I need some advice really quickly.

Discussions about the care and keeping of ants

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Jadeninja9
Posts: 732
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:00 pm
Location: SF Bay Area, California

I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29624Post Jadeninja9
Sun Aug 20, 2017 12:00 am

So I decided to move my colony out of their setup by using a flashlight and putting it up to the brood. After about 15 min of doing this I saw a worker literally pick up an egg and eat it. It was chewing it with its mandibles, then swallowed it. I saw some egg bits left on its mandibles. Should I remove the flashlight or put it further away? What should I do?
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

KSkuroooari

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29625Post KSkuroooari
Sun Aug 20, 2017 12:07 am

That's almost as bad as us when we found pieces of an eaten nanitic scattered around the test tube. πŸ˜“ Unfortunately, you actually got to see it being eaten. 😱

...

Sorry, I didn't have any advice. πŸ˜”

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Jadeninja9
Posts: 732
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:00 pm
Location: SF Bay Area, California

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29626Post Jadeninja9
Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:30 am

I had to stop anyways because the battery on the flashlight ran out lol. I'm glad that the egg eating was only a one time incident. Idk if I'll try it again cause atfirst they were startled but then they got used to it and started acting normal. I think because of how long I observe them I have desensitized them to light.
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

KSkuroooari

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29712Post KSkuroooari
Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:09 pm

Jadeninja9 wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:30 am
I think because of how long I observe them I have desensitized them to light.
Sounds like us. My son checks on them probably twice a day, once in the morning and once maybe during the evening. But this also doesn't include any peeks his 8yro sister does on her own either. πŸ˜‚

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Jadeninja9
Posts: 732
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:00 pm
Location: SF Bay Area, California

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29714Post Jadeninja9
Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:24 pm

KSkuroooari wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:09 pm
Jadeninja9 wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:30 am
I think because of how long I observe them I have desensitized them to light.
Sounds like us. My son checks on them probably twice a day, once in the morning and once maybe during the evening. But this also doesn't include any peeks his 8yro sister does on her own either. πŸ˜‚
Haha
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

Cartil
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:13 am
Location: Halifax, NS

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29811Post Cartil
Mon Aug 21, 2017 5:30 pm

KSkuroooari wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:09 pm
Jadeninja9 wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:30 am
I think because of how long I observe them I have desensitized them to light.
Sounds like us. My son checks on them probably twice a day, once in the morning and once maybe during the evening. But this also doesn't include any peeks his 8yro sister does on her own either. πŸ˜‚
I feel bad looking at them for 15 seconds once every 10 days! I guess it might also depend on the species and even the ants themselves.

Serafine

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29817Post Serafine
Mon Aug 21, 2017 6:41 pm

Never force ants to move anywhere. Offer new nest space and let the ants move on their own.
If you try to force them they will often eat their eggs and larvae or generally do bad because they're not ready for a nest.

My Camponotus spent over 8 months in a large test tube while they grow from 4 to about 70 workers. When the tube finally ran dry (it actually flooded when the cotton collapsed) they first piled their brood in the outworld and two days later moved to the nest where they just produced an enormous amout of new tiny larvae (about 80 or so).

You will notive that when they're ready they all congregate towards the entrance, including the queen and ants carrying eggs.

KSkuroooari

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29827Post KSkuroooari
Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:06 pm

Serafine wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 21, 2017 6:41 pm
Never force ants to move anywhere. Offer new nest space and let the ants move on their own.
If you try to force them they will often eat their eggs and larvae or generally do bad because they're not ready for a nest.

My Camponotus spent over 8 months in a large test tube while they grow from 4 to about 70 workers. When the tube finally ran dry (it actually flooded when the cotton collapsed) they first piled their brood in the outworld and two days later moved to the nest where they just produced an enormous amout of new tiny larvae (about 80 or so).

You will notive that when they're ready they all congregate towards the entrance, including the queen and ants carrying eggs.
So does this mean that once they moved their brood out into the outworld, you replaced the old, dirty test tube with a new one? I'll have to keep that in mind. Our setup doesn't allow us to offer her a new test tube at the same time.

We just moved our queens from a cut-flower water vial into a proper test tube but while waiting for their outworld to arrive, one of our queens started to place their trash by the water cotton so now it's molding already. It's not anywhere close to the point where I'd be concerned as I've read enough to know that she'll move if it's detrimental to her and the brood, but since they were given access to the outworld, she and her brood have moved closer to the entrance. I wonder if this is a sign that she wants to leave or if she's just giving herself space from the trash pile.

Serafine

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29834Post Serafine
Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:53 pm

KSkuroooari wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:06 pm
So does this mean that once they moved their brood out into the outworld, you replaced the old, dirty test tube with a new one?
No, I waited until they moved into the nest that was attached to the glass outworld. They piled their brood in front of the tube but the queen remained in the tube, together with the eggs and only left when they actually moved to the new nest. I replaced the tube a few day after they had moved.

KSkuroooari

Re: I need some advice really quickly.

Post: # 29844Post KSkuroooari
Tue Aug 22, 2017 12:02 am

Serafine wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:53 pm
KSkuroooari wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:06 pm
So does this mean that once they moved their brood out into the outworld, you replaced the old, dirty test tube with a new one?
No, I waited until they moved into the nest that was attached to the glass outworld. They piled their brood in front of the tube but the queen remained in the tube, together with the eggs and only left when they actually moved to the new nest. I replaced the tube a few day after they had moved.
Understood. We will continue to just let her be. They probably just wanted to distance themselves from the trash pile. We were hoping that, once they had access to the outworld, they would move it out there.

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