I obtained five of these Veromessor andrei queens in a trade. They were found May 29th 2017 in Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, located in Agua Dulce, California.
I moved all five of them into five of my new "dirt box" formicariums.
![med_gallery_2_853_436336.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_853/med_gallery_2_853_436336.jpg)
I used an applicator bottle and water to carve out a little chamber at the bottoms since they all had a small pile of eggs already that I didn't want them to lose while digging their nests. They all ended up digging tunnels from their chambers to the surface, which isn't surprising given the fact that they are semi-claustral. This will definitely make feeding them easier.
![med_gallery_2_853_1103448.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_853/med_gallery_2_853_1103448.jpg)
![med_gallery_2_853_675158.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_853/med_gallery_2_853_675158.jpg)
![med_gallery_2_853_644230.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_853/med_gallery_2_853_644230.jpg)
A couple of them have noticeable larvae now.
![med_gallery_2_853_337337.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_853/med_gallery_2_853_337337.jpg)