AntsMoore journal #2 : First colony move attempt (Failed) : Lasius Niger

Share your Ant Journals, Youtube Channels, and Blogs with the global ant community

Moderator: ooper01

Post Reply
MooreAnts
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2018 4:40 pm
Location: Cambridgeshire

AntsMoore journal #2 : First colony move attempt (Failed) : Lasius Niger

Post: # 33868Post MooreAnts
Wed Feb 07, 2018 6:31 pm

So today, out of excitement, I decided to try and move my Lasius Niger ants from their cosy test tube setup, to a larger home, a new formicarium, my first nest!!
Image

It came today in the post, the out world for this setup hadn't arrived yet, but I'm sure it would soon.
Image

I arrogantly decided to be impatient and I'm sure you can't blame me; only having these ants for a few days (my first ever ant colony) I was practically sizzling with energy and anticipation.

The first problem I had encountered was the test tube didn't fit onto the formicarium. I originally thought that this wouldn't be a problem as I had heard on one of the YouTube channels I follow that I can use cotton to make a sealant between the tube and the nest. This was actually a lot harder than I had thought.

After a lot of persistence and determination I managed to get the test tube attached, I even taped over them both for extra durability.

I had stuffed some cotton into the second chamber (the right one) to block off the rest of the nest. This was because I had heard of ants getting unhappy and stressed if they have "too much room". I also smeared some honey and protein shake on the wall in the chamber on the left so this new nest would seem attractive to our inhabitants. I wasn't too worried about watering them because where the cotton was, was where the manufacturer of the formicarium had put breathing holes, this would mean I could surely water the cotton from there.

But then common sense finally caught up with me.

I realised feeding them was going to be a challenge now they were sealed off and actually my grand idea of watering through the breathing holes to the cotton had turned out to be rather a silly idea. The cotton did absorb some water but no where near the amount that's considered efficient. Also not to mention these holes were meant for breathing...

I decided to stop this pointless venture and detach the test tube from the nest and return everything to how it was at the beginning of the day.

After some research this seamed to be the wiser option, not only because of the water and feeding issues but also possible breathing problems and the fact I only have 11 workers.

A reasonable amount of workers for moving from a test tube to a formicarium, I decided from the different sources is about 20-50 workers (some people even going as far as 100 workers). This is so the queen doesn't freak out and get uncomfortable in such a large space with such few workers.

My time worrying and stressing putting all this together wasn't wasted because I have learnt that my impatience today I can reflect on in the future if I find myself making similar spontaneous decisions on things I might regret.

I hope you guys learn from my mistakes and try be a little more patient, we are raising ants didn't you know ;) ;)

#Antlove

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

Re: AntsMoore journal #2 : First colony move attempt (Failed) : Lasius Niger

Post: # 33870Post Jadeninja9
Wed Feb 07, 2018 7:10 pm

Really nice journal. You should make one post and update date it on there instead of making a new post for every entry. Also, you have to use imgur to upload photos because photobucket doesn’t work and you can’t see the pictures. I think if you go to the help part of the forum you can find out how to do that.
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

MooreAnts
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2018 4:40 pm
Location: Cambridgeshire

Re: AntsMoore journal #2 : First colony move attempt (Failed) : Lasius Niger

Post: # 33901Post MooreAnts
Fri Feb 09, 2018 4:47 pm

Thank you for this advice!! It means a lot. I will get on fixing this right away! :)
#Antlove

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests