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Lasius neoniger not foraging…

Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 9:45 am
by JacobSyndeo
Hi,

I've got 3 colonies of Lasius neoniger whose queens I caught in nuptial flights nearly a year ago. A few months ago, the first nanitics finally eclosed, and now each colony has 20-25 workers. They're each still in their founding test tubes. I've been feeding them fruit flies (1 or 2 a week) and byFormica Sunburst ant nectar, both placed directly in the test tube next to the outermost cotton ball (away from the colonies themselves, who are huddling by the water-side cotton balls). I know that this isn't optimal, but I'd been waiting for my test tube portals to arrive. Now, I've got them set up, and have begun placing feeder fruit flies and ant nectar in the "mini-outworld" the portals provide… but the ants don't seem to be going anywhere *near* the outworlds. Either they no longer smell the food, or simply think that the tunnel doesn't go farther out than where the cotton ball used to be, so they're not looking. (Do they even have memory like that, though?)

It's been a week now that I haven't seen them eat, and I'm beginning to grow concerned. I lifted the dark cloth I have covering their "nesting" test tubes, and they all seem to be alive. Plenty of brood, and I don't see any dead workers… but they seemed rather sluggish.

Should I begin feeding them directly in their test tubes again? I really don't want to lose these colonies. :(

(Posted in Diet and Nutrition because I'm not sure if this may be a nutrition issue… however they ate these same foods before just fine.)

Re: Lasius neoniger not foraging…

Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:24 am
by Jadeninja9
1-2 fruit flies a week doesn't seem like anything. Those fruit flies are so small for a colony of around 25 workers. I feed my colony of 12 workers a mealworm a day and I know they don't eat it all in a day, but they are definitely getting more food than they would if I only fed them 1-2 fruit flies a week. What if you placed a trail of droplets of honey or the nectar in the tube, leading to the outworld? The ants might follow where it goes and eat it along the way. Then eventually they'll discover the foraging area.

Re: Lasius neoniger not foraging…

Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:08 pm
by JacobSyndeo
Jadeninja9 wrote:
Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:24 am
1-2 fruit flies a week doesn't seem like anything. Those fruit flies are so small for a colony of around 25 workers. I feed my colony of 12 workers a mealworm a day and I know they don't eat it all in a day, but they are definitely getting more food than they would if I only fed them 1-2 fruit flies a week. What if you placed a trail of droplets of honey or the nectar in the tube, leading to the outworld? The ants might follow where it goes and eat it along the way. Then eventually they'll discover the foraging area.
Dang. I wanted to avoid overfeeding because I've heard that can cause bacteria/mold outbreaks.

In any case, I've just laid out several small drops of nectar leading to the outworld, and each colony has discovered at least the first one (placed fairly close to their nesting area). Here's hoping they'll find their way out soon!

Re: Lasius neoniger not foraging…

Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:13 pm
by Jadeninja9
Noice

Re: Lasius neoniger not foraging…

Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 12:52 pm
by Serafine
Just put the food on a small dish in the outworld. If the ants are full they will just let it lie there and you can remove it a few days later.

Re: Lasius neoniger not foraging…

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:37 am
by CreeperUniverse
JacobSyndeo wrote:
Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:08 pm
Jadeninja9 wrote:
Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:24 am
1-2 fruit flies a week doesn't seem like anything. Those fruit flies are so small for a colony of around 25 workers. I feed my colony of 12 workers a mealworm a day and I know they don't eat it all in a day, but they are definitely getting more food than they would if I only fed them 1-2 fruit flies a week. What if you placed a trail of droplets of honey or the nectar in the tube, leading to the outworld? The ants might follow where it goes and eat it along the way. Then eventually they'll discover the foraging area.
Dang. I wanted to avoid overfeeding because I've heard that can cause bacteria/mold outbreaks.

In any case, I've just laid out several small drops of nectar leading to the outworld, and each colony has discovered at least the first one (placed fairly close to their nesting area). Here's hoping they'll find their way out soon!
Give 'em an outworld, and a large piece of food they can't drag into the nest, or something of the sort. Once they start ignoring it, just take it out of the outworld.