pogonomyrmex.spp help please!!

[GreenMan]

be leave I caught 3 pogonomyrmex.spp I did not have my test tubes yet from Amazon. I had a small bead holder. I drilled very tiny holes on three sides of one chamber. put cotton in it. put water in it. drilled tiny holes in lid. put small amount of dirt in three chambers and one shelled sunflower seed from a bag of bird seed. popped the three queens in. closed lid and placed in the top of closet. dark and warm. and quiet. question. how can she get water. holes are very small. will stay damp in there is that good enough. if tubes come in Before they laid eggs.can move them. if not I don't know what to do. if they get workers and I open the lid.they might mix with others as I try to move them. seem a problem I need to fix.don't want to lose them.worried but water at the moment. had to grab the queens then. didn't think I would see them again. any ideas or help.

[GreenMan]

well my wife picked up some test tubes from Tyler. so I checked the queens. no eggs yet. so I made 3 test tube set ups and moved them.now the waiting game.. was wondering. I have a field near my home that is full of harvester ant mounds. if I was to get some eggs from one. and put them in the test tube with a queen would she claim them. like 5 or 6 eggs.just to boost the speed. I know from what I've read that they are a very slow starter. will post some pics when one lays a few eggs.

[ooper01]

well my wife picked up some test tubes from Tyler. so I checked the queens. no eggs yet. so I made 3 test tube set ups and moved them.now the waiting game.. was wondering. I have a field near my home that is full of harvester ant mounds. if I was to get some eggs from one. and put them in the test tube with a queen would she claim them. like 5 or 6 eggs.just to boost the speed. I know from what I've read that they are a very slow starter. will post some pics when one lays a few eggs.

What you are suggesting is called "brood boosting" and it usually works. The queens/colonies usually accept the foreign brood as their own. I have done it only once with Camponotus species because I had a queen die that still had brood. The other queen accepted the brood, but I think she ate a portion of it.

Be sure to disturb the queens as little as possible after adding foreign brood so as not to stress them out. Interested to see how it goes... Also would love to see some pics.