The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

Yes, I dug up the colony and kept everything, it is a dirt colony in a bucket. I didn't know until now if I had the queen or not. And for whatever reason the ants have gone pretty much inactive again... Maybe because I have given them sooooo much food now that they don't have much reason to go walking around on the surface much any more. It also is cold outside and its drafty so they probably are a little colder than a few days ago. There is also the possibility that they decided to walk over the powder and vaseline and leave. I discovered that they weren't keeping the ants inside at all after I added more of each! I just wiped it all off to see if that helps any -maybe its not a thick layer of vaseline but just a coating?

You should probably try to salvage this bucket situation by letting the dirt dry out and leaving a test tube or formicarium for the ants to move into. There's very little control over the hydration, and the walls are probably tacky from talcum powder and vaseline so that neither of them would work. It will probably take a long time.