Hey all!
I've just got a colony of 100-200 Myrmica rubra (can't see the actual numbers just yet) and I'm trying to move them into a new nest (acrylic, keeping it highly humid). The colony came in a small plastic container with a lot of moss, the colony is at the bottom. My problem is that the ants are not moving into the new nest, it's been about a week now.
Normally I wouldn't be very concerned as ant keeping requires patience but I notice a that some ants are dying. Over the last week I've seen them drag ±6 dead ants around. It's my first time having a colony of this size so I'm not sure if this is a natural amount of dead ants or if something is indeed wrong.
I've been providing a constant source of sugar water which they eat plentiful and gave them fruit flies and a cricket which they also accept. Only thing I haven't been doing is keeping the moss nest humid over the past week, in order to make them move to a more humid location. Could this be the cause as I did hear that this species is sensitive to dehydration. If this is the case, how do I get them to move instead?
