Hey folks,
Got lucky a few weeks ago and managed to snag a single solitary queen (in Carmel Valley, California), that I'm about 90% sure is Tapinoma Sessile (of the species she could be, they're all fully claustral, so I'm not worried in that regard, at least); I'd take pics and ask for confirmation, but my only camera is from a $1 phone, so unless you guys like impressionistic art, it won't help much.
Anyways, I've got her in her tube, nestled in a cleaned-out cigar box wrapped in towel and cracked slightly for air flow. Checked on her once since then, and she seems fairly content and has pumped out a few (extremely tiny) eggs. However, the temperature in my hovel shifts fairly drastically throughout the day, and I'm curious at what temperature does it start getting hazardous for the little thing - the days are warm enough, but it gets around 50ish at night. I'm assuming she's fine, but you know, you always love the first one the most, etc. I know that the colder it is, the slower I can expect the colony develop, but I'd rather not have her freeze to death, if possible.
I did my fair share of prep in regards to ant keeping, but I'm also curious if there's anything else blatantly obvious that might not get covered in the usual literature and youtube videos, so any other advice for the future is appreciated.
