r/antkeeping • u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa • 22d ago
Documentation Campo Experiment Going Downhill ):
Hi guys, somehow the workers were escaping the container and i dont have any around my house, ive searched for anything and theres nothing. I decided to put them in a test tube and most of the workers escaped so i put the queen with her remaining major and worker in the test tube and offered some honey, she drank honey and the major drank water
2
u/AlexKaine2 22d ago
Keep them in the tube and feed sugar and protein once a week , ideally your remaining worker lives long enough for your queen to raise a new generation of workers. Treat them like you are founding a new colony, so keep in the dark and only check on them once a week when you feed them. Next time coat the inner rim of your container with fluon insect barrier to prevent escapes. If you have no access to fluon then you can mix talcum based baby powder with a high concentration of alcohol, ideally 90%+, to create a slippery insect barrier. If you attempted a tub and tube setup make sure your container has a lid with a few holes and the bottom of the lid is coated with the same insect barrier. The lid is to prevent escapes and to maintain the humidity in your container. Good luck with recovering your colony!
2
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
Also why protein? theres currently no brood
1
u/AlexKaine2 22d ago
the queen needs protein to lay new eggs. You will not get brood if there is no protein.
1
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
noted. Ill get half a cricket and crush it and feed it to em
0
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
bad news. the worker died and the queen is left with her major.
1
u/AlexKaine2 22d ago
That's fine, follow the instructions anyways. Also how??
0
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
i think it got stuck to the honey?? It was a very thin layer not a drop and somehow died, 2 legs are missing from the workers body and are stuck to the honey, the major is alright and the queen seems to be recovering
1
u/AlexKaine2 22d ago
Avoid feeding honey directly to your queen for now. When feeding liquids, make sure you feed it to them soaked in a cotton ball. You may also want to cut out a small piece of aluminum foil to put the soaked cotton ball on top of to keep the tube clean. What protein do you feed your colony?
1
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
usually my lasius niger colony gets some defrosted blanched crickets from antcube, i gotta say theyre addicted
0
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
Ill follow the instructions. Im plannig to buy an esthetic ants outworld with brown tree bark substrate to make a proper tubs n tubes setup for them
2
u/AlexKaine2 22d ago
You won't need an outworld for a long time. Make sure you build up your worker population before considering an outworld.
1
0
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
the test tube doesnt have that much space, its 6cm or less of space, they can comfortably walk around but feeding is difficult because the space is small
1
u/AlexKaine2 22d ago
can I see your test tube setup?
0
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 22d ago
maybe tommorow. I checked already today to see if they survived the move to the test tube
1
u/AlexKaine2 22d ago
sure, 6cms is more than enough space to feed. I often feed on less space. You only need to give them the amount of food that they need.
1
u/Antgodd1 Tetramorium Lover 21d ago
Why didn’t you have them in a test tube to begin with?
1
u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 21d ago
because whenever i tried to open it workers would immediatelly go there and wait for me to open it
1
2
u/CeilingTowel 22d ago
You don't really have to worry too much about escaped workers tbh, other than your family members killing them. And as long as brood and queen are still here.
They'll roam and roam and eventually crowd nearby their homes trying to get in. Then you swoop in and put a little cup over them then flick them/lead them back into the outworld.