SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

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Proverbs66
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:01 pm
Location: Glenn Burnie, MD

SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 28823Post Proverbs66
Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:29 pm

Guys I need your help I'm freaking out cuz my queen just got her first worker but the bad news is that there is a blotch of black and green mold growing in the cotton that plugs the water reserves and I really want to move her but I'm afraid the light will stress her out and she'll eat her eggs and larvae I know she has a worker but I'm still worried I need help :(
Let us remember that even though ants are wonderful creatures, even more magnificent is their creator 😌

AqdasHassaan

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 28824Post AqdasHassaan
Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:36 pm

Proverbs66 wrote:
Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:29 pm
Guys I need your help I'm freaking out cuz my queen just got her first worker but the bad news is that there is a blotch of black and green mold growing in the cotton that plugs the water reserves and I really want to move her but I'm afraid the light will stress her out and she'll eat her eggs and larvae I know she has a worker but I'm still worried I need help :(
Post pictures please

Proverbs66
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:01 pm
Location: Glenn Burnie, MD

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 28862Post Proverbs66
Sat Aug 12, 2017 8:48 pm

AqdasHassaan wrote:
Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:36 pm
Proverbs66 wrote:
Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:29 pm
Guys I need your help I'm freaking out cuz my queen just got her first worker but the bad news is that there is a blotch of black and green mold growing in the cotton that plugs the water reserves and I really want to move her but I'm afraid the light will stress her out and she'll eat her eggs and larvae I know she has a worker but I'm still worried I need help :(
Post pictures please
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz4T_MH3fueoaXN5U0RzOTdMdGs/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz4T_MH3fueoWWlqd0QyX2c3X2M/view?usp=drivesdk

Here they are a little dark but it was the best I could do
Let us remember that even though ants are wonderful creatures, even more magnificent is their creator 😌

Serafine

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 28892Post Serafine
Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:22 am

Calm down and fix your capslock. This isn't an issue at all, your ants will be fine.
Ants are quire resistant to mold and unless the entire cotton is black it's most likely not an issue at all.

Proverbs66
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:01 pm
Location: Glenn Burnie, MD

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 28918Post Proverbs66
Sun Aug 13, 2017 12:14 pm

Serafine wrote:
Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:22 am
Calm down and fix your capslock. This isn't an issue at all, your ants will be fine.
Ants are quire resistant to mold and unless the entire cotton is black it's most likely not an issue at all.
Really? But it still is a threat to the colony isn't it? And if I were to move them how would I do it? :|
Let us remember that even though ants are wonderful creatures, even more magnificent is their creator 😌

Serafine

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 28921Post Serafine
Sun Aug 13, 2017 12:42 pm

Ants are quite resistent to mold and unless they actively avoid it it most likely doesn't pose a threat.

That little patch of mold is like nothing and it's probably just bacteria growing on the colony's toilet area. You can start worrying when the entire surface of the cotton is black but even then it's probably not an immediate danger.

The best thing you can do is to put a straw through the cotton (it MUST be large enough for the queen to pass), put the tube into an outworld (plastic container with Fluon or alcohol+babypowder as barrier is sufficient, but wash out the container before you use it) and offer a second tube. They're probably not gonna move though, their tube looks fairly clean.
This setup has the additional advantage that you can place food in the outworld (should be close to the nest) because feeding them inside the tube really disturbs the colony a lot.

It'd look like this.
Image
(Straw was probably a bit too small but I couldn't immediately find a straw that fits a Camponotus queen)

Tubes (nest tube and replacement tube) each with straw and paper tent.
Image

Here you can see them *** SPAM *** (mounted a small heat lamp above the outworld). I recommend cutting out a small part of the straws front so they have this sort of groove-like entrance area.
Image


You will most likely notice when they are ready to move out, at least if they have more than a dozen workers. Mine started to congregate at the front of the tube for several days (the queen usually remained at the back end of the tube) before they moved.
Image

They even dumped the brood into the outworld right before they moved.
Image

Now that they're in the new nest I have trouble identifying the queen because in the last days there hatched a couple of majors that are just as big as her (here she's easy to spot though, right on top of all the brood).
Image


Also, this is an impression of how messy a test tube can actually become.
Image

Proverbs66
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:01 pm
Location: Glenn Burnie, MD

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 29313Post Proverbs66
Thu Aug 17, 2017 6:59 am

Serafine wrote:
Sun Aug 13, 2017 12:42 pm
Ants are quite resistent to mold and unless they actively avoid it it most likely doesn't pose a threat.

That little patch of mold is like nothing and it's probably just bacteria growing on the colony's toilet area. You can start worrying when the entire surface of the cotton is black but even then it's probably not an immediate danger.

The best thing you can do is to put a straw through the cotton (it MUST be large enough for the queen to pass), put the tube into an outworld (plastic container with Fluon or alcohol+babypowder as barrier is sufficient, but wash out the container before you use it) and offer a second tube. They're probably not gonna move though, their tube looks fairly clean.
This setup has the additional advantage that you can place food in the outworld (should be close to the nest) because feeding them inside the tube really disturbs the colony a lot.

It'd look like this.
Image
(Straw was probably a bit too small but I couldn't immediately find a straw that fits a Camponotus queen)

Tubes (nest tube and replacement tube) each with straw and paper tent.
Image

Here you can see them *** SPAM *** (mounted a small heat lamp above the outworld). I recommend cutting out a small part of the straws front so they have this sort of groove-like entrance area.
Image


You will most likely notice when they are ready to move out, at least if they have more than a dozen workers. Mine started to congregate at the front of the tube for several days (the queen usually remained at the back end of the tube) before they moved.
Image

They even dumped the brood into the outworld right before they moved.
Image

Now that they're in the new nest I have trouble identifying the queen because in the last days there hatched a couple of majors that are just as big as her (here she's easy to spot though, right on top of all the brood).
Image


Also, this is an impression of how messy a test tube can actually become.
Image
Whoa! That's really awesome can't wait for my colony to get that big thanks so much for the advice, I'll cool it. But I still can't think of a straw that'll be big enough for my camponotus queen to fit through any suggestions? :D
Let us remember that even though ants are wonderful creatures, even more magnificent is their creator 😌

Serafine

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 29328Post Serafine
Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:23 am

There's these so called "party straws" that are a lot bigger than regular straws. You can usually buy them at $1 shops.

Proverbs66
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:01 pm
Location: Glenn Burnie, MD

Re: SERIOUS PROBLEM WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!

Post: # 29416Post Proverbs66
Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:58 pm

Okay thanks a lot you helped me very much :D
Let us remember that even though ants are wonderful creatures, even more magnificent is their creator 😌

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