stores near you have test tubes or you could buy a small nest like one of these:

 

https://tarheelants....iameter-or-50mm

 

which is the expensive option.

[rarankhan]

Okay. Thank you. At what size would you say it would be appropriate to move the colony to an omni neat?

[Mdrogun]

Okay. Thank you. At what size would you say it would be appropriate to move the colony to an omni neat?

It depends on how large the workers are. I would recommend 500 workers. You could probably manage to move them in at 400 workers though. Just make sure you have a nest or some area to move them out to in case the Omni Nest starts to mold.

[NightsWebs]

Also, I am quite fond of THA Talus. The water system is very easy and I managed to keep comfortably several different ant species and expanded the talus with a tube to a foraging area.  I use this method before moving them to larger nests.  The other thing is you can drop a test tube inside and let it dry out inside the talus and the ants will self move into the cavern/nest in the Talus. I have both type of Talus modular and regular and have had success with both setups.