Moldy Test Tube and Founding Colony Hibernation
Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 5:34 pm
I'm going to start with this is my first colony and my queen and her 10 or so workers were purchased locally from a GAN farmer.
When I received the test tube there was green mold on the cotton ball and the water was getting low pretty understandable given that they had been left alone for since being captured. I received them early October and was unsure how to proceed with hibernation given the state of the tube. I rigged up an extra Out world popped the cotton out and set a new clean tube full of water in next to them and waited, I checked on them carefully with minimal light about 1-2 a week just to see about progress and nothing, they seemed content to never leave. About a week ago I saw some workers out looking around and gave them some offerings of honey and cooked chicken (on a water proof cutting of paper plate) which they happily consumed but still no desire to move out of the moldy tube they never even came near the clean tube. Its time to hibernate and they have stopped going after any new proteins and barely touched the honey (these have been removed now.) Should I just give up and hope they hibernate well and are ok in the moldy tube? Should I leave a clean tube near them? I have a storage shed that is well protected from the elements but I live in Spokane and it gets really cold here, they are native Tetramorium ants will this be ok? Do any of you have suggestions to share?
When I received the test tube there was green mold on the cotton ball and the water was getting low pretty understandable given that they had been left alone for since being captured. I received them early October and was unsure how to proceed with hibernation given the state of the tube. I rigged up an extra Out world popped the cotton out and set a new clean tube full of water in next to them and waited, I checked on them carefully with minimal light about 1-2 a week just to see about progress and nothing, they seemed content to never leave. About a week ago I saw some workers out looking around and gave them some offerings of honey and cooked chicken (on a water proof cutting of paper plate) which they happily consumed but still no desire to move out of the moldy tube they never even came near the clean tube. Its time to hibernate and they have stopped going after any new proteins and barely touched the honey (these have been removed now.) Should I just give up and hope they hibernate well and are ok in the moldy tube? Should I leave a clean tube near them? I have a storage shed that is well protected from the elements but I live in Spokane and it gets really cold here, they are native Tetramorium ants will this be ok? Do any of you have suggestions to share?