Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
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Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
Hi i'm Nutter i caught 2 queens this year both are producing eggs. I bought a small omni-nest. cant wait to move my little ladies into their new home. Any tips would be helpful.
Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
Hello Nutter, and welcome to the forum and Ant Keeping!
That you caught 2 Queens is a good start for many Ant enthusiasts. Queens that have recently been caught and starting to lay eggs should be left in their test tubes until the colony grows and needs to be moved to a bigger space.
Some have moved single Queens and young colony's straight into nests, it might of worked for some but this could make your colony very uncomfortable because of the big space and might cause your colony to die; on small colony's ants tend to use empty chambers for rubbish and that causes mold and eventually might kill your Ants.
I recommend you keep you Queens in a dark and warm place until your colony grows then you can introduce them to your nest.
Good Luck Nutter!
That you caught 2 Queens is a good start for many Ant enthusiasts. Queens that have recently been caught and starting to lay eggs should be left in their test tubes until the colony grows and needs to be moved to a bigger space.
Some have moved single Queens and young colony's straight into nests, it might of worked for some but this could make your colony very uncomfortable because of the big space and might cause your colony to die; on small colony's ants tend to use empty chambers for rubbish and that causes mold and eventually might kill your Ants.
I recommend you keep you Queens in a dark and warm place until your colony grows then you can introduce them to your nest.
Good Luck Nutter!
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Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
Awesome! Welcome to ACAF. We're happy to have you here. I will be following your updates on your new colony. Congrats!
Yeah, I would wait as long as you possibly can before moving them into the formicarium. Some species like Tetramorium sp E can be moved early but some of the more sensitive species like those belonging to Formica should be moved in when in large numbers if possible.
Good luck! Hope you keep posting!
Yeah, I would wait as long as you possibly can before moving them into the formicarium. Some species like Tetramorium sp E can be moved early but some of the more sensitive species like those belonging to Formica should be moved in when in large numbers if possible.
Good luck! Hope you keep posting!
Ant Love Forever.
Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
Thanks guys for the tips one queen is a pavement ant the second is way bigger not sure what she is. Im keeping them in the tubes in the dark in my garage very warm in there. I check them once a week. when I do it freaks them out. What is a good food to feed them I have honey. I wont feed them till I move them probably in aug.
- antscanada
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Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
Good choice on feeding them at a later time. I would suggest sugar water as it is thinner and easier for ants to digest. Sometimes ants will puke honey and can't deal with the viscosity.
Ant Love Forever.
Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
Sugar water will be best, so far my ants have puke plain honey
Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
welcome to ant keeping. i agree on the sugar water. one of my Formica queens threw her honey water up, so now i only do sugar water. good luck.
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Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
Update: just checked my test tube it has like 5 little ants running around with the queen. So exciting. they are low on water should i move them to omni nest or transfer to new test tube with water?
Re: Hello im new also first time ant keeper from ohio
A new test tube will be better as they are a small colony.
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