Workers not foraging too far

[FarrAnts]

Hello! I have a setup I made for this beginning formica colony. The queen I have is a social parasite formica, so the only workers she has are stolen pupae, not her own just yet. Outside the test tube I've left a drop of sunflower seed honey, normal partially crystallized honey, and 100% pure maple syrup. Along with that I have put in a pre-crushed moth with some other bugs. None of the ants ventured out, so I put one of the bugs into the test tube. They started to take it, but changed their mind and left in there. Then they started to put cocoon remnants on the edge of the test tube, while still inside. Any help or advice welcome! Thanks!

[Serafine]

It is completely normal for workers of small ant colonies to not wander off far away from their nest.

Also while they do not have any larvae they barely need any protein and the amount of sugars they drink are so tiny that you most likely cannot see it at all. it's very likely that they mostly come out when it's dark and stay inside the nest during the day - you can put a red foil over a weak (!) flashlight if you want to watch them when it's dark. When they were a super small colony of 4-10 workers my Camponotus typically came out 10-15 minutes after the lights went off and foraged for 10-20 minutes. That was enough for them to stock up for the entire day.

[FarrAnts]

It is completely normal for workers of small ant colonies to not wander off far away from their nest.

Also while they do not have any larvae they barely need any protein and the amount of sugars they drink are so tiny that you most likely cannot see it at all. it's very likely that they mostly come out when it's dark and stay inside the nest during the day - you can put a red foil over a weak (!) flashlight if you want to watch them when it's dark. When they were a super small colony of 4-10 workers my Camponotus typically came out 10-15 minutes after the lights went off and foraged for 10-20 minutes. That was enough for them to stock up for the entire day.

Alright! Thanks! So provide protein how often exactly until they get larvae? And keep honey/sugar out at all times?

[idahoantgirl]

Here is what I recommend: Do not feed them in the tube. 1, it makes the tube dirty, and 2, it stresses them out. They will eat when they need to. They are created with that instinct. And anyways, It is natural for them to have to forage instead of magically finding food in their home.