Ants won't leave moldy test tube

[BuddyTehDodo]

Lemme try again...

[BuddyTehDodo]

WHY

[AdaLollA]

Hi there.

Did you have any luck in getting your ants to take up residence in a shiny new test tube?

The reason I ask is because my young son has recently acquired a small colony (also Lasius Niger) and we have been trying to get them to move into a clean tube too. We have tried using light to encourage them out of the old tube but so far they haven't budged. One thing we haven't tried is elevating the old tube so may give that a go.

Very curious to know how others have managed this and any other tips for getting the colony to move. Ultimately, when the colony is big enough, I presume the same trick will be used to get them to move into the hybrid v2 nest?

Many thanks in advance.

Hi,
no i didn't have any success even though i tried a lot of different things (elevation, bright old nest and dark new nest, temperature changes, of course fresh water and clean new tube). I hibernated them a few weeks ago and i am hoping for better luck next time. I think the main problem here is that lasius niger are very tolerant to their environment and don't really bother moving as long as they are satisfied with their current location?

Anyways it can not be a big problem for them when they have the opportunity to move but don't do it. So i think it is fine for now (:

btw: to upload images you have to upload it to a third party image hosting platform like imgur.com first. I think there is a thread about that somewhere here.

[UnrealSparks]

Yes, there is. It's under the forum rules. I've already given him the link to the youtube video.

By the way, for how long did tou leave the light on to make them move? I'm asking this because mine took over a week to move. You just have to be very patient.

[AdaLollA]

Yes, there is. It's under the forum rules. I've already given him the link to the youtube video.

By the way, for how long did tou leave the light on to make them move? I'm asking this because mine took over a week to move. You just have to be very patient.

Hi, also about a week. Maybe a few days longer but then i hibernated them. But i agree, patience is key and the ants will, as i mentioned before, move as soon as they want to. I think there is no need to hurry them. (:

[UnrealSparks]

You're right, expecially now while hibernating they will probably not move. It should be better to change their test tube when spring comes.

Keep an eye on that mold though... that didn't seem really promising.

[yaktriangle]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

We won't sweat it for now and will keep trying. As you say, I guess the ants will soon move if they're not happy with something.

Another quick question though ... who in the colony initiates the move? Will it be the queen to move first and then the workers follow her or will a worker decide it's time to move and start moving the eggs/pupae out?

Cheers.

[UnrealSparks]

I've always seen workers starting to move, taking out the brood first. It happened to me to witness even them forcing the queen in the move by pulling her from the antennae, so cute!

[yaktriangle]

I've always seen workers starting to move, taking out the brood first. It happened to me to witness even them forcing the queen in the move by pulling her from the antennae, so cute!

That's cool ... didn't realise they did that.

DO you reckon sugar-water would help entice them out of the old tube?!

[UnrealSparks]

Hm... I never tried that actually.
What I tried was to place a piece of cricket in the new test tube but that failed. As soon as I removed it they moved .

Thinking about it ants have two stomachs:
- One for themselves.
- One as social stomach to regurgitate food to other members. This happens because this way no food is left in the nest to mold but it's stored directly in the workers. So keeping the nest as clean as possible should be better for them.